What does ‘specialty coffee’ mean?

We can drink really good coffees at more and more places, but it is only occasionally that we hear about the real meaning of the term 'specialty coffee'.

Specialty coffees have 5 important features:

1. The terroir is really important. The quality depends on the number of sun hours, the amount of precipitation and when the rain falls. Coffee is a very sensitive plant - more so than grapes.
2. Specialty coffee is always made from carefully selected and only hand-picked coffee beans.
3. Specialty coffee can only be made from high-grade coffee beans. The height above sea level is important because of the acids, which is what gives the specialty coffee its special taste.
4. Made exclusively with 100% Arabica coffee beans.
5. The carefully picked beans of specialty coffee are roasted lightly. The reason: they are really high-quality coffees, so we want to show the taste and quality in the cups, not to cover them up through dark roasting. Roasting is always done in small quantities.

Espresso

• Espresso is the building block of specialty coffees. Every other type of coffee is made from this.
• Contrary to popular belief, espresso contains minimal caffeine because of the low contact time.
• It is a pleasure to drink several portions of it a day. ;)
• The espresso cup is heated to 44 ^oC (11 ^oF). The coffee is made with water at 91-93 ^oC (196-199 ^oF), which makes it 2-3 cm from the machine to the cup. By the time the steaming coffee comes to the guest, it cools to exactly 60 ^oC (140 ^oF) and can be consumed immediately.
• We recommend it warm, as the espresso aromas are best enjoyed in the first minutes.

Café Latte

• The café latte is actually a big glass of milk with a mini espresso.
• It was a kids’ drink in Italy because the parents had a lot of coffee, so the kids would have liked this experience. That is why they made a little espresso in a large glass of milk, so everyone was happy. While the kids had the experience of coffee, the parents were happy that the kids were drinking milk.

Flat White

• Flat white is a very popular drink in Australia and New Zealand.
• It is actually a double espresso with a thin milk foam.

Cappuccino

• Cappuccino is one of our most popular drinks.
• Born from the marriage of 1 espresso and soft, creamy milk foam, we use this word because we really strive for harmony.