De'Longhi NL

Earning the distinction

Specialty coffee involves “traceability of a supply chain probably single variety, then single processing which then by its nature needs to be toasted, not very different from espresso, to develop certain characteristics,” says Sandro Bonacchi, a co-founder of Bfarm.
Yet, a specialty coffee classification isn’t awarded to producers who tick a bunch of boxes to meet predetermined requirements. Instead, the Specialty Coffee Association implements a 100-point scale to measure a series of standards, and certified blind tasters rate the coffee accordingly–those that score over 80 earn the specialty coffee classification.

The terroir

Specialty coffee starts with the producers who select their land plot deliberately, implementing a quality over quantity approach. They consider the particularities of the terroir and how the altitude and climate impact the bounty the soil reaps. As a result, most specialty coffee is single-origin, from one estate, not a jumble of beans collected from around the world.

Bean selection

Cherry selection is crucial: specialty coffee is made from the beans of the ripest cherries. Pickers don’t have to meet a quota; they just have to collect the reddest fruit. Unfortunately, manufacturers taking a quantity over quality approach may turn a blind eye to the bad ones, throwing them in with the good ones to maximize the product’s yield.