You’ve probably seen the term “specialty coffee” on bags, café menus, and websites like ours. But what does it actually mean? Is it just marketing, or is there something concrete behind it?
Good news: it’s concrete. Specialty coffee has a specific definition, a standardized grading system, and a fifty-year history. And once you understand what separates specialty from commodity coffee, you’ll have a clearer sense of what you’re paying for—and why it matters.
Where the Term Came From
The phrase “specialty coffee” has a surprisingly specific origin. In 1974, a Norwegian-born coffee professional named Erna Knutsen used it during an interview with Tea & Coffee Trade Journal, the industry’s leading trade publication. Her definition was simple:
“Special geographic microclimates produce beans with unique flavor profiles.”
Knutsen wasn’t inventing marketing jargon. She was naming something she’d observed in her work as one of the first women to break into the male-dominated world of coffee importing. Working at a San Francisco company, she noticed that small roasters were willing to pay more for exceptional coffees that large importers overlooked—coffees with distinctive character tied to where and how they were grown.
She spent the next four decades building direct relationships between roasters and farmers, pioneering what we now call “direct trade” before anyone used that term. The industry eventually recognized her contribution, naming her the “Godmother of Specialty Coffee.”
The 80-Point Threshold
Today, specialty coffee has a more technical definition: coffee that scores 80 points or above on the Specialty Coffee Association’s 100-point scale.
That might sound arbitrary, but there’s logic behind it. The scale evaluates coffee across ten attributes—things like aroma, acidity, body, and balance. A coffee where every attribute scores a 7 (out of 10) with no defects ends up at 79 points. Just below specialty. A coffee where every attribute scores an 8 lands at 86. Solidly specialty.
The 80-point line isn’t about perfection. It’s about consistency and quality—coffee that’s clean, balanced, and free of major defects.
What the Score Ranges Mean
Here’s some perspective: coffees scoring 90+ represent less than 1% of the specialty market—and specialty coffee represents somewhere between 3% and 10% of global production, depending on how it's measured (estimates vary).
How Coffee Actually Gets Graded
The scoring doesn’t happen casually. There’s a standardized protocol that professionals follow, and the people doing the evaluating—called Q Graders—go through rigorous certification.
The Cupping Process
“Cupping” is the industry term for formal coffee tasting. It’s designed to evaluate coffee as objectively as possible, removing variables like brewing method.
The basics: Coffee is roasted to a specific medium level, ground, and steeped in hot water in small cups. Evaluators assess the dry grounds first (fragrance), then the wet aroma after water is added. They taste by slurping from a spoon—forcefully enough to spray the coffee across their entire palate.
Each coffee gets evaluated on ten attributes:
Scored attributes (6–10 points each):
Fragrance/Aroma
Flavor
Aftertaste
Acidity
Body
Balance
Overall impression
Consistency checks (up to 10 points each):
Uniformity (consistency across five cups)
Clean cup (absence of off-flavors)
Sweetness
Defects—things like sour, moldy, or fermented flavors—get subtracted from the total.
Who Are Q Graders?
Q Graders are professionally certified coffee evaluators, sometimes called the “sommeliers of coffee.” The certification involves a six-day program with 19–22 exams, including blind taste tests, aroma identification (using a 36-scent kit), organic acid matching, and written knowledge tests.
Only about 30% of candidates pass on their first attempt. Globally, there are around 10,000 certified Q Graders. They work for importers, roasters, and cooperatives—anyone who needs reliable quality assessment.
When you see a score on a bag of coffee, a Q Grader (or someone trained in the same protocols) evaluated it.
What Makes Coffee Score Below—or Above—80
The difference between a 79-point coffee and an 81-point coffee isn’t huge in absolute terms, but it matters. Here’s what typically separates them:
A coffee scoring below 80 might have:
Detectable defects (fermented, phenolic, or musty notes)
Lack of sweetness or structure
Limited complexity
Inconsistency between cups
A coffee scoring 80+ typically has:
A clean cup with no off-flavors
Clear, if simple, flavor profile
Balanced attributes
Consistency across the sample
Move up the scale and you find more: an 85-point coffee might show pronounced fruit or floral notes; an 88-point coffee might have exceptional complexity and a finish that lingers.
The path from 82 to 83 is easier than from 87 to 88. At the top of the scale, every fraction of a point represents something remarkable.
Why Specialty Coffee Costs More
This is the practical question. If a bag of specialty coffee costs $18–25 and grocery store coffee costs $8–12, what accounts for the difference?
The short answer: everything costs more when quality is the priority.
At the Farm Level
Specialty coffee requires selective harvesting—workers pick only ripe cherries, returning to the same trees multiple times over weeks. Commodity coffee is often strip-picked: everything comes off at once, regardless of ripeness.
Specialty farms tend to be at higher altitudes (1,200–2,000+ meters), where cooler temperatures slow cherry development and concentrate flavors. But steep terrain means no mechanical harvesting and higher transport costs.
Processing methods matter too. Washed coffees require significant water and infrastructure. Honey-processed coffees demand constant attention and turning. These methods cost more but can produce distinctive cups.
Quality Premiums
Farmers producing specialty-grade coffee receive premiums above the commodity market price. Specialty coffee typically commands meaningful premiums above commodity prices. According to the 2024 Specialty Coffee Transaction Guide, the median price for specialty coffees scoring 80–83.9 was $2.93 per pound, while coffees scoring 84+ averaged $4.18 per pound. For exceptional lots scoring 88+, prices can reach several multiples of the commodity rate. These figures fluctuate with market conditions—the commodity "C price" has swung dramatically in recent years, from under $2 per pound to historic highs above $4 in early 2025.
These premiums make specialty coffee economically viable for farmers who invest in quality.
Smaller Scale Roasting
Commodity coffee gets roasted in industrial facilities processing tons per day. Specialty roasting typically happens in smaller batches, with more attention to each lot’s characteristics.
Our roasting costs include time developing profiles for each origin, monitoring each batch, and maintaining equipment that allows precision. That care shows up in the final cup—but it also shows up in the price.
The Full Picture
When you buy a bag of commodity coffee, the farmer might receive 1–5% of the retail price. For specialty coffee with direct trade relationships, that can be 15–25%.
The higher price isn’t just about taste. It reflects a supply chain where quality gets rewarded at every step.
What This Means for You
Understanding specialty coffee doesn’t require memorizing grading scales or becoming a Q Grader. It’s really about knowing that when something is called “specialty,” there’s a specific standard behind it—not just marketing.
At Waymark, we work with coffees scoring 84 and above. We share the details—origin, processing method, producer—because context makes coffee more interesting. When you know a coffee is washed-processed from 1,700 meters in Kenya, or honey-processed from a single farm in Costa Rica, you can taste with more intention.
That’s the point of all this information: not to gatekeep, but to open doors. Specialty coffee is more transparent than commodity coffee by design. The more you know, the more you can explore.
Quick Reference: Specialty Coffee Basics
What makes coffee “specialty”? A score of 80+ on the SCA’s 100-point scale, evaluated by trained professionals.
Who decides the score? Q Graders—certified evaluators who pass rigorous testing on sensory skills and coffee knowledge.
Why does it cost more? Selective harvesting, quality-focused processing, smaller-scale roasting, and farmer premiums that reward excellence.
What percentage of coffee is specialty grade? About 3–5% of global production.
Does a higher score always mean better? Higher scores indicate more complexity and distinction, but “better” depends on your preferences. An 84-point coffee might be exactly what you want.
Have questions about how we source and roast? Check out [our approach](/about) or explore [our current offerings](/shop) to see specialty coffee in practice.