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Shop for top-rated coffees at Durango Coffee Company

Shop for No. 1 coffee of 2021 at Paradise Roasters

Shop for top-rated coffees at Amavida Coffee Roasters

Shop for Top-rated coffees at Barrington Coffee Roasters

Shop for top-rated coffees at Kakalove in Taiwan

Shop for top-rated coffees at GoCoffeeGo

Shop for 93-point Yemen coffee at Baba Java


Introduction : Specialty vs. Commercial

Coffee can be broadly defined as specialty or commercial grade. Most of the coffees discussed on this website are specialty coffees. From the consumer’s viewpoint, the most immediately noticeable difference between commercial and specialty coffees is packaging: Commercial coffee comes in little bottles of instant or is already ground and packed in a tin or a collapsed, plastic-encased brick. Specialty coffee is stored or delivered as whole beans, either in one-pound bags or in bulk, and needs to be ground before it is brewed.

Commercial coffee is usually roasted and packed in large plants, under nationally advertised brand names. Specialty coffee is usually roasted in small stores or factories, using traditional methods and technology, and is often sold where it has been roasted.

Specialty coffees offer considerably more choice than commercial coffees. You can buy coffee by the place where the bean originated (Kenya, Colombia), by roast (French roast, Italian roast), or by blend designed for the time of day, price, or flavor. Commercial coffees offer only a very limited selection of blend and roast, and little possibility of buying single-origin, unblended coffees.

Specialty coffees offer more opportunity for consumers to participate in the creation of their pleasure; commercial coffees are faits accomplis in tins or bags.

  • What is Coffee?
  • Specialty vs. Commercial
  • A Distinction Blurred
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    Shop for top-rated coffees at Durango Coffee Company

    Shop for No. 1 coffee of 2021 at Paradise Roasters

    Shop for top-rated coffees at Amavida Coffee Roasters

    Shop for Top-rated coffees at Barrington Coffee Roasters

    Shop for top-rated coffees at Kakalove in Taiwan

    Shop for top-rated coffees at GoCoffeeGo

    Shop for 93-point Yemen coffee at Baba Java

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