Specialty coffee refers to a high-quality grade of coffee that is sourced, roasted, and brewed with precision and care. This includes specialty grade beans that have been harvested from small farms or estates where beans are carefully selected for their unique and exceptional flavor profiles.

The official grading list goes:

• Grade 1: Specialty Coffee Beans. …

• Grade 2: Premium Coffee Beans. …

• Grade 3: Exchange Coffee Beans. …

• Grade 4: Standard Coffee Beans. …

• Grade 5: Off-Grade Coffee Beans.

Specialty coffee is often produced using sustainable farming practices that prioritize environmental and social responsibility. Farmers are often paid higher prices for their beans, which allows them to reinvest in their farms and communities.

Roasters who specialize in specialty coffee take great care to roast the beans to perfection, bringing out the unique flavors, aromas, and acidity of each bean. Specialty coffee is typically brewed using methods that allow for the full expression of the coffee’s flavor profile, such as pour over, drip, or espresso.

Specialty coffee has gained popularity in recent years as more consumers seek out high-quality, unique coffee experiences. It offers a world of diverse and intriguing flavor profiles to explore, with the potential for rich, complex, and nuanced tastes that can’t be found in lower-grade coffees.

Overall, specialty coffee is a testament to the art and science of coffee making, and it offers an exciting and rewarding journey of taste and discovery for coffee enthusiasts everywhere.

As you can see theres a big difference in quality of coffees. Many roasters and coffee shops advertise using specialty coffee, even when it’s not true. Many local shops who are untrained and don’t know better will market that their shop is serving specialty beans, when in reality they are low quality beans from multiple large farms. On top of that, they are heavily roasted to mask the defects in the beans.

A true specialty coffee shop will serve light roasted coffees with enough clarity to distinguish character notes such as acidity types, sugars, and fruit undertones.

Ithmah Coffee only uses incredibly high quality beans that are sourced from micro lots, which small farmers own. Farmers get paid well, and they produce better quality coffee than large estates.