What is specialty coffee?
The worldwide coffee market is divided into two categories, commodity coffee and specialty coffee. In terms of volume, the total coffee market accounts for 10 million tons of coffee consumed (International Coffee Organisation, 2019), where the specialty coffee part is just below the million ton.
Commodity coffee is traded in the New York and London stock exchange, and its price is fixed daily by the market offer and demand.
Specialty coffee is known to be mostly off trade, meaning that the price per kilo is fixed by the farmer, by its costs, and the quality he has been able to produce.
We define specialty coffee by three axis :
The X axis, horizontal like land, is about geographical traceability. We want to know where the coffee is from, from which country, from which region, from which city, which farm and even, which lot in the farm.
The Y axis, vertical like a plant, is about variety traceability. In the world of coffee, Arabica and Robusta are the two mostly known varieties. But under the Arabica, there are more than 40 species of trees, each with different potentials and aromas. Then from the tree, the screening, bean selection, color calibration, is part of the selection process for the best coffees.
Then lastly, the Z axis, the farmer, between his land and his plants, and how he is remunerated. Working with off-trade, and importers that go directly to the farm, means that farmers do not have to work per kilo, but per hour. The drastic difference is that they can concentrate on the quality of the cherry they harvest, one by one, mostly by hand.
From the farm to the cup:
When we drop beans in our roasters, our final goal is to bring you the best possible cup. And by best we mean the finest, well balanced, harmonic, specific, expressive, aromatic cup, that will make you travel. This cup will be the result of a process that lasted a year. From the farm where the coffee cherry grows on its tree, when it is handpicked, to processed, to extract the two beans in a cherry, to drying and calibrated, then placed in bags, transported across oceans, and finally coming to us. All this work motivates us, and to bring you the best possible cup, we need beans that share the most ressemblances, so that when we roast them, they tell the same story, in your cup.
Farming
We select our producers of specialty coffee with care. They grow, harvest and sort grains of the best of qualities, while respecting their terroir.
Shipping
Our coffees come from different countries. In order to guarantee their freshness, they are transported in specific packaging that protects them.
Roasting
Each origin of coffee, its soil, its farm, type or altitude, gives it singular flavors. Through our work of roasting we wish to preserve each of them, in order to guarantee an exceptional experience.
Packaging
In order to guarantee an irreproachable quality, we condition our coffees daily. This work is carried out by us by hand and gives each package a personal touch.
Enjoying
Enjoy the unique aromas of a specialty coffee, espresso or slow infusion, prepared by you at home or at one of our partners.