When the industry coined the term "Specialty Coffee"

The specialty coffee industry has its origins in the framework of the international coffee trade, although it soon distanced itself from the popular coffee market, emerging as a distinct movement in the last years of the 20th century.

The international coffee market responded at that time to the common factors of trade, focused on mass production, aromas and flavors standardized to the general population.

This specialty coffee culture is favored by the value that consumers and coffee enthusiasts are beginning to place on quality rather than quantity. Appreciating these that different coffee beans could offer different aromas.

This, together with the modernization of roasting methods and the reduction of roasting loads, meant greater control in the coffee roasting process, allowing the development of new and different roasting profiles.

As we have mentioned previously, the international coffee industry began to transform in search of quality and new flavors and aromas, although the term specialty coffee was not yet known.

It was not until the 70s of the 20th century when Erna Knutsen , born in Norway but settled in the United States, worked as "secretary" for Bert Fulmer, an American coffee merchant, in San Francisco. He first coined the term Specialty Coffee to refer to broken lots that were embedded among large loads of coffee imported to the United States and that contained green coffee beans of high quality and aromatic potential .

Years later, the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) appeared in the European and North American coffee industries , established for the first time in 1982, and playing a very important role in the formalization and promotion of the specialty coffee movement.

This association established quality standards, created training programs and provided a platform where coffee professionals could connect and share their knowledge.

For its part, the Specialty Coffee Association of Europe ( SCAE ), established in 1998, was born with the intention of promoting specialty coffee in Europe.

These two organizations join forces creating the SCA in 2017.

The Specialty Coffee Association is a membership-based, not-for-profit association representing thousands of coffee professionals whose goal is to foster coffee communities and support initiatives that make coffee more sustainable, equitable and prosperous in the world. the entire value chain .

Thus, the SCA and its work involves setting and maintaining quality standards throughout the production chain.

In an article by Ric Rhinehart for the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) in June 2009, updated and republished on the SCA website in March 2017, he proposes two terms that help us understand the role played by all involved in the coffee production and processing chain: potential and conservation.

Potential is what each coffee bean hides as a promise of a delicious taste experience .

Conservation involves everything from picking it at the right time, storing it and transporting it with care that this does not harm the coffee, to packaging and grinding .

To achieve these two objectives, the change in international coffee trading and the direct connection between coffee roasters and coffee producers was essential, who created more transparent and direct relationships, as well as associations between them for the acquisition of beans at optimal times. .

The traffic of knowledge and competition in fairer markets has also historically helped the development of this culture. By allowing roasters to know the harvest periods of each growing area; and for producers to agree on fairer and more competitive prices. Ensuring both quality, sustainability and fair price.

Later, once the 20th century had passed, a movement was observed that we will talk about later called the Third Wave or Third Wave Coffee. Where coffee is treated as an artisanal and gourmet product. This movement generates a strong emphasis on artisanal, natural, focused on the quality and traceability of the grains.

This causes consumers to show more interest in the origin of green coffee beans, demanding more information about them.

What role does the specialty coffee association play?

Previously we mentioned the SCA (Specialty Coffee Association), founded in 2017, the result of the unification of the two largest coffee associations of the moment, the SCAA and the SCAE.

This emerges with a very clear purpose, to unite the efforts of both associations in the international coffee framework to achieve excellence, sustainability, fair trade and strengthen the coffee community within the coffee sector. This has contributed to shaping the present and future of specialty coffee.

Deep in its heart, the SCA seeks to distinguish itself more and more from the mass production coffee industry every day. Through control tools and quality standards in each of the phases of coffee production, from its cultivation, its harvesting in the optimal period, its processing or drying methods; until its export, conservation, roasting and subsequent consumption.

By defining these standards, the SCA gives workers of this substance some standards to follow to achieve higher quality cups of coffee every day.

On the other hand, the SCA has clear objectives when it comes to educating and developing professionals in the coffee sector and has a multitude of courses and modules that range from Barista knowledge or roasting techniques to coffee science and sustainable practices.

These educational programs allow the development of thousands of people in a wide range of skills and levels. These, together with the certification and accreditation of the same SCA courses, have produced a new business and industry development niche.

On the other hand, it should be noted that the unification of both associations brought with it the reformulation of small divergences between both practices, as well as a global and unified networking space.

Personal opinion

The standardization of processes, roasting, etc. It has helped the specialty coffee industry to grow qualitatively, but it limits the speed at which Spanish culture embraces this industry by establishing the hegemony of the SCA over the specialty coffee industry.

Let me explain, in countries where the specialty culture has been growing since its beginnings, the consumers of these coffee beans have their own knowledge and not those pre-established by the SCA.

In Spain it seems that you have to take a course from this organization to enter the industry, making it a world of coffee connoisseurs inaccessible to the rest of us, creating a more unknown and distant world among those who do not know the industry.

In my case, I do not have any title that accredits me as a barista, roaster or SCA taster, although I have 8+ years of experience in the sector on the international scene, upon arriving here I have been able to see how making the industry exclusive of who controls the knowledge through SCA courses.

At the end of the day, we are marketing a product that is quality, healthy, with beneficial properties for our bodies and, in my case, 100% handmade. Emphasizing only its aromatic properties and gustatory potential.