FAQs

What is specialty coffee?

After coffee is harvested, it's evaluated in its raw, green state. It must be free of major defects, grown to the right size, and dried properly. The coffee is then roasted and brewed following a specific "cupping standard" by certified quality graders (the equivalent of a sommelier in the wine world.) Specific flavors and aromas are identified, then the coffees are scored.

Out of all coffee harvested, the top 20% (scored overall 80 - 100) is considered high quality, speciality grade coffee.

What is cupping?

Cupping is the process of brewing a small sample of roasted coffee, following a specific recipe of 8 grams of ground coffee to 150 ml of 200º F temperature water.

A crust of coffee grounds forms and the cup is allowed to rest. Then the crust is broken, the grounds skimmed off & discarded, then the coffee is tasted ("slurped") at several intervals as it cools. During this ritual, flavors & aromas are identified according to the official flavor wheel.

What are the different types of coffee processing?

After coffee cherries are harvested, the seed ("bean") is still trapped within the fruit. Coffee processing is the act of separating the coffee bean from the flesh of the fruit.

Washed processed

In regions where water is abundant, coffee is allowed to ferment for a short time and is then submerged. The bean is separated from the fruit by volumes of water passing through screens.

Natural processed

In regions where water is scarce, a dry process is applied to coffee, where the ripe cherries are sun & air dried, before being mechanically separated by a milling machine. 

Honey processed

This is a hybrid of the previous two processes. Coffee cherries are partially mechanically separated by a mill then allowed to ferment before being washed and then sun dried.