What is Extraction?
We have to go backwards in order to understand the present. Coffee has been consumed for centuries. We know for sure its origin can be traced back to Ethiopia, but how it spread across the globe, that's a whole other thing. Here is a video that describes it best, and ends with a perfect segway into what specialty coffee is:
(I agree with all this except for the "smooth" Colombia part... That is a product of roasting in my opinion, growing has a part in it, but I have had Ethiopian coffee's being more "smooth" than most Colombia coffees I have had. Colombia is spearheading a lot of really fun and exciting processing methods though! So keep an eye out for that!)
So what is Specialty Coffee?
Craft Coffee, Specialty Coffee, Third Wave Coffee (yes, I know it has negative connotations, but in its purest form, it's what craft coffee should be about), is know by many names, but it's all the same idea: Sustainability and Harmony from farm to cup. With the exponential growth of coffee, we saw coffee growers and importers that were being worked to the bone for no money. Thus the need for the fair trade initiative, that was the stepping stone towards the right direction. If we are to look at specialty coffee in the terms of "waves", first wave would be the mass consumption of coffee at the consumer level. Coffee became incredibly accessible very easily. Think of your 1960 tin can full of ground Folgers coffee. Second wave would then be the beginning of large companies making coffee more of a quality beverage. Espresso machines, machine brewers, etc. This isn't always the case, but I like to think of drive thru's. Starbucks, Dunkin, etc., companies starting to run coffee as a profitable business. Now enters in this age of specialty coffee. The idea of taking so much better care and intention of coffee at the farmer level, all the way to the customer receiving a product that was taken care of all the way down the line.
Direct trade is a huge part of specialty coffee. As coffee shops and coffee roasters, our job is to make sure we are purchasing coffee that pays the farmers and the importers a very fair price for their hard work and labor of love. A farmer works so very hard to produce coffee that will taste good for those who are buying it, so it is that much more important as as a coffee roaster to roast that bean with care and intention so that finally, it can reach the customer and be given its due diligence because so many hands took such good care of it. (We talk more about this under the category "Coffee at Origin") Is this done perfectly all the time? Not at all. There are still ways we can always improve and grow, but as coffee buyers and consumers, it is so important that we try our best to make it as sustainable and fair as possible. Think of it as every time you buy a bag of coffee from a local roaster or drink a latte made by the hands of your local barista, you helped pay for a family in Ethiopia, Colombia, etc. to continue their life's work and improve their crop for next year. It's consuming with a purpose. It is so much larger then us. Their are faces and people connected to every bean and every coffee you drink. What a beautiful thing! This is specialty coffee!
From perfectdailygrind.com:
"Tetsu Kasuya, World Brewers Cup Champion 2016, tells me, “Thanks to direct trade, we baristas and roasters can tell consumer the stories behind the coffee beans.”
Likewise, Matt Milletto says, “Drinking a specialty coffee that has been produced in the right way, and with all the added value that the supply chain aggregates, is the basis of a great experience. This experience is a combination of education, knowledge, and hospitality.”
The third wave is all about making the consumer feel special. Part of that is customer service, but another part is sharing the story behind the cup. This story is one created by producers, importers, roasters, and baristas. It explains why a coffee is distinctive, why a consumer can taste certain notes, and why high-quality coffee takes so much work."
I think that is a perfect way to describe what we at Castle Coffee and other local coffee roasters are a part of, this wonderful world of Specialty Coffee!
Notes:
Direct trade is a huge part of specialty coffee. As coffee shops and coffee roasters, our job is to make sure we are purchasing coffee that pays the farmers and the importers a very fair price for their hard work and labor of love. A farmer works so very hard to produce coffee that will taste good for those who are buying it, so it is that much more important as as a coffee roaster to roast that bean with care and intention so that finally, it can reach the customer and be given its due diligence because so many hands took such good care of it. (We talk more about this under the category "Coffee at Origin") Is this done perfectly all the time? Not at all. There are still ways we can always improve and grow, but as coffee buyers and consumers, it is so important that we try our best to make it as sustainable and fair as possible. Think of it as every time you buy a bag of coffee from a local roaster or drink a latte made by the hands of your local barista, you helped pay for a family in Ethiopia, Colombia, etc. to continue their life's work and improve their crop for next year. It's consuming with a purpose. It is so much larger then us. Their are faces and people connected to every bean and every coffee you drink. What a beautiful thing! This is specialty coffee!
From perfectdailygrind.com:
"Tetsu Kasuya, World Brewers Cup Champion 2016, tells me, “Thanks to direct trade, we baristas and roasters can tell consumer the stories behind the coffee beans.”
Likewise, Matt Milletto says, “Drinking a specialty coffee that has been produced in the right way, and with all the added value that the supply chain aggregates, is the basis of a great experience. This experience is a combination of education, knowledge, and hospitality.”
The third wave is all about making the consumer feel special. Part of that is customer service, but another part is sharing the story behind the cup. This story is one created by producers, importers, roasters, and baristas. It explains why a coffee is distinctive, why a consumer can taste certain notes, and why high-quality coffee takes so much work."
I think that is a perfect way to describe what we at Castle Coffee and other local coffee roasters are a part of, this wonderful world of Specialty Coffee!
Notes:
- Part of specialty coffee is also the grading system that coffee graders give coffee that (from a 1-100 scale) scores an 80 or above. So if you ever hear a shop using "specialty grade coffee", that is what it's referring to. We at Castle only buy 85 and above grade coffee, it's more expensive, but in one sense, that's the point!