What is specialty coffee?
A quiet definition of the term that separates a traceable, scored lot from everything else on the shelf.
Specialty coffee is coffee that has been graded 80 or above on a 100-point scale by a certified Q Grader, and whose journey from seed to cup can be traced to a specific farm, lot and harvest.
01The score is only the start
The Specialty Coffee Association scale looks for what is absent before it celebrates what is present. A lot must be free of primary defects — black beans, sour beans, insect damage, mould — and show clean cup, sweet character and distinct flavour before it can earn 80 points. Above 85, the coffee enters a different category: complex, memorable, often impossible to replicate.
At Flying Frog we only buy lots that score well above the 80 threshold. The number is not marketing; it is the reason the brewed cup tastes clear rather than muddy.
02Traceability matters
A specialty coffee carries a name, not a blend code. You should be able to identify the producer, the farm or cooperative, the region, the altitude and the harvest year. That traceability is what allows a roaster to roast with intention and a drinker to taste with context.
When we print a bag, we include the producer, lot, altitude, variety and process. If any of those facts are missing, the coffee is not specialty to us.
03From commodity to craft
Commodity coffee is traded as a bulk ingredient. Specialty coffee is traded as an agricultural craft. The difference shows up in price, yes, but more importantly in how the fruit is picked, how it is processed, how it is dried and how it is roasted.
Every step is a decision. Specialty is simply the commitment to making each decision visible.