Recently I was asked to talk on a topic “Specialty coffee is dead to me” due to a statement I made on twitter and increasing, I am being asked to explain myself.





I’ve been in the coffee industry for almost 20 years. The birth of “specialty coffee in Australia” happened. Major developments with brewing technology, grinders, roasting technology and computer aided profiling rolled out with a dedicated audience. The approach to service has gone through many changes and reinterpretations - café fitouts into the millions, barista Championships and “throwdowns” are massive. The only area that has been pretty much static has been coffee producing/farming. Look at the “c” or price paid to producers vs inflation etc and you will get my drift.





Coffee producers come in all shapes and sizes, some rich, some poor. Some creative, some not. But generally, all are a dedicated bunch wanting to work hard and get a decent income from something they love, like us. Aren’t they a part of this? Shouldn’t they also have seen major advances, perhaps be looking back and seeing how far they have come?





Unfortunately, all this talk of great relationships, sourcing the best coffee in the world and having photos of us at origin “with the refractometer out measuring the brix of the coffee cherry” has kept coffee prices pretty much static and as increasing pressures on cafes and restaurant environments start to bite, one thing that has come to the top of peoples list, is to buy cheaper coffee.





Having spent time working with a coffee non-profit org and meeting many producers, I have the advantage of talking regularly and discussing their issues. Over the last 24 months many have asked “what’s happening in Melbourne, why are people not buying our coffee? ” Or "such and such coffee roaster is here, wanting to buy coffee at +30 on the c".





Looking through these coffee roasters websites, it’s a glowing self-admiration of their impact on the coffee world. Some quote the Fairtrade price and buying above that, or how direct they are. Producers and exporters disagree, and so do I. Specialty is dead! A exporter friend mentioned to me that the market in Australia is looking for commodity coffee and most producers are aware of this.





At this point I haven’t seen anyone change their websites or media campaigns to take into account this change in direction. No one is saying 'we source 2 boxes of stunning 60lb geisha but buy $1.90 usd / lb commodity coffee for our blend'. Or just dropping the word specialty or just having a understanding of what coffee costs to produce and looking at their relationships within the industry. Specialty is dead.





Specialty means nothing, there is no Specialty watch dog saying show me what you pay! Show me the quality! Show me the specialty. It’s increasingly a marketing term used by roasters who are using commodity-based coffee to sell. A slide, a grif, underhand bullshit to me…





Specialty means nothing, or more so, it means I’m marketing my coffee as something it’s not. There is no tangible meaning to specialty that anyone agrees to! It’s confusing to the market and me.











