Walk into any supermarket and you'll find dozens of coffee options. So what makes specialty coffee different — and why does it matter? At The Big Oak Coffee Company, specialty coffee isn't a marketing term. It's a standard we hold ourselves to.
The Specialty Coffee Grade
Specialty coffee is defined by the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) as coffee that scores 80 points or above on a 100-point quality scale, assessed by trained Q Graders. These evaluators assess aroma, flavour, aftertaste, acidity, body, balance, and uniformity. Coffee scoring below 80 is classified as commodity-grade — the kind typically found in supermarket blends.
Specialty coffee represents the top 3% of all coffee grown globally. It requires exceptional growing conditions, careful harvesting (usually hand-picked), and meticulous processing.
Origin Matters
Specialty coffee is almost always traceable to a specific region, farm, or cooperative. This traceability is part of what you're paying for — and it's what allows us to tell you that our Viaduct 1852 comes from India's Malabar coast, or that our Coffee & Vinyl Deep Groove Blend is rooted in East Africa's legendary growing belt.
Processing: How the Bean Becomes the Flavour
After harvesting, coffee cherries are processed to remove the fruit and reveal the green bean inside. The method used has a profound impact on flavour:
- Washed (wet) process — fruit is removed before drying, producing clean, bright, acidic cups
- Natural (dry) process — cherries dry whole, imparting fruity, wine-like sweetness to the bean
- Monsooned — a unique Indian method where beans are exposed to monsoon winds, creating a heavy, earthy, low-acid profile
Our Cuore d'Oro Limited Edition Dark Natural Orange is a naturally processed coffee — which is why it carries those distinctive fruit-forward notes that set it apart from the rest of our range.
Roast Profile: Light, Medium, or Dark?
Roast level shapes the final flavour significantly. Lighter roasts preserve the origin character of the bean — more acidity, more fruit. Darker roasts develop body, bitterness, and chocolatey depth. Our Flax Mill Premium Speciality Coffee is a dark roast that showcases the full intensity of its Vietnamese-grown beans, while our Italian blends like Cuore d Oro are crafted to balance body and sweetness for espresso.
Why It Matters
Choosing specialty coffee means supporting better farming practices, fairer prices for growers, and a dramatically better cup in your hands. It's coffee with intention — grown, processed, roasted, and brewed with care at every step.
Explore The Big Oak Coffee Company's full range and taste the difference for yourself.