Specialty coffee: quality and ethics in production
Specialty coffee is a quality product, produced with maximum attention to detail. These coffee beans are impeccable and receive a point of 80 points or more on a scale of 100 from certified proofers. What do we use the SCA protocol? (Specialty Coffee Association). However, specialty coffee is focused on ethics and sustainability, and many consumers want to know how each cup of coffee was produced and the producers are treated fairly.
Commercial coffee: inferior quality and industrial roasting process
On the other hand, commercial coffee is of inferior quality and generally does not meet the standards necessary to be considered a specialty coffee. This type of coffee uses defective beans and is intended for mass consumption. The roasting process is also an important difference; enquanto or special coffee is generally roasted in an artisanal way by small independent roasters, or commercial coffee is generally industrially roasted at high temperatures, with the aim of hiding two grain defects and obtaining a product of inferior quality with a more uniform flavor.
In conclusion, if you want to enjoy a coffee with a distinct and complex flavor and support coffee producers fairly, it is advisable to opt for a specialty coffee. If you are looking for a cheaper product for mass consumption, or commercial coffee may be an option.
The main differences between commercial coffee and specialty coffee:
Specialty coffee:
- It comes from specific geographical areas and microclimates and is cultivated and transformed in a sustainable and ethical way.
- It uses a type of Arabica coffee and presents a great variety of flavors and aromas thanks to its artisanal roasting and diversity of origins and processes.
- It concentrates on quality in all phases of the process, from cultivation to extraction in the chavena.
- The label includes detailed information on the roasting date, origin, farm, altitude, process and variety.
- It is impeccable and has a distinct and complex flavor in its youth.
- Sazonais crops.
- It must be endorsed by certified testers and obtain, at least, 80 points.
- Sourced from small producers and micro-lots, the purchase of coffee benefits the producers, once it is paid a fair price.
- É um produto de nicho.
Commercial coffee:
- It uses beans with a high percentage of defects and also a type of robusta coffee, or mixtures of robusta and arabica.
- The quality does not include any phase of the process and the children are collected independently of their degree of maturation.
- Normally, detailed information on roasting data, origin, agricultural exploration, altitude, process or variety is not included on the label.
- Frequently use colheitas antigas coffee.
- In most cases, there is a bitter and burnt taste in the wood, but there are no distinctive ones.
- It is often roasted excessively at higher temperatures to hide defects, or which can generate toxic composts harmful to health. These composts may include, among others, PAHs or acrylamide, a substance that has been associated with canker and other health problems.
- It is intended for mass consumption and focuses on large-scale production and profit maximization.
- It may be grown and processed in unsustainable and unethical ways, or that may have negative environmental impacts on coffee-producing communities.
- It may be cheaper than specialty coffee due to its inferior quality and large-scale production.
