What Makes a Specialty Coffee Shop? (Solved & Explained!)

The main aspect of a specialty coffee shop is offering top-quality coffee beans with a menu of drinks, blends and styles. They often source single-origin beans and have a menu matching their concept and feel.

But, what makes a specialty coffee shop standout is its ability to bring something unique to the table. This can be anything from dedicated baristas to serving signature coffee creations. It could even mean the shop’s general ambiance.

What Defines Specialty Coffee?

The term “specialty coffee” implies the entire journey of the beans from farming to cup comes from a single origin. It references the extraction method and its roasting. This isn’t the same as “premium” or “gourmet,” which are marketing ploys that don’t have an official standard.

According to the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA), this refers to the harvesting of select green coffee beans to their method of roasting by true craftspeople. There are also standards for properly brewing this type of coffee. This is because the resulting taste comes from the special characteristics and composition of the soils from where they hail.

These standards include incurring a score higher than 80 points for quality in aroma, flavor, fragrance, acidity, body, aftertaste, uniformity, crispness, sweetness, balance and overall taste. The beans used are either Arabica or Robusta and come from areas with ideal climates.

From Where Do Specialty Coffees Come?

Most specialty coffees come from places like Colombia, Brazil, Ethiopia, Jamaica, Indonesia, Sumatra and other similar places. These are often going to be closest to the equator for their tropical temperatures, warm climates and proper soil composition.

What Defines a Specialty Coffee Shop?

Per the SCA, a specialty coffee shop derives at least 55% of its business revenue from the sale of coffee beans, drinks and related accessories. This means that a specialty coffee shop could be a small stand alone store that only sells beans, coffee grinders and other such accoutrements. But, it could also be a place that makes fresh drinks for people to consume.

How Is a Regular Coffee Shop Different than a Specialty Coffee Shop?

Regular coffee shops are usually breakfast-stop type places where all they serve is hot coffee along with a decent-sized food menu. They may serve iced or frosted blends in the summer, but the main coffee offering is hot coffee with the option of adding cream and sugar.

Specialty coffee shops will have a whole menu of various coffee and espresso drinks that people can order in a myriad of styles and blends. They have one to four different single-source beans and perhaps they sell some bags for people to take home. While there usually is a small menu of food, the main focus is coffee.

What Are Single-Origin Coffee Beans?

Single-origin coffee beans come from one farm or industrial cooperative from one of the more desirable places in the world. These beans don’t blend with any other kind and are often more expensive than regular coffee blends. Also, there are specific methods for growing and selecting the beans.

Which Coffee Drinks Do Specialty Shops Serve?

In general, specialty coffee shops will offer a plethora of brewing styles, coffee drinks and single-origin beans. While they often serve hot, black coffee, they also offer espresso, iced coffee, iced espresso and cold brew, among others. However, they usually serve other delicious drinks including but not limited to:

• Affogato: This decadent drink is one or two shots of espresso with a scoop of ice cream in it.
• Americano: This is a fancy name for a single shot of espresso diluted with hot water. Some specialty coffee shops serve the hot water separately so the customer can add as much or as little as they like.
• Café au Lait: Often found on the menus of many specialty coffee chops, a café au lait is brewed black coffee with a splash of milk mixed in.
• Cappuccino: This is the classic foamy steamed milk with a single shot of espresso. There is often a dash of shredded chocolate or cocoa powder. Sometimes there’s cinnamon along with flavor shots like vanilla, caramel or pumpkin spice.
• Cortado: A simple coffee drink that has equal amounts of warm steamed milk and espresso.
• Doppio: This is an Italian way to order a double espresso shot.
• Flat White: Direct from the Land Down Under, this is like a cappuccino but there’s no foam or spice.
• Frappé/Frappuccino: Popularized by Starbucks with whipped cream and syrup, this is actually a Greek drink. Often using Nescafé, it’s mixed with cold water, sugar and cream. It’s then served over ice.
• Galão: Hailing from Portugal, this is a hot coffee similar to a latte or a cappuccino. But, there is double the amount of steamed milk. This makes it very light and lowly acidic.
• Irish Coffee: Black coffee, sugar and a shot of whiskey with whipped cream makes up this classic from the Emerald Isle.
• Latte: A common offering at a specialty coffee shop, this is steamed milk with a touch of foam and a shot of espresso. This comes plain or with flavors like pumpkin spice, blueberry or vanilla.
• Lungo: Another Italian word to describe a long-pull espresso. This increases the concentration of caffeine than a normal shot.
• Macchiato: An espresso drink that has a tiny bit of milky foam on top.
• Mazagran: Like the Irish Coffee, this is one hailing from South America. It comprises espresso, lemon, sugar and rum. But this is specifically iced, not hot.
• Mocha: An espresso blended with chocolate, steamed milk and foam to enjoy hot or iced.
• Nitro: This takes the cold brew one step further by adding nitrogen bubbles. This produces a coffee with a consistency similar to Guinness beer, having a foamy, frothy head.
• Red Eye: Named after those who take midnight flights, it’s a cup of hot black coffee with a shot of espresso dropped in the center.
• Ristretto: This is the topmost part of an espresso shot. It’s sweeter than normal espresso.