PREMIUM COFFEE EXPLAINED
DEFINING PREMIUM COFFEE
We’ve always felt that premium coffee has a multitude of benefits over commodity coffee. But what exactly do we mean by “premium coffee?” Let’s start with some definitions. In its most basic form, premium coffee is defined as any coffee that scores 80 points or more out of 100 on an internationally recognized quality scale. Anyone who is a certified “Q” grader can taste and evaluate a coffee and give it scores based on attributes such as sweetness, acidity, aroma etc. The entire premium coffee market accounts for only 5% of the total global production of coffee, and as you climb the ladder towards 90 points, you start to get into fractions of a percentage. Coffees that achieve premium status don’t do so by accident. Quality and care need to be the highest priority throughout the entire supply chain at every stage of production.
GROWING PREMIUM COFFEE
Let’s start with growing conditions. Arabica coffee is a fickle plant and anyone who’s tried to grow coffee at home will know, it's a difficult process. To get a high quality, good yield you’ll need advantageous growing
conditions. The slower the fruit ripens the higher density the beans inside
will be. The higher density the beans the better the quality. That’s why higher
altitude coffees have always been regarded as better due to the cool mountain air that slows down ripening. Another way of doing this is to increase the canopy cover on your coffee farm. This usually comes in the form of indigenous trees which naturally increase shade and biodiversity. Techniques such as companion planting which provide natural pest control, higher yields, or encouraging pollinators are also often used on premium coffee
farms. Increase your natural flora and fauna and over time the ecosystem will
benefit. Work with nature and it’ll give back. Premium coffee farmers tend to be much more aware of this relationship with the land these days.
HARVESTING PREMIUM COFFEE
It is commonly understood
that selective harvesting is the easiest way of increasing the quality of coffee. Every farm is different when it comes to harvesting, the topography of the farm, availability of local workers, or the financial backing for mechanized
machines will determine how that farm chooses to pick its cherries. When
picking cherries for commodity coffee quite often the tree will be “strip picked” which means all the cherries are harvested at once. Great for cost,
horrible for quality. Like any fruit tree, coffee trees will ripen from bottom-up and strip picking will mean you end up with ripe cherries, under-ripe cherries and overripe cherries. Not good. Going from strip picking for two picks will increase quality by around 50%. increase to three or four picks and your quality will exponentially increase. So will your cost. To achieve a premium grade, selective picking is a prerequisite. This is one of the
reasons premium coffee costs more. All of the above means three things; premium coffee is more environmentally and economically sustainable, and it tastes better than commodity coffee. What more can you ask for? What’s even
better is that premium coffee achieves this as a matter of course. It doesn’t need fancy accreditations or certifications. It’s inherent in the product.
