Developing a taste for specialty coffee beans can be very rewarding. With so many coffee growing regions across several continents and with more coffee farmers now switching their harvests to specialty beans the choice will only improve.
With more coffee outlets providing specialty coffee beans and with a growing number of coffee drinkers discovering the wide range of specialty coffee beans that are available and let’s face it with time on our hands; now is a great time to explore specialty coffees for yourself.
We refer to the “American Specialty Coffee Association Q score method” as a baseline for our choices; along of course with availability. Having read our previous blogs you will know quite a bit about how we rate coffee and how we position the various pieces of information that support our choices.
It is worth mentioning at this stage that in general specialty coffee beans benefit from the more gentle methods for brewing fresh coffee; with filter being an ideal choice for many. This has the benefit that inexpensive coffee making kit can be used at home.
When choosing a specialty coffee bean many coffee drinkers look for the highest Q scores. Whilst this has obvious advantages it should be noted that there are 3 grades within the Q scoring system; very good, excellent and outstanding any one of which can give you a great specialty coffee experience.
For example my personal favourite specialty coffee bean is a wild Heirloom varietal; grown in the Bench Maji zone of South West Ethiopia. This medium roast organic specialty coffee bean from the wild forests of the region delivers one of my favourite specialty coffees. The headline got me with Wild Forest to be honest. With a Q score of 84.75 it places in the very good classification or 3rd level.
Many specialty coffee drinkers may pass on this coffee as it didn’t reach the level of excellent or outstanding. They would be missing out because it delivers an exceptional range and balance of flavours. Using the Aeropress brew method this specialty coffee gives strong juicy plum flavours with further notes of dark chocolate and blackcurrant. I am so glad the Q score didn’t put me off trying it.
I’ve written before about Ethiopian specialty coffee and it is a great source of some of the very finest specialty coffee beans.
We really enjoy trying different specialty coffee beans and look forward to the taster’s notes and Q scores of new harvests. Having said that we also have our favourites and often go back to those beans we have previously enjoyed. One of these specialty coffee beans is from an entirely different continent.
Moving our specialty coffee gaze across the world we settled on an Asian country; Myanmar. This is where the heritage of speciality coffee beans really comes to the fore. This specialty coffee bean captures current and historic references. Starting with Myanmar itself which was formerly known as Burma; this specialty coffee bean is grown a few hundred kilometers north of Mandalay.
The wild forest specialty coffee bean above had a Q score of 84.75 and is “very good”.
This specialty coffee bean from Myanmar has a Q score of 86 and is in the higher category of “excellent”.
The ideal growing conditions of Mogok at over 1100m above sea level in Myanmar’s highlands offer hot days and cool nights for the specialty coffee beans. This particular organic single origin specialty coffee bean is the Catuai varietal from Arrow Brothers. Brewing the coffee with the pourover method, this medium light roast organic specialty coffee gives a well rounded flavor and smooth body. Delivering an abundance of caramel flavours and a hint of green apple this is an “excellent” specialty coffee.
One final enticing fact is that Mogok is also known as the valley of the rubies, I wonder if that is why the region is closed to foreigners? Still at least we can enjoy one of their excellent specialty coffees.
I hope these blogs encourage you to explore the wonderful specialty coffees that are available. If you like, leave your details or sign up to our newsletter; our specialty coffee service will begin soon.
