Diving into the Coffee World: Specialty Coffee Beans Explained
By Aliisa Oake
In a few words, specialty coffee is a type of coffee selected and harvested with greater care and attention. These beans have a superior quality and produce more unique flavors than regular coffee.
In this article, we will explain why specialty coffee beans are so complex and exciting, but also not as complicated as they sound. We will also explain who and what determines the quality of coffee for it to be considered specialty coffee.
What Makes Specialty Coffee So Different?
The term “specialty” is determined by a coffee grader, known as a Q-grader, who has a distinguished palate and can skillfully identify the quality of the coffee. By being hand-picked during harvest and carefully roasted, specialty coffee flavors reflect the origin and terroir of the beans and produce unique flavor profiles compared to typical coffee.
When analyzing specialty coffee, the beans are graded and ranked (specialty coffee beans are those ranked higher than 80/100 points) depending on standards set by the Specialty Coffee Association. This process is done through cupping, where brewed coffee is tasted depending on notes and specific descriptions to be scored and graded by quality. The Specialty Coffee Association has specific criteria which must be adhered to. Characteristics include aroma, flavor, aftertaste, body, acidity, and sweetness.
Specialty coffee ready for cupping
The appearance of raw coffee beans also affects their quality. Typically, beans are similar in size, have an oval shape, and dense in weight with a light to medium brown color. They should have an overall smooth surface and shouldn’t be peeling. Any flaws or inconsistencies will mean that they weren’t harvested and handled with as much care. Defects can also affect the taste. Q-graders can tell if the beans have been stored in places with high humidity, mold, or even if unripe beans were mixed into the roast. Producers can work on removing defects over time to obtain higher scores.
Unroasted, green coffee
Producing and Harvesting Specialty Coffee
Specialty coffee begins with the coffee producer, who has worked towards achieving the best method for growing the highest quality beans. The type of plant falls under the Arabica species, which is known for its superior flavor and aroma. Typically, specialty coffee grows in specific regions or single farms with different environmental factors, altering the characteristics of the final product. Factors like the altitude, weather, climate, soil, and farming practices all play a role in developing a special flavor and aroma of coffee beans.
In Guatemala, coffee has been profiled into eight growing regions, which each have a different microclimate, varietal, and growing condition. The volcanic soil, high altitude, and favorable climate contribute to flavor profiles. For specialty coffee farmers, the highest priority is the quality of the bean. This requires coffee to be free of defects and picked at peak ripeness.
More specifically, De La Gente works with farmers in four of Guatemala’s coffee growing regions and finds markets to sell their carefully selected coffee. These small-scale coffee producers work together in nine cooperatives to produce high-quality specialty coffee. The communities of these partner cooperatives have been celebrated in their high value of quality-grown coffee and their economies have been impacted greatly. Each member is responsible and takes care to maintain high-quality standards through each step of the production phases.
Coffee farmers of Coffee Growers of San Miguel Escobar
It’s important for farmers to tend to their farms and work towards achieving optimal growing conditions, which helps with enhancing coffee flavors. Elena Diego is a coffee farmer from Apcasa, Santa Anita in the San Marcos region of Guatemala. She told us that the cooperative that she works with spends a lot of time nurturing the land that the coffee trees will be planted on prior to focusing on the other steps. She says that providing shade and removing weeds is crucial to having dense coffee cherries.
At one of De La Gente’s partner cooperatives in San Miguel Escobar of the Antigua coffee producing region, farmers work towards producing specialty coffee beans. Being located on the slope of a volcano, the altitude and soil affect the way the coffee tastes. This is because there are more nutrients and minerals in the soil from the volcano, giving the coffee more notes and flavors than regular coffee. Farmers in larger plantations normally pick about 200 lbs of coffee during the eight hours that they spend collecting ripe beans. These specialty coffee producers take more time to carefully pick the ripest coffee by hand, so they end up picking about 100lbs at the end of their day.
Once the harvesting process begins, picking only ripe cherries is important to the start of the cycle. Ingrid Hernández, a member of the Coffee Growers of San Miguel Escobar cooperative shared some advice on what to look for when harvesting coffee beans:
“Coffee cherries should be a specific burgundy color when harvested. When they are this color, it indicates that they are ripe and will have the best flavor.”
Ingrid Hernandez
Specialty Coffee Processing, Exporting, and Roasting
Processing specialty coffee is typically more diligent, so the beans’ flavors are preserved and further enhanced. Coffee processing methods include washed, natural, or honey and affect the coffee flavor. Processing specialty coffee is an essential procedure in differing and enhancing coffee bean flavors, while also sorting through unwanted beans.
