Specialty VS Commercial Coffee - Omega

Don't get me wrong, commercial coffee has its place, and that's usually around the day before, or the day of garbage collection. No? Well if you tend to a garden, the addition of coffee grounds provide the nitrogen necessary for leaf growth. Give that a try sometime if you want to improve the color of foliage in your garden or around the landscaping.

 

 

All jokes aside, here's an concise breakdown of the main differences between specialty and commercial coffee.

Quality and Standards:

• Commercial Grade Coffee: Commercial grade coffee is a lower-quality coffee that doesn't meet the stringent criteria for specialty coffee. It consists of beans that are damaged, defective, or have inconsistencies in size, shape, and color.

• Specialty Grade Coffee: Specialty grade coffee is the highest quality coffee available. It meets strict quality standards in terms of bean size, shape, color, and freedom from defects. Specialty coffee is sourced from specific regions or farms known for producing exceptional beans.

Flavor Profile:

• Commercial Grade Coffee: Commercial grade coffee has a more generic flavor profile. It lacks complexity, nuance, and distinctive characteristics. It tends to be milder and less flavorful compared to specialty grade coffee. Because of the inferiority of the beans, companies tend to roast beans to extremely high temperatures–resulting in strong roasted flavors that impart smokey and charred characteristics in each cup.

• Specialty Grade Coffee: Specialty grade coffee offers a superior flavor experience. It often exhibits a wide range of flavors, aromas, and complexities that are influenced by factors such as the coffee variety, growing conditions, processing methods, and roasting techniques.

Specialty Coffee Industry:

• Commercial Grade Coffee: Commercial grade coffee is commonly used in mass-produced coffee products, such as instant coffee, pre-ground coffee, k-cups, Nescafe pods, or lower-end coffee blends found in hotels, office break rooms, supermarkets or restaurants.

• Specialty Grade Coffee: Specialty grade coffee is sought after by coffee enthusiasts, connoisseurs, and specialty coffee shops. It represents a smaller segment of the market but focuses on quality, sustainability, and the unique characteristics of the beans.

Price:

• Commercial Grade Coffee: Commercial grade coffee is generally more affordable compared to specialty grade coffee. It is often priced lower due to its lower quality and wider availability. In fact, commercial coffee products pricing are so low, its any wonder the companies that actually produce these products make any profit off of them these days with the commodities market being so high.

• Specialty Grade Coffee: Specialty grade coffee commands a higher price due to its superior quality and limited availability. Specialty coffee beans are often sourced through direct trade or from specific farms, which adds to the production costs; however these higher prices in fact help the coffee farmer in more ways than the commercial equivalent.

In summary, commercial grade coffee is a lower-quality coffee typically used in mass-market products, while specialty grade coffee represents the highest quality beans with unique flavors and characteristics, often preferred by coffee aficionados.