What Is Specialty Coffee — And Why It Actually Matters

“Specialty coffee” is one of the most widely used terms in coffee. It is also one of the most misunderstood. 

For years, the simplest explanation was:
Specialty coffee is coffee that scores 80 points or higher on a 100-point cupping scale.

That was a useful shorthand, but it is no longer the complete way the Specialty Coffee Association describes specialty coffee. Today, the term is understood more broadly as coffee recognized for distinctive attributes that create significant additional value.

Those attributes can include:

• flavor and aroma;
• physical quality;
• origin;
• processing;
• traceability;
• production practices;
• and other characteristics valued by the market.
  

For espresso drinkers, this matters because a high-quality specialty coffee is not automatically the coffee you will enjoy most as espresso. Quality and suitability are related, but they are not the same thing.

The Traditional 80-Point Definition

Historically, specialty coffee was strongly associated with coffees scoring at least 80 points on a 100-point scale. Professional coffee evaluators assessed characteristics such as:

• aroma;
• flavor;
• acidity;
• body;
• balance;
• sweetness;
• aftertaste;
• and defects.

A score above 80 became widely used as a practical threshold separating specialty coffee from commercial-grade coffee. The system helped create a common language for coffee quality, but reducing specialty coffee to one number also had limitations. A single score cannot fully capture everything people value about a coffee.

How Specialty Coffee Is Evaluated Today

The Specialty Coffee Association has introduced the Coffee Value Assessment, or CVA. This framework separates coffee evaluation into several dimensions rather than trying to compress everything into one overall score.

The four main areas are:

Physical Assessment

This examines the physical characteristics of green coffee, including attributes and defects.

Descriptive Assessment

This records what the coffee objectively tastes and smells like. The goal is description rather than judgment.

Affective Assessment

This evaluates how positively or negatively the coffee is perceived. In other words: How good does the evaluator think it is?

Extrinsic Assessment

This considers information about the coffee beyond what is directly tasted. Examples can include:

• origin;
• variety;
• processing;
• producer information;
• sustainability attributes;
• certifications;
• and other characteristics that may contribute value.

Why the Definition Changed

Coffee quality is more complicated than:

Higher score = better coffee.

A coffee can be valuable because of:

• exceptional sensory quality;
• distinctive origin character;
• unusual processing;
• traceability;
• rarity;
• producer reputation;
• environmental practices;
• or a combination of these things.

The newer approach recognizes that coffee value has multiple dimensions. This does not mean sensory quality has stopped mattering; It means sensory quality is no longer treated as the only dimension that defines specialty coffee.

Does Specialty Coffee Mean Better Coffee?

The term usually implies a higher level of care, quality or distinctiveness than commodity coffee, but the word alone does not guarantee that you will personally prefer the coffee.

A very bright, floral, high-acidity specialty coffee may be objectively excellent and still be completely wrong for someone who prefers:

• chocolate;
• caramel;
• heavier body;
• lower perceived acidity;
• and traditional espresso flavor.

Likewise, a darker espresso profile can still begin with excellent specialty-grade coffee. Specialty does not prescribe one flavor style.

Specialty Coffee Starts With the Green Coffee

The potential quality of coffee begins before roasting. Important factors include:

• coffee variety;
• growing conditions;
• ripeness at harvest;
• processing;
• drying;
• sorting;
• and storage.

Poor raw material places a limit on what roasting can achieve. Roasting can develop and express what is already in the coffee, but it cannot completely repair serious defects created earlier in the supply chain.

Processing Influences Flavor — Not Just Quality

Coffee processing refers to how the fruit surrounding the seed is handled after harvest. Common approaches include:

Washed

The fruit is removed before drying. Washed coffees are often associated with greater clarity and structure.

Natural

The coffee dries inside the fruit. Natural processing can produce greater fruit intensity and sweetness.

Honey

Some fruit material remains on the seed during drying. Honey processing can produce characteristics between washed and natural styles. 

None of these methods is automatically better. Execution matters more than the name of the process itself.

Roasting Determines How the Coffee Is Expressed

A high-quality green coffee can still produce disappointing espresso if it is poorly roasted or roasted for a very different intended use. Roast development influences:

• solubility;
• acidity;
• bitterness;
• sweetness;
• body;
• aroma;
• and extraction behavior.

For espresso, this becomes especially important. A roast that works beautifully for filter coffee may require more demanding extraction when used as espresso. A coffee roasted for espresso can be developed differently to achieve the intended balance.

What Specialty Coffee Means for Espresso

Specialty coffee does not mean espresso must be light, fruity or acidic. There are many possible specialty espresso styles.

Traditional Specialty Espresso

May emphasize:

• chocolate;
• caramel;
• nuts;
• sweetness;
• heavier body;
• lower perceived acidity.

Modern Specialty Espresso

This style may emphasize:

• fruit;
  
• florals;
• greater acidity;
• origin character;
• clarity;
• complexity.