The most common method, washed, is when the coffee fruit is removed and then left to ferment. After fermenting, they are washed and laid to dry on patios or raised beds. Washed coffee provides a clean and consistent result, while removing any impurities that would affect the coffee taste. Natural processed coffee involves immediately putting beans on drying beds after they are carefully harvested and are allowed to dry for about two weeks. This results in the entire fruit drying with all of its layers and sugars, producing an intense earthy and fruity flavor. Lastly, with honey processed coffee can be classified between natural processed and washed coffee. In this method, the outer layer of the fruit is removed, but they are set to dry with the mucilage layer remaining intact before drying.
When specialty coffee is exported, the unroasted beans need to be packaged in a specific way before being shipped to the final destination to maintain freshness and quality. The green beans are packaged in hermetic storage bags, which are air-tight and prevent oxygen and moisture from getting to the beans. These storage bags are inserted in jute bags, which are made from a natural plant fiber.
An example of what the hermetic storage bags and jute bags look like.
In terms of sourcing specialty coffee, at De La Gente this process is conducted directly with farmers and cooperatives, which ensures better quality, sustainability, and fair trade. De La Gente is a bridge between coffee producers and consumers (in this case, roasters).
“We act as importers, but most importantly, we create connections where there is an exchange in which the coffee producers can learn and receive feedback from the consumers. Consumers can learn from the coffee producers about the farming and coffee processing methods” Says Marcela Méndez, Coffee Relationship Coordinator at De La Gente.
They have a business model reflected on “relationship-based trade”, where they take bases from fair trade and other certifications and apply them to the business, along with the reality of the coffee producers they work with.
A step in the process of how coffee is transported from the cooperative member's house to the exporter's headquarters. The exporter will then prepare the coffee in the hermetic and jute bags.
Roasting specialty coffee requires a high level of expertise. The coffee roaster must carefully monitor the beans depending on their specialty level profiles. Roast profiles focus on highlighting unique flavor classifications and intensifying different characteristics of the beans. The enhanced flavor of a specialty roaster’s coffee results in a superior flavor.
Green coffee beans ready to be roasted
Professional roasters are very skilled in enhancing coffee flavors and have spent many hours perfecting each roast. Kyle Rohling is a former Head Roaster and Q grader of Coffeebar, Reno. Coffeebar has been purchasing coffee from La Suiza Cooperative in the San Marcos coffee producing region in Guatemala since 2018. He has shared a few words about the roasting process with coffee from our partner cooperative at La Suiza:
“La Suiza’s coffee plays a major supporting role in our Espresso, Cold Brew, and Dark Roast blends. Using the coffee this way represents a win-win because blending with La Suiza’s coffee creates the opportunity for us to use it in large quantities, which in turn increases the amount that we can buy from the group.
La Suiza’s coffee has a mellow acidity. This leads it to impart body and sweetness without muting brighter components in the blend.”
One of our partners, Kyle, during a cupping session at La Suiza Cooperative during a visit in 2023.
Ethically Sourcing Specialty Coffee
When considering prices of specialty coffee, costs are sometimes higher due to varieties being rarer and requiring more intensive labor. Additionally, with higher altitudes and growing conditions being somewhat challenging, labor is more intensive. Overall, the costs reflect the rarity and degree of control at each stage of the process.
Purchasing specialty coffee and exploring what is involved in the production process will allow you a more enjoyable coffee experience. There has been a growth in demand for specialty coffee, which shows that people are more interested in savoring complex flavors and aromas, as well as having a deeper respect for the labor involved.
De La Gente works with coffee growing communities through a circular process of craft, passion, and ethical sourcing. They prioritize creating and maintaining relationships, while valuing the connection between customers and farmers and avoiding unstable coffee prices. This impacts communities on many levels and allows access to investing in their future. Their efforts have made considerable impact in coffee-focused communities and have granted a variety of opportunities within farms, more accessibility to healthcare and education, and developmental initiatives.
Photo Credits: Sara B. Gilliam
About the Author
My name is Aliisa Oake, I’m a Marketing and Communications Intern at De La Gente with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and a minor International Business. I’m a coffee lover from New Jersey with a passion for coffee, supporting the industry, along with supporting local communities and sustainable initiatives. I’m excited to work with De La Gente and learn more about Guatemala’s coffee!
