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Why is specialty coffee so expensive? Where are the selling points? How many types of creative coffee are there? What is the WBC Barista Competition?

Published: 2026-08-12 Author:

Last Updated: 2026/08/12, In many boutique coffee shops, special tunes have become more and more common. The settings of high unit prices, high appearance, and multiple flavors have attracted a large number of consumers. However, when many people drink it in their mouths, they can hardly feel the "coffee flavor". When even describing it as a cup of "little sweet water," a big question mark will flash through their minds: It's me, no

In many boutique coffee shops, special tunes have become more and more common. The settings of high unit prices, high appearance, and multiple flavors have attracted a large number of consumers. However, when many people drink it in their mouths, they can hardly feel the "coffee flavor". When even describing it as a cup of "little sweet water," a big question mark will flash through their mind: Am I not able to drink it? Why is specialty coffee so expensive?

Special coffee, where is the "special"?

Special coffee, also known as creative coffee drinks, can generally be divided into two types. One is a simple combination of coffee and other condiments, such as osmanthus latte, mocha coffee, fruit cold extract, etc. shared by Qianjie. The price is usually not too high, and the taste and shape are relatively simple;

Compared with the above basic version, the specialty coffee that everyone refers to today is more creative drinks from the World Barista Competition (WBC). On the WBC stage, each player needs to bring their own coffee beans to make an espresso, a milk coffee, and a coffee-based "Signature Drink", which translates into Chinese as "distinctive coffee."

In terms of practice, special coffee is like a cocktail. Baristas will use espresso as the basis and add a series of elements such as juice, alcohol, milk foam, spices, and sugar to create a theme drink that "people can remember in one bite." The rich flavor not only leaves a deep impression on the on-site judges, but also conveys the concept of clever integration of coffee and various delicious ingredients. Those who are interested in world-class coffee competitions can check Qianjie's article "What are world-class coffee competitions? What are they all comparing?"

For example, Mikael Jasin, winner of the 2024 WBC World Barista Competition, used a total of four materials to present the special flavor production process, namely Aji coffee liquor that provides a fruity flavor, and transparent clarified milk, bringing sweet flavored sugar water and Indonesian cocoa that is responsible for restoring sweetness. After a round of complex operations, he finally made a drink with multiple flavors such as cantaloupe, watermelon, sandalwood, and chocolate cake, which also won the crown.

Special coffee, why is it always so expensive?

Special coffee didn't go from the World Barista Competition to stores overnight. At first, the contestants only presented the combination performed on the stage to familiar friends or guests in a limited amount for exclusive sharing. At this time, the special coffee has not really spread, so few coffee shops provide it. Later, as more and more players put rich flavors on the menu and added attractive names to it, this small drink slowly became the "signature" of major boutique coffee shops.

From the perspective of production, the formulas used in some creative and three-dimensional flavors are indeed more particular than ordinary fancy coffee. Whether it is the quality of the coffee beans themselves, the ingredients used, or the creative shapes, they are all based on the concept of boutique coffee, to have aroma, hierarchy, and aftertaste, coupled with cumbersome preparation steps and steps, so that a cup of special coffee will often not be much cheaper.

In addition, some coffee shops will imitate WBC and put them on shelves in complete sets. Such a Combo combination covers concentrated/American, dairy coffee, and special flavors, so the price will naturally go up.

Are dozens of coffee specialties worth it?

Qianjie believes that this is a very subjective issue. First of all, everyone's preferences are different. If you insist on buying a cup of fruit acid special flavor for a friend who likes deep-baked beans, no matter the price, the other party will think it is not worth it;

Secondly, it is important whether the coffee special has a "coffee flavor". Different from pure coffee such as hand-brewed and ice drops, which require careful tasting, the world of coffee specialties is very broad. The main character part will choose Italian concentrated, cold extract, or hand-brewed; the supporting role can add juice, syrup, petals, wine, spices... If there are too many elements, it will easily conceal the existence of the coffee itself and it will taste like a cup of "little sweet water." No matter how good the ingredients are, we who like coffee will likely not drink it again;

Also, whether coffee is coordinated with other materials. The flavor of coffee is affected by many factors, such as origin, variety, processing method, degree of roasting, brewing method, and extraction parameters. Different solutions will directly affect the final taste. Qian Street believes that a good cup of specialty coffee should ensure that the coffee does not conflict with certain ingredients, but also collides with fresh taste and aroma, forming complementary and additive effects, and the price is within a moderate range.

Nowadays, as the coffee market becomes more and more involved, special tunes on the Internet can be said to be endless, including Qianjie. As long as the ingredients and coffee beans are selected correctly and the dosage is grasped, you can actually make the same coffee specialty at home.

What coffee beans to choose for making special tunes at home?

When designing a special flavor, the first step is to choose the right coffee beans, and then consider which brewing method to use. The front street below sorts out how to select beans and extract methods according to previously reproduced drinks.

If it is to make a special taste with fresh taste, use materials similar to lychee, jasmine flower, lemon and other flavor rising materials, it is generally recommended to match medium-light roast or medium-roast coffee beans, Italian espresso coffee can try front street flower chief SOE, front street Grana rose summer SOE; cold extraction hand can buy front street strawberry sugar, front street small tomato, this will not "grab flavor," but also make coffee add sour and sweet characteristics.

If it is matched with foods with rich taste and exaggerated taste, such as wine and spices, it is recommended to use high-sweet medium-roasted coffee beans, and the first choice is front-street blackberry and front-street claw. Both of them have strong fruit fragrance with high recognition, low bitterness and high sweetness, so the flavor is not easy to be concealed.

If you want to make coffee special flavor or winter hot drink, ingredients include osmanthus, cinnamon, pistachio, chocolate powder, butter, etc., because to highlight milk and nut fragrance, so the most suitable for roasting coffee beans, and Italian concentrate as the base, the first choice is front street black cocoa basic blend, front street classic blend, front street PWN gold mantinin and front street queen manor.

FrontStreet Coffee is a long-established specialty coffee roaster in Guangzhou China, selling freshly roasted beans from its own farm in Yunnan as well as dozens of carefully selected single-origin beans from around the world for both pour-over and espresso. The products deliver consistently excellent quality and great value, with shipping within 24 hours. Guangzhou’s FrontStreet Coffee shop is recommended by many coffee lovers, and the beans are now available online at the Tmall 。