Both can be excellent. The important question is: Does the coffee's quality, roast development and flavor profile suit the espresso you want to make?

Specialty Coffee vs Commodity Coffee

Commodity coffee is generally traded primarily around standardized market characteristics and volume. Specialty coffee typically involves greater differentiation. That differentiation may come from:

• sensory quality;
• origin;
• producer;
• variety;
• processing;
• traceability;
• or other distinctive attributes.

This generally creates more information about what you are buying. It does not mean every expensive coffee is specialty coffee, or that every inexpensive coffee is poor.

Is Arabica Automatically Specialty Coffee?

No. Arabica is a coffee species, while specialty is a quality and value classification. Arabica can range from excellent to poor.

Likewise, robusta is not automatically low quality. High-quality robusta exists and can be intentionally used in espresso for characteristics such as:

• body;
• intensity;
• bitterness;
• and crema.

Species alone does not determine quality.

Does Specialty Coffee Have to Be Single Origin?

No. Specialty coffee can be:

• single origin;
• single farm;
• single lot;
• or a blend.

A specialty espresso blend can combine multiple high-quality coffees deliberately to create:

• balance;
• body;
• sweetness;
• consistency;
• and complexity.

Blending does not make coffee less specialty.

Does Specialty Coffee Have to Be Light Roast?

No. Light roasting became closely associated with modern specialty coffee because it can preserve more origin character, but roast level does not determine whether the underlying coffee is specialty quality.

Medium and medium-dark specialty coffees can be excellent, and even darker roast profiles can begin with high-quality coffee. The more useful question is whether the roast development suits the coffee and the intended espresso style.

Freshness Still Matters

High-quality coffee does not stop changing after roasting. After roasting:

• carbon dioxide escapes;
• aromatic compounds gradually change;
• oxidation can occur;
• storage conditions influence deterioration.

This means an excellent specialty coffee can become less expressive over time. Freshness does not define specialty coffee by itself, but it strongly influences how much of the coffee's character reaches the espresso.

How to Recognize Specialty Coffee When Buying

No single label tells you everything, but several signals can help. Useful signals include:

Origin Information

Look for meaningful information about where the coffee came from. This may include:

• country;
• region;
• farm;
• cooperative;
• or producer.

Processing Information

Washed, natural, honey and other processing information can help explain the flavor profile.

Roast Date

A roast date gives you more useful freshness information than a distant best-by date.

Flavor Description

Useful tasting information helps explain the intended sensory profile.

Roaster Transparency

A good roaster should explain:

• what the coffee is;
• how it was roasted;
• and what kind of experience it is intended to produce.

What Specialty Coffee Does Not Tell You

The term does not automatically tell you:

• whether you will like the flavor;
• whether the roast suits espresso;
• whether the coffee is currently fresh;
• how easy it will be to dial in;
• or whether it will work well in milk.

Those questions require additional information.

Specialty Coffee and ESPRESSO No.1

For ESPRESSO No.1, specialty-grade coffee is a starting point rather than the entire proposition. We are also interested in what happens after the coffee is selected:

• how it is roasted;
• how fresh it is;
• how it behaves under espresso extraction;
• and whether it produces the intended flavor and texture.

That is why our focus is not simply: Specialty coffee.

It is: Specialty coffee built for better espresso.

Final Takeaway

Specialty coffee can no longer be accurately explained as simply: coffee scoring 80 points or higher.

That scoring tradition remains important to coffee quality evaluation, but the modern understanding of specialty coffee is broader. It considers distinctive attributes and value across multiple dimensions.

For espresso drinkers, the practical lesson is straightforward:

Specialty tells you something about the quality and distinctiveness of the coffee. It does not tell you whether that coffee is the right espresso for you.

To determine that, you also need to consider:

• roast development;
• freshness;
• flavor profile;
• blend or single origin;
• and how you intend to drink the espresso.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is specialty coffee?

Specialty coffee is recognized for distinctive attributes that create significant additional value. Those attributes can include sensory quality, origin, processing, traceability and other characteristics.

Is specialty coffee still defined as 80 points or higher?

The 80-point threshold remains historically important, but the Specialty Coffee Association's current framework evaluates coffee more broadly through its Coffee Value Assessment rather than defining specialty solely through one score.

Is specialty coffee better than regular coffee?

Specialty coffee generally implies greater quality, distinctiveness or value, but individual preference still determines whether you enjoy a particular coffee.

Is specialty coffee always light roast?

No. Specialty-quality coffee can be roasted light, medium or darker depending on the coffee and intended flavor profile.

Is specialty coffee always single origin?

No. Specialty coffee can also be blended. High-quality espresso blends often combine specialty coffees to create balance and consistency.

Is arabica the same as specialty coffee?

No. Arabica is a coffee species, while specialty refers to quality and value. Not all arabica coffee is specialty quality.

Is specialty coffee good for espresso?

It can be excellent for espresso, but the roast development and flavor profile still need to suit the style of espresso you want.