What is specialty coffee? The 80-point line explained

"Specialty coffee" is printed on more and more bags, café windows and supermarket shelves. It is not a marketing word without meaning: it has a definition, a scoring system and a chain of people behind it, from the farm to the roaster. This guide explains what the term means, how coffee gets the label and what it tastes like in the cup.

The short definition

Specialty coffee is coffee that scores 80 points or more out of 100 when trained tasters (Q graders) evaluate it under the protocol of the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA), and whose green beans have almost no defects. Everything below 80 is commercial or "exchange" grade coffee, the kind most supermarket coffee is made of. Cafendo uses the same line: when we say specialty, we mean coffee in the SCA's 80-plus range.

How coffee is graded

The green beans

Before anyone tastes it, a sample of 350 grams of green (unroasted) coffee is checked by hand. Specialty grade allows no primary defects (such as fully black or sour beans, or foreign matter) and at most a handful of secondary defects such as broken, insect-damaged or unripe beans. The beans should also be dried to a stable moisture content.

The cupping

Then the coffee is roasted lightly and tasted in a standard way called cupping: ground coffee steeped in bowls, smelled, then slurped from a spoon. Tasters score attributes such as fragrance and aroma, flavour, aftertaste, acidity, body, balance, sweetness, uniformity and clean cup. Rough guidance for the total:

Score	Description
90–100	Outstanding: rare, often small lots and competition coffees
85–89.99	Excellent: distinctive, complex coffees
80–84.99	Very good: clean, sweet, specialty grade
below 80	Below specialty grade

The SCA has been working on a newer assessment system that describes coffees in more detail, but the 80-point line remains the usual shorthand for specialty.

What makes specialty coffee different

• Traceability. You usually know the country, region and often the farm, cooperative or washing station, the variety, the altitude and the process. Compare the labels on our origin pages.
• Freshness. Specialty roasters print a roast date and roast in small batches. See how to choose coffee beans.
• Lighter roasts. Not always, but often: a lighter roast keeps the flavours of origin and process instead of covering them with roast taste. More in roast levels.
• Flavour. Good specialty coffee tastes sweet and clean, with clear acidity and notes that range from chocolate and caramel to berries, citrus and flowers, without sugar or milk.
• Prices for farmers. Specialty lots are usually paid well above the commodity market price, and many roasters publish what they paid. Some work through direct trade; certifications such as Fairtrade or organic are separate from quality grading. More in coffee certifications.

Specialty coffee and the "third wave"

The term "specialty coffee" was coined by the American coffee trader Erna Knutsen in the 1970s for beans from special microclimates. Today it is often linked with the "third wave" of coffee: the movement that treats coffee like wine, with attention to farm, variety, roast and brewing. Read more in the three waves of coffee.

How to recognise specialty coffee when you shop

• A roast date, not just a best-before date.
• Origin down to the region or farm, plus variety, process and altitude.
• Tasting notes instead of vague words such as "strong", "intense" or "premium".
• Usually 100% arabica, although specialty-grade robusta (often called "fine robusta") exists too.
• Sold by a roaster that can tell you who grew the coffee.

A score is rarely printed on the bag. If it matters to you, ask the roaster; many are happy to tell you.

Do you need special equipment?

No. Specialty coffee tastes better than commodity coffee from any method, including a French press, a moka pot or a bean-to-cup machine. Freshly ground beans and the right ratio matter more than the machine.

Where to find specialty coffee

Cafendo is a guide to independent specialty coffee: you can browse coffees from small roasters by origin, roast and taste, and buy from the roaster's own shop. Cafendo does not score coffees itself; roasters describe their own coffees, and big supermarket brands are labelled as commercial brands. Good places to start: light roasts, coffees from Ethiopia or Kenya, or filter coffee. Prefer to taste first? Find a specialty café near you.