“Specialty” has a fairly specific meaning. Trained tasters score coffee on a 100-point scale for things like aroma, flavour, acidity, body and balance, and check the green beans for defects. Coffee that scores 80 points or more with very few defects is called specialty.
What usually comes with it
- Traceability: you can often see the estate, region or even the farmer.
- Freshness: a roast date on the bag.
- Care at each step: farming, processing, roasting and brewing.
It's not a guarantee you'll love every cup, but it's a sign someone cared about quality from farm to cup.