Short answer: Coffee that scores 80 or more on a 100-point scale.
Longer answer: The Specialty Coffee Association of America was established in 1982. The aim was to create a forum for coffee enthusiasts and set a quality standard for coffee. In 1998, the European counterpart was set up and in 2017 they joined forces.
The term specialty coffee had been around since 1974, but it was SCA that formalized the scale we use today to rate coffee. Anyone can call their coffee fine, luxury or gourmet. However, only if the coffee achieves 80 points or more on the scale is it classified as specialty coffee.
A specialty coffee should furthermore have “grown in ideal climates, be distinctive in taste with no or a minimum of defects. The unique aromas and flavors of a cup of specialty coffee come from the soil and growing conditions.”
All coffee roasted by us at White Elk is classified as specialty coffee. This makes us as a micro roastery stand out even more than the big giants, because only 5-7% of all coffee roasted in the world is specialty coffee.
So who makes the decision and gives the coffee the coveted ‘specialty coffee’ label? Yes, they’re called Q-graders and they’re active all along the coffee value chain. There are 3800 professional coffee assessors in the world. What they have in common is that they are trained at SCA and have undergone 22 very demanding tests to achieve their status. White Elk works with Katarina Gerasch, who was actually Germany’s first female Q-grader.
A Q-grader assesses 10 different points. Each point from 1-10. Getting 8 or more on average is a challenge for any coffee. If you’re a wine enthusiast, you’ve probably had wines scored 90+ by Jancis Robinson, James Suckling or Robert Parker. But even if you’re a coffee nerd of the highest order, you may not have tasted a coffee that scored 90 points or more – yet – they’re that rare. Going from 82 points which is our lowest limit (on blends) to 85, 86 or 87 points is a great journey and true to our words: it is reflected in the price!
Aroma and scent
A Q-grader scents the coffee at three times: when the beans are freshly roasted, just as it is brewed and when it cools down. The nose is working at full speed!
Flavor
Now it’s time for the interaction between nose and mouth. What is the flavor picture?
Aftertaste
A long and positive taste is rewarded with high scores. A bad, perhaps bitter, aftertaste that is also short – that’s it.
Acid
Acid is a positive term. Good acidity makes coffee crisp, lively and clear in taste. It is pleasant, as opposed to bad acidity, when the coffee is perceived as sour.
Body
You may recognize this term from the world of wine. The body can be big, but it can also be subtle and elegant. It should not spread, that’s the important thing. Top marks might as well be given to our full-bodied coffee beans from Sumatra in Indonesia, even though the body is very different from the light-roasted Yirgacheffe coffee of Ethiopia.
Balance sheet
If the taste, aftertaste, acidity and body are in balance – yes, then we have a high number here! Oh, not… hmmm… no specialty coffee here. Team players win.
Sweetness
Sweetness is something we all understand, even if it can take different forms. Sweet like ‘regular’ sugar, sweet like fruit sugar or honey-like sweetness. Natural, fine and good sweetness = high scores.
Clean cup
A fairly simple point. Here we are looking for defects, that the cup is kept clean from bad flavors. See also last paragraph.
Uniformity
When you try coffee, you always get more than one cup. It requires consistency and the taste should not vary from one cup to another.
defects
The Q grader looks at the coffee and with the naked eye you can actually see e.g. if the bean has not developed long enough on the coffee bush and has been picked too early, if it has been attacked by insects and other things that negatively affect the overall impression.
It takes tough studies to become a Q-grader. It takes many years to become a good Q-grader. But it is thanks to them that we land on the following scale:
80-85 points: a very good coffee, which can be called a specialty coffee.
85-90 points: an exceptionally good specialty coffee.
90-100 points: a truly outstanding and unique specialty coffee.
Published by Fredrik Gustafsson, 21-04-20
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