Friday, February 1, 2008

Specialty Coffee

Specialty Coffee – Some Very Interesting Facts

When you say specialty coffee you would be talking about a very different type of coffee - the definition says that this coffee has an exceptional flavor and absolutely no defects. This coffee is often hailed to be a gourmet coffee or premium coffee as it is commonly known. In order to get the label of specialty coffee growers from all over the world agree to abide by the strict and stringent rules laid down by this defintion.

You would expect that such a cup of coffee would be exorbitantly priced; however, in reality a cup of this exceptional coffee costs less than a bottle of water (about 24 cents).

What Makes The Specialty Coffee?

The specialty coffee is made from the best quality green coffee beans which are roasted to perfection by specifically trained craftspeople. About thirteen percent of the total population of USA drinks this type of coffee on a daily basis and there are a total of 300 million cups of coffee consumed every evening. Out of these million cups of coffee, aboout75% are home made.

First time the term 'specialty coffee' was used was by a B.C. Ireland employee, Erna Knusten who mentioned it in her feature article, 'Tea & Coffee' which was published in 1974 in a dedicated journal by the name of 'Tea and Coffee Trade Journal' of the same year. At the time Knusten had tried to describe the perfect coffee, especially cultivated by micro climates.

Learn About The Specialty Coffee Association Of America (SCAA)

The SCAA is basically a trade association for the overall specialty coffee industry which is growing at an amazing pace. This association includes farmer - producers, coffee retailers, importers, exporters, roasters and so on. This association also covers the manufacturers of all type of equipment that is used to make the coffee.

The SCAA, which is the world's largest coffee growers association, keeps a close watch on all the farmers that have registered with them and ensure that they are indeed using the best possible beans for making the organic base coffee. This organization has laid very stringent rules that qualify the specialty coffee and have spread all over the Europe.

The SCAA has got representation in more than 40 countries across the globe covering all the fields that contribute to the making of this wonderful cup of coffee. The mission of this organization says it all – it aims to be the authority on particularly this type of coffee while at the same time providing a common platform and forum for the promotion of the excellent of specialty coffee and its sustainability.

No comments: