What Does Special Mean in Coffee

In this episode, I'm talking about something I don't think we discuss enough in the coffee world: what does "special" actually mean when it comes to a cup of coffee? I take you through my experience with a Colombian Java, a medium roast that completely caught me off guard. It's not a showy geisha with over-the-top perfume. It's not the kind of coffee that announces itself loudly. But no matter what I do to it, no matter the grind, the temperature, or the brewer I reach for, it shows up. It gives me raspberry undertones, a soft chocolate note, and a Meyer lemon acidity that is just approachable enough to keep me sipping. It bends. It transforms as it cools. And that, to me, is the definition of something special.

I also use this episode to push back on how we talk about coffee in the specialty world. We throw around the word "special" constantly without ever stopping to ask what it actually means to us personally. I want you to walk away from this episode thinking differently about the coffees you're drinking, specifically, why certain cups make you feel something and others don't. What makes a coffee special to you? Is it the smell, the sweetness, the way it evolves in the cup, or simply how it makes you feel when you sit down with it? That's the real question here, and only you can answer it.

Transcript

[00:00:07] This Colombian coffee is special.

[00:00:11] Let me explain to you what special means to me in this coffee.

[00:00:17] It's not an overly perfumy geisha.

[00:00:28] It's not even a highly complex Ethiopian.

[00:00:37] It's not even close to being as sweet as a Brazilian coffee.

[00:00:48] This Colombian talks to me.

[00:00:52] It bends, and as it cools, it gets transformed.

[00:01:00] I can't really pinpoint exactly the type of red fruit that it has. Depending on the way I grind it, depending on the way that I brew it, it brings out different elements. And I think that's the biggest thing about this coffee. No matter what I do to it, it always comes up to play.

[00:01:25] It's something that I look forward to in coffee a lot, and a lot of times I don't get that type of sensation.

[00:01:38] A lot of times I'm either picking apart or manipulating or doing all the things that we do when we drink our coffee.

[00:01:49] When I took that first sip of this coffee, it was just off to the side, a Colombian medium roast. I didn't think much of it. I thought, I already roasted it, so how can it really surprise me?

[00:02:08] And I kid you not, as soon as that coffee touched my palate, I knew something was there. And it just kept going and going and going.

[00:02:26] And then I stopped drinking it. I stopped thinking about it. Well, I was thinking about it. I just wanted to savor those moments. I didn't really know what was going on here.

[00:02:40] It was one of those things where I was like, okay, do I just go ahead and keep drinking this coffee? Keep experiencing it for what it is, and then it's gone?

[00:02:55] I let a week go by. It had already been resting for about four weeks. And I thought, I'm going to finish it anyway. I still have some green in the back, so I can always roast more later.

[00:03:13] Just finish the coffee, drink the coffee, enjoy the coffee. Just brew it.

[00:03:20] So that's what I started to do. I started to brew it. I started to experience it for what it is. Amazing coffee. I know there's some type of fruit in there.

[00:03:39] Yeah, that red fruit. The smell isn't crazy intense either. But it has that raspberry undertone with chocolate notes in it.

[00:03:53] The cool thing about this coffee is that it's sweet enough. Not overly sweet. Just enough to give that acidity some character, some bend, some depth. And it just keeps going.

[00:04:14] Lately, what I'm tasting is a soft Meyer lemon acidity. Very approachable. That's something that I always chase. And this coffee just doesn't quit.

[00:04:32] It's fun and exciting no matter what I throw at it. It just wants to be there for you. I know that sounds a little out there, but that's what special is to me.

[00:04:45] I don't think we talk about that enough. A lot of times we say this coffee is okay, or this coffee is not special. But we never really define what special means to us, and how we can express that to others.

[00:05:06] I can tell you the tasting notes. I can tell you I sipped this slowly, I sipped it fast. But the biggest takeaway here is how this coffee makes me feel. I think that's the biggest thing. That's where special comes into play. That's where we can really understand and appreciate coffee.

[00:05:42] And I don't think it's because this coffee is washed, or double-washed, or whatever the marketing says behind it. Could be the soil from the region, but I've tasted coffees from that area many times.

[00:06:02] I don't know if it's because it's a Java variety, an Ethiopian-trace coffee. I don't know how long they actually processed it, the hands that went through it. I don't know if any of that fully explains it.

[00:06:21] But I know it makes me feel special. And I think that's part of it. This coffee is special because it makes me feel special. It gives me the opportunity to actually enjoy it, to see it for what it is, and just sit there. Sip it. Enjoy it. Like nothing else matters.

[00:06:59] And that's why I still have a decent amount left. It's taken me a couple of weeks to get through this. I've been a little selfish about it. I've shared it with my wife once or twice, but this session right here is a personal one. This is where I can really understand this coffee even more deeply.

[00:07:37] The cool thing is that no matter what I throw at it, no matter what temperature, it's going to give me something interesting. Something approachable. Something I can think about. I like to drink this coffee once a day. After I finish this, I'm going to have one cup. Maybe two. We'll see.

[00:08:06] But that's what this coffee does for me. Does it have that crazy aroma intensity like a geisha? No. It smells like a coffee. But when you get close, when you get intimate with it, it has those elements of greatness.

[00:08:29] I think that's really what we want out of coffee. We want something that doesn't make things difficult. And I like working for what I'm looking for in coffee, but this one is different. You can just do whatever you want with it, and it presents itself to you. You taste it, and then you just keep going.

[00:08:59] As soon as it cools, it starts to take a turn. Not for the worse. It keeps getting better. Sometimes more pronounced. Sometimes more subtle.

[00:09:16] If I use a cone-shaped filter brewer, the acidity gets amplified in a lively way, and that sweetness just softens it. If I use a flat bottom dripper and play around with temperature, I can pull some really nice sweetness out of it by dropping the temp.

[00:09:44] No matter what I do to this coffee, it just keeps going. It just talks to me. And that's something I look forward to.

[00:09:54] What about you? What is special to you in coffee?

[00:10:02] We talk about this whole specialty thing, but I don't think we've really taken the time and the chance to truly ask ourselves: what is special in the coffee I'm drinking? What does it do differently than all the others I've experienced?

[00:10:28] Because not every coffee is going to be special to everybody. There are coffees that are more universal. But there is a coffee, or two or three, that is special to you.

[00:10:49] How do you define special? Is it the smell? Is it the sweetness? Does the smell and the taste match exactly what you expected? Is it a floral note? Is it how expensive it is? What is it that makes your coffee special?

[00:11:17] I know what's special to me and why. And the cool thing is that this Colombian right now is extremely special. And I can have another coffee that's totally different, that talks to me in a different way. But at the end of the day, it's about what makes us tick with coffee. Does it bring feelings? Does it bring excitement? Is it just about the taste? Explain that to me.

[00:12:06] That's what gets me going. People really geeking out about what excites them in their coffee. That's pretty cool.

[00:12:19] And yes, it's going to be totally different from what I care about in coffee. But that's fine because we're people. We like different things.

[00:12:33] You can put two light roast drinkers right next to each other drinking the exact same coffee. One may not like it at all, and the other may think it's the best cup they've ever had. We need to start asking ourselves those questions. What makes us tick? What makes us go with this coffee?

[00:13:04] Because yeah, the smell is there. It's not crazy. But when I go through the whole ritual, sitting there and understanding what I'm about to drink, it doesn't disappoint me. That's what special is to me.

[00:13:28] In this case, with this coffee, at this time, it's an easy brew. It's an easy drinker. And no matter what I throw at it, it makes me feel alive. That's what makes this coffee special to me.

[00:13:52] What about you? What coffee makes you feel that excitement? What is your definition of a specialty coffee? What is that? Only you can answer that.

[00:14:11] Let me know. Talk to you later. Bye.