How to create Specialty coffee? Danielmachine
Specialty coffee exists as a concept that confirms the quality of the particular beans in their own way. The beans must go through extremely strict process in every step to create a cup of coffee with the best taste. So how to create specialty coffee?
1. Overview of Specialty Coffee?
After more than 4 decades of appearance, Specialty coffee is not just a simple name for a particular type of coffee. Specialty coffee is like a label affirming the quality of coffee among coffee devotees around the world.
To reach the Specialty coffee standard, coffee must meet certain requirements such as:
Having good seed sources, most Specialty coffee is now Arabica coffee
Planted and tended on the farm to meet the standards of soil, water, air, altitude
Planting and good care techniques
Collecting and classifying coffee berries
Processing and preserving coffee properly
Preparation, refracting process
Score Cupping above 80 (according to SCAA standards)
Specialty coffee is formed through every stage to create a truly quality coffee bean. Without just one element, the taste of the coffee will change and it will no longer be Specialty coffee. So how to create specialty coffee?
2. How to create specialty coffee Specialty coffee?
2.1. Planting and harvesting Specialty coffee
Not all Arabica coffee beans are Specialty Coffee, some Arabica varieties have very good grain quality, but under the same conditions of development and care, some Arabica coffee varieties have a much lower quality of beans. According to the standards set by the American Association for High Quality Coffee (SCAA), only about 10% of Arabica coffee varieties in the world today meet the standards to be able to create Specialty coffee. Therefore, people choose coffee varieties very carefully before embarking on creating special coffee.
Elevation, water, air, ... are all important factors affecting the quality of coffee beans. In order for coffee beans to have the best quality, coffee farms need to meet standards of height, clean water, fresh air, away from residential areas or industrial areas, etc.
Besides, the process of planting and caring for coffee also plays an important role in determining the quality of coffee beans. When it comes to the harvest season, the common farm harvest is plucking. This method of harvest has a great advantage of saving time, but harvesting both ripe and green fruits leads to uneven quality of coffee beans. To overcome this problem, all Specialty coffee producing farms conduct coffee harvesting by hand picking. Coffee is harvested at the right time of ripe fruits, the quality of seeds is uniform, the seeds are classified better.
2.2. Specialty coffee processing Specialty coffee
To ensure the best quality and taste, after being harvested, the cherries will be put into processing in the shortest time. All Specialty coffee is processed wet. To prevent coffee from being harmed and having any negative effects on quality, every stage from peeling, fermenting or drying is followed a strict standard, carefully handled. Specialty coffee processing technology is quite complicated and has many factors that need to be controlled. At the fermentation stage, time and temperature are important factors that need attention. The drying time for coffee should also be adjusted appropriately, not drying too quickly or too slowly to prevent the coffee from drying out evenly or being re-moistened during subsequent storage.
After processing, coffee is screened and re-classified according to size and weight. This is extremely important stage to screen the most delicious coffee beans to create Specialty Coffee. Coffee beans that do not meet the color standards or those that are damaged will be removed.
Coffee is carefully preserved to move on to the next stage. This stage directly affects the quality of coffee, so need to be extremely careful with the temperature, humidity, packaging and storage methods. Just a small mistake in any factor can degrade the flavor of coffee.
2.3. Specialty coffee roasting Specialty Coffee
From raw coffee beans to aromatic roasted coffee beans is a challenging transition period. Before being roasted, people will have to check and select the raw coffee beans with the samples. Screening by taste and color is once again conducted to ensure the best coffee flavor. The beans will then be checked for quality again after roasting. If these samples meet the quality requirements, the rest of the coffee beans will be roasted at a temperature of about 230-260 degrees C. During the roasting process, roasters will rely on the quality of coffee beans to adjust. to develop the best taste of Specialty Coffee.
The aroma of coffee will fade away as time goes on, so it is important to take care of Specialty coffee very carefully.
2.4. Blending and preparing special coffee Specialty coffee
High quality coffee beans are ground just before preparation and extraction. The aroma of coffee will be released when the beans are broken and pureed, helping the cup have the best taste. You should not grind coffee and store it because when the contact area of coffee and air is increased, the aroma of coffee will spread and fly away a lot faster. According to a published study, just 15 minutes after being ground, coffee has lost up to 60% of its inherent taste. Therefore, you need to ensure the freshness of coffee before brewing.
There are many ways to prepare a special specialty coffee. Depending on the preparation, the fineness of the coffee powder should also be adjusted appropriately. However, no matter how prepared, you still have to adhere to the standards of step quality, temperature, pressure, water and coffee powder ratio, ... to have the most complete Specialty Coffee.
The special feature of Specialty Coffee is that you do not have to comply with all the above standards, then your coffee is Specialty Coffee. The factor that helps Specialty Coffee be recognized as Cupping score is over 80 points.
To create a special coffee Specialty coffee is a process that requires meticulousness and love for coffee by a team. That is why Specialty coffee has led the way for decades.