Everything About Specialty Coffee

Specialty can only occur when all of those involved in the coffee value chain work in harmony.

According to the Specialty Coffee Association, coffee beans should go through a process in which each of them is graded from 0 to 100 points. This stage is known as cupping. So, for them to be considered specialty coffee, a certified grader must evaluate them and give them at least 80 points.

Yes, it seems like a lot, but it is a very demanding job to offer the most delicious flavors of one of the most popular drinks in the world. In that sense, if an expert finds too many defects in a sample of green and unroasted coffee beans, they will be labeled as regular coffee and will be not chosen. In other words, the aim is to guarantee quality through all stages of coffee production, from the seed to the cup. 

Also, specialty coffee producers affirm that by selecting a proper seed with almost no defects, quality improves. They carefully cultivate and harvest coffee plants at a perfect altitude and time of year. And in the best soils, of course. Then they get select them at the right time. With this, the drink’s quality will outweigh other forms of production.

Although many believe that this type of coffee is a new trend, the truth is it has been around since far back as the early 1900s in prestigious hotels in Paris. However, the term was first used in 1970 when the method appeared in the Tea and Coffee Trade Journal. And because coffee is a highly desired beverage, there have been improvements in agricultural, roasting, and brewing technology. Now, everyone is paying attention to the selection of its beans.

This process then continues with roasters and baristas, who also have to use special techniques to make a balanced beverage with natural and rich flavors. So if you want to upgrade the quality of the coffee you are serving to your clients and cope with this trend (that is here to stay), take note of the characteristics surrounding the process:

• Coffee grading: green coffee goes through a visual inspection and cupping to be graded. The evaluator considers shape, size, and smell and chooses a bean only if it receives more than 80 points.

• Type of coffee: specialty coffee is made out of arabica beans because they are considered to be sweeter and have the most delicate flavor.

• The perfect regions: selected countries, like Ethiopia, Kenya, and Colombia are synonymous with specialty coffee. Why? Coffee cultivated in high latitudes, mixed with a tropical climate, along with rainy and dry seasons, produces the best beans.

• Popularity: in the U.S specialty coffee is spreading nationwide because coffee went from a modern convenience to a drinking experience. Its popularity is increasing, and that is why quality is now the primary strategy to compete in this industry.

• Roasting process: roasters know the perfect temperature and techniques to create custom profiles for each coffee they receive. Their mission is to enhance and highlight their natural flavors.

• Baristas: baristas at your coffee business choose carefully grown and roasted coffee to produce quality beverages with precision and specialized equipment. They follow the menu instruction, so quality is always the same in every drink.

Luckily enough, at Coffland Corp, we have our brands of specialty coffee, and they are our clients’ favorites. If you think this type of coffee represents the next step for your coffee business, contact us and let us become your providers!

Speciality coffee has existed for a long time now.

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Kopi Luwak: The Most Expensive Coffee

The world’s most expensive coffee is made from poop.

The most expensive coffee is made out of poop. You may find it disturbing and even funny, but apparently, its unusual method of preparation is what makes it so pricey. It is known as Kopi Luwak, and it comes from Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. A cup of this coffee can cost up to $100 in the United States. However, the way is produced, represents a challenge to fair trade providers and wildlife protectors. Keep reading to learn why!

Its producers serve coffee cherries to a specific Indonesian animal called palm civet, luwak or also civet cat. Then the creature digests them leaving perfectly shaped coffee beans in its feces. The civet cat loves the ripest coffee cherries and naturally chooses which of them to eat while leaving the vast majority of presumably inferior cherries uneaten.

Animal cruelty

The flavor of this coffee is high quality and unique, because the civet cat’s digestive enzymes change the structure of the proteins in coffee beans, taking away any acidity. As a result, you obtain a smoother and sweet drink.

Nevertheless, the luwaks play an essential role in the food chain as any other being. They eat insects, small reptiles, and fruits like coffee cherries and bananas. Keeping them in captivity to produce Kopi Luwak is considered animal cruelty. If it does not have an official certified by WSPA, Rainforest Alliance or UTZ certificate, coffee beans are not floor-collected by hands of local farmers, and civet cats do not live in the wild, this is just not worth it!

