What is specialty coffee?

I was asked recently, “What is specialty coffee?”, and I thought most like many others are wondering the same thing.

Therefore, I wrote this article. Hope it answer your question 🙂

What does the term “Specialty Coffee” cover, what is the CSC certification and what does it require to be approved?

More and more coffee is being consumed all over the world.

In Denmark, (small coffee-loving country) they drink between 10 and 12 million cups of coffee a day.

Americans consume 400 million cups of coffee per day!

Simultaneously, as the total quantity increases, higher and higher demands are also made on the coffee’s quality and the awareness of the individual beans.

The “specialty coffee” concept covers especially high-quality coffee beans, where there is always an exceptionally high knowledge of which country, which bean and which farm it comes from.

CSC stands for “Certified Specialty Coffee” and is an Italian standard that guarantees that the coffee you drink is of the highest quality. The CSC association was born based on the experience and passion of a group of roasteries who all burn for the same purpose, to promote quality coffee culture. 

The dream is that people choose their coffee based on taste and quality and not just on a simple habit.

To be approved for the CSC certificate, several strict requirements must be met, here are some examples of what is required:

• The farmer must prove that he owns the land and all the machines used and that everything is ISO certified.
• He who exports the bean must prove that he himself has grown the coffee.
• Every harvest is reviewed and checked by the CSC Technical Commission to ensure the right quality.
• The farmer has to submit a sample of the crops for inspection every year.
• Each sample is shaken to make sample brews with it, called “cupping”.
• When the roasteries order a consignment of CSC certified beans, they are tested during transport and when they arrive.
• Through a wide range of tests, the roasters must document that the beans are roasted, mixed and packed according to the applicable requirements.
• Besides, there are requirements for all production stages and how it is shaken, mixed and packed.

All CSC certified coffee bags have a unique CSC label numbered and provided with anit foraging unit, which guarantees that the bag contains only CSC coffee beans.

The CSC certificate is given to 11 roasters globally, and at Real Coffee, we are fortunate to have a collaboration with a CSC certified roastery. 

The roastery is Arcaffe, located in Livorno, Italy, at the factory, the two different lines shake. 

The Arcaffe series, which contains 4 different whole beans and ground coffee, as well as ESE pods. 

The exclusive Le Piantagioni range is unique because the 4 products and being CSC certified are also single or two estate coffees.

Single- and two-estate means that the beans for the individual roasting come from only one or two farms. 

In short, you can say exactly which field and farm the coffee comes from.