Coffee Industry

Specialty Coffee Industry


When you talk about coffee, every one seems to have a share of stories to tell. It is because there are many people who drink coffee with ages 18 and up. As a result of our (yes, I'm a caffeine lover too!) addiction to coffee, coffee shops offering specialty coffees keep on sprouting from every where. Since specialty coffee industry to grow, I'm sure they are making more and more money. And why not, they are serving hundreds of caffeine lovers every day.

The specialty coffee industry is among the fastest growing food industries in the world. If you may have noticed and I'm sure you have even if you don't drink coffee, you can find many coffee shops in almost every corner in the downtown area. Specialty coffee, sometimes called gourmet or premium coffee, is grown in the world's most ideal coffee producing climates, like in Costa Rica, and prepared according to exacting standards. And these standards are set by the Specialty Coffee Association of America or SCAA.

SCAA is the trade association for the specialty coffee industry. One of its functions is to set standards for growing, roasting, and brewing. Members of the SCAA include coffee retailers, roasters, producers, exporters, and importers. The manufacturers of the coffee equipment and related products are members as well. SCAA provide its own information of specialty coffee in terms of cupping, brewing roasting, and more. Let's have a quick look.

Cupping is the method of systematic evaluation of the aroma and taste of coffee beans. It is usually used by growers, buyers, and roasters to evaluate the quality of a particular coffee sample. Proper cupping requires the observance to an exacting set of brewing standards and a formal step-by-step evaluation process. The six characteristics of coffee that a cupper generally looks include fragrance, aroma, taste, nose (vapors released by the coffee in the mouth), aftertaste, and body.

Roasting methods has 6 phases: drying cycle, first crack, roast initiation, pause, second crack, and stopping the roast. There had been numerous roasting methods being developed over the years with only one objective and that is to transfer heat to the coffee bean, initiating a series of chemical reactions that prepare it for consumption.

Brewing that is done the proper way enhances the taste of coffee by allowing you to extract the proper amount of flavor from the bean. There are six essential elements of good brewing: correct coffee- to- water ratio, a coffee grind that matches the brewing time, properly operating brewing equipment, optimum brewing method, high-quality water, and an appropriate filtering medium.

So, that is it. Specialty coffee hit it off in the market for many reasons. For one, it also have standards to follow in order to produce great tasting coffee drinks and simply because they taste better. If the coffee industry maintains its consistency in the implementation of strict adherence to quality, it will continue to soar.