When it comes to fair trade policies

At Coffland Corp, we want people, especially business owners in the coffee industry, to choose providers with fair trade policies. These guarantees a proper treatment, not only to farmers but the environment, so we can protect the biodiversity thanks to which we obtain these products.

When choosing your coffee label, think about the new generation of customers that are more conscious of what they purchase, and of course, about the environment. Although the demand for Kopi Luwak is increasing, that promotes luwaks confinement.

The saddest part? They do not select the ripest coffee cherries while they are in cages. They just merely eat to satisfy their hunger. The consequences of these cruel treatments are a health problem. Civets in these conditions tend to fight among themselves, gnaw on their legs, and frequently die quickly. If what you want is a luxury item, they should not be in cages, because when civet cats (luwaks) are forced to eat all kinds of cherries, beans in their feces are an inferior product.

Whether it's right to buy it or not if certified correctly, there is still a discussion among everyone involved in this industry and environmental organizations around countries’ policies and legislation. This is because an undercover investigation led by the BBC revealed in 2013 how coffee from caged civets in terrible conditions ended up labeled as wild civet coffee in Europe. And there are many similar cases in other continents.

Our exclusive Colombian coffee, on the other hand, is qualified as fair-trade, which means that you do not have to worry about the transparency of its production. In Coffland Corp, we love working to ensure environmentally responsible farming. Contact us to know more about our services!

Every part of making Kopi Luwak is a challenge to fair trade providers.

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The Relevance of Buying Fair Trade Coffee These Days

Find a reason: whether if it's for the environment or for the people who work hard every day to make it

After the International Coffee Agreement was renewed in 1998, importers and food companies created fair trade policies so producers from developing countries could receive a fair profit, engage with sustainable practices and work in good conditions.

Since then, a large variety of small business in the coffee industry have chosen to launch their brand with transparency. This means that by consuming their product, the clients know in advantage that, in order to make that delicious cup of hot beverage, there was not forced labor involved.

Buying fair trade coffee is an agreement that has helped communities from around the world to rise, especially farmers in Colombia, where the coffee of Coffland Corp comes from. The relevance of this kind of commodity assures a high-level category for any growing organization these days and shows a commitment of solidarity that attracts loyal clients.   

The relevance of fair trade coffee

Understanding the guarantees of fair trade coffee can be a good selling strategy and the best starting point for any business with the urge of standing out in this competitive market. If your goal as an owner or executive is for your brand to be respected and appreciated, here you have the reasons why is necessary to cast a vote for ethical treatment:

It's about respect

The new generation of consumers, mostly millennials, acquire products and services with a different approach: conscious purchasing. In the last decade, people became pickier when it comes to choosing which brands value the work of their producers. This means that fair trade is about respect, and in the world of trading, it works like karma; you will also be respected for it.

Community entrepreneurship

Small farmers and their families around the world can lead the local economy by living a decent and balanced financial life and developing small business projects that can employ others. In many countries, schools and health centers have been built thanks to the initiative of farmer cooperatives link to the coffee industry.

Sustainable practices

This policy of beneficial partnership also helps to protect the environment. In forced labor conditions, workers need to perform agricultural practices that compromise the future of the land and its ecosystem. But fair trade organizations have strict standards when it comes to using harmful chemicals and genetically modified organisms (GMOs), to the point of forbidding them.

The flavor of coffee

And last but not least, the most addictive flavor of coffee is made when the hands that cultivate it are fairly treated so that they can take care of plantations with love. That is how those treasured coffee beans are born. Farmers involved are normally beneficed with education and training so they can learn about quality testing and equipment efficiency. As a result, a good cup of coffee is served, and no one in that global chain was mistreated in the making.

Choosing to collaborate with fair trade providers like Coffland Corp it’s definitely a world-changing decision, and frankly, an easy one. If you want to stand out from the competition and also set a more conscious way of making money, we will be honored to welcome you to our family of business partners around the globe.

By buying fair trade coffee, you are expressing solidarity towards the small farmers and the environment

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