Specialty coffee

Specialty coffee refers to the whole process from farmer to cup using single origin coffee. It refers to the way the coffee is roasted and how it is extracted. Specialty coffee was first used in 1974 by Erna Knutsen in an issue of Tea & Coffee Trade Journal. Knutsen used this term to describe beans of the best flavor which are produced in special microclimates. Specialty coffee refers to the whole process from farmer to cup using single origin coffee. It refers to the way the coffee is roasted and how it is extracted. Specialty coffee was first used in 1974 by Erna Knutsen in an issue of Tea & Coffee Trade Journal. Knutsen used this term to describe beans of the best flavor which are produced in special microclimates. According to the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA), coffee which scores 80 points or above on a 100-point scale is graded 'specialty.' Speciality coffee is grown in three continents: The Americas (South and Central), Asia and Africa. Thanks to the largest number of coffee producing countries (17 in total) in any given continent, the Americas provides Brazil (considered to be the largest exporter of coffee in the world), Colombia and the likes of Bolivia, Peru and Venezuela. Other countries across Central America include Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Honduras. Whilst many would expect a large number of Asian countries to be significant producers of coffee, it isn't actually widely produced across the continent and is commercially available from just six countries - Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, India, Yemen, Vietnam and Myanmar. Somewhat surprising also, despite Africa's diverse topography and climate providing ideal conditions for coffee production, the continent actually produces less coffee than both Asia and the Americas separately. African countries which produce speciality coffee include Burundi, Malawi, Rwanda, Zambia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.