The concept of Fine Coffee Specialty Coffee (3) the Evaluation of Fine Coffee by American SCAA

The evaluation and grading of boutique coffee Specialty Coffee is determined by national boutique coffee associations (such as the American Fine Coffee Association SCAA and the Japanese Fine Coffee Association SCAJ). There is no clear and unified definition, and it is changing and evolving every year. The current standard is roughly as follows:

1. Whether it has a rich dry aroma (Fragrance): refers to the aroma of roasted coffee, or the aroma of roasted beans after grinding.

two。 Whether it has a rich wet aroma (Aroma): refers to the aroma emitted by the coffee extract.

3. Whether it has rich acidity (ACidity): refers to the sour taste of coffee liquid.

4. Whether it has rich alcohol thickness (Body): refers to the alcohol thickness of coffee liquid, that is, the concentration and weight sense of coffee liquid.

5. Whether it has a rich aftertaste (Aftertaste): it refers to the evaluation based on the flavor of the coffee liquid after drinking it.

6. Whether it has rich taste (Flavor): it means to know the taste of coffee according to the aroma and taste of the coffee liquid.

7. The taste balance of the whole coffee (Balance)

The above is based on the coffee consumers' evaluation criteria of coffee, while on the other hand, the coffee-producing countries' evaluation criteria of fine coffee Specialty Coffee:

1. Variety requirements of high-quality coffee

two。 Where to cultivate, the altitude of the cultivated land, type, environment, climate, soil, etc.

3. Coffee bean harvest method, refining method, mature bean proportion, defective bean proportion, storage and transportation mode and so on.

In recent years, it has also joined the pursuit of fair trade, environmental protection, organic, sustainable and anti-exploitation, protection of poor farmers and other concepts of fairness and justice.

Therefore, boutique coffee Specialty Coffee not only pays attention to the appearance of coffee beans, but also cup test (Cup Testing or Cupping), that is, the evaluation of coffee taste, and has a comprehensive evaluation of the whole coffee production process.

What is "Cup of Excellence" excellent coffee?

Due to the gradual formation of the concept of boutique coffee, gradually appeared boutique coffee tasting meeting, using the "Cup of Excellence" Coffee of Excellence (COE) system, ranked according to the score. Boutique coffee growers can submit their carefully cultivated coffee beans to the national or international review. After three stages of strict review, the winning top grade coffee beans will be crowned as COE Coffee of Excellence.

This rating system began with coffee production groups in Brazil in 1999. In recent years, many coffee producing countries in Central and South America, such as Guatemala, Costa Rica and Nicaragua, have joined one after another and began to popularize. On the one hand, it can enhance the popularity of the coffee production manor, and then increase the trading volume; on the other hand, it can make the willing growers get higher remuneration and enhance the motivation of producing boutique coffee. This is also modeled on the wine tasting rating system of wine.

In 2001, COE ranked first in the selection of Brazilian "Cup of Excellence" coffee.

This is like starting to pay attention to the so-called "pedigree certificate" of the product, giving a clear account of the entire coffee production process and the context of the product, which is also in line with the concept of food safety and hygiene in recent years.

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Proportion of products produced

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