WHAT IS SPECIALITY COFFEE?

While we’ve all heard the term ‘speciality coffee’, not many people know exactly what that means—for some, it’s just an expensive latte from a fancy-looking shop, but that doesn’t necessarily constitute speciality. From bean to cup, lots of work goes into producing speciality coffee, and has to align with a specific set of standards to truly be labelled as such.

All coffee beans in the world are graded on a scale of zero to one hundred by certified coffee tasters. Most coffee shops will use beans that are graded in the seventies, but to truly be labelled speciality coffee the beans must be graded eighty or higher. This journey of grading starts all the way at the beginning, with the coffee farmers who have spent their lives growing beans at the perfect altitude, in the best soil, at the exact right time of the year, and examining the crop to ensure the beans have been picked at the peak of ripeness and have no defects. These beans are then passed on to buyers, who identify the quality of the coffee through tasting the brewed coffee. These buyers then assess the taste and flavour profiles of the beans to determine whether or not it is speciality-grade to send off to the roastery. 

This is the third level of evaluation that the coffee beans go through, and requires a lot of knowledge and expertise on the scientific practices of roasting to retain the highest quality of the bean possible. Many commercial roasteries burn their beans to keep their coffee consistent, but this also replaces the sweetness of the bean with bitterness, affecting the taste. Speciality coffee is roasted to perfection, then packaged and sent off to the coffee houses for the baristas to turn into the coffee of your choice. 

That’s where we come in. 

At Charlie and Ginger, we are dedicated to ensuring your coffee is made to the highest quality from farmer to flat white. We truly believe that speciality coffee is the best possible option for your daily caffeine hit, especially when made with our supplier Ozone’s coffee beans; it’s better for the environment, better for the coffee industry, and most importantly, better for your taste buds.