- Quality has been a hallmark of specialty coffee since its inception, shaping standards for processing, sourcing, roasting, and brewing for the pursuit of excellence.
- Roasters leverage the unique attributes of coffees to help build their branding around quality-driven values.
- But as more premium coffees appear on roasters’ offerings, and the market becomes increasingly competitive, quality alone is no longer enough to stand out.
- Offering consistency and value is becoming more critical, especially with the new reality of sustained high coffee prices.
Quality has always been a unique selling point of specialty coffee.
Through grading systems, cupping protocols, farming and roasting best practices, and marketing strategies, the industry emphasises quality as its differentiating factor – the “better” alternative to commercial-grade coffee.
Even within the specialty coffee niche, roasters compete to source auction lots, high-scoring varieties, or the latest experimental processing trend – all marketed with the promise of exceptional quality and unique flavours.
As more consumers seek premium options, the push for extraordinary coffees intensifies. This, however, creates a double-edged sword; offering these coffees helps raise standards and expectations in the industry, but it means quality alone is no longer the differentiator.
Instead, roasters must also rely on consistency, value, and transparency to engage with customers in new ways. Bogdan Ciocian of Meron Coffee and Mark Dundon of Seven Seeds share their insight.
You may also like our article on why it’s never been more important for roasters to invest in quality control.
Specialty coffee’s concept of “quality” has changed
Specialty coffee positions itself as the artisanal, premium alternative to commercial-grade coffee. While large brands focus on reaching as many consumers as possible, specialty coffee roasters prioritise quality above all else, catering to a niche segment of the market.
As a result, its market share will always remain small, but the industry’s focus on excellence has fuelled a boom in premium coffee consumption over the last decade. The Covid-19 pandemic, in particular, was a significant driver of interest in higher-quality coffee. With cafés closed the world over, consumers had no choice but to replicate drinks at home – which meant investing in better beans and equipment.
The relentless pursuit of flavour diversity and innovation has also spurred market growth and diversification. As more consumers demanded new experiences, roasters pivoted their sourcing strategies to offer truly unique coffees: single origin micro lots, competition and auction-winning coffees, and experimentally processed beans.
These coffees sparked curiosity, gaining the interest of customers who wanted to expand their palates and try more exclusive offerings. They also redefined what was possible in terms of quality and flavour innovation, showcasing entirely new sensory profiles and sometimes boasting higher cup scores.
Processing, in particular, became a key point of quality differentiation. While the “big three” – washed, natural, and honey – account for most of the coffees available on the market, demand for less traditional tasting notes accelerated the growth of advanced processing techniques. Terms like “thermal shock” and “lactic fermentation” became part of modern specialty coffee culture, changing how we describe quality and flavour.
However, as the specialty coffee market has matured in regions such as Australia, Western Europe, North America, and Japan, these once novel coffees have begun to lose their exclusivity.
“A few years ago, anaerobic, carbonic maceration, or co-fermentation coffees were rare and exciting. Today, they’re common in high-end cafes and competitions, and even showing up in subscription offerings,” says Bogdan, the CEO of Meron Coffee, a specialty coffee roaster in Transylvania, Romania.
“Once cutting-edge, these processes are no longer inherently differentiating – unless tied to a unique story, origin, or execution. Many roasters are chasing the same rare varieties, experimental processes, and exclusive farms,” he adds. “As more roasters offer similar stories, consumers tune out the noise unless the delivery is exceptional or emotionally resonant.”
Conflating exclusivity with quality
Quality will always be a defining characteristic of the values and ethos of specialty coffee. But as more competition coffees, “rediscovered” varieties like Sidra, Sudan Rume, and Chiroso, and experimentally-processed lots flood the market, exclusivity and quality are often considered interchangeable – but this isn’t always the case.
“Even a coffee that receives a few hundred Euros per kilogram in an auction can be mediocre quality,” Bogdan says. “Some Asian markets are obsessed with buying expensive, exclusive coffees, even when they’re low-quality.”
This is a phenomenon known as “premiumisation” – the practice of using rarity and exclusivity to drive up brand appeal and price, often to an astronomic level at competitions and auctions. When these coffees are smaller in size, such as a limited-edition micro lot or a one-off batch of experimental processing, price and sense of value only increase.
Without transparency about the “objective” quality of these coffees – including grades and cup scores, not just scarcity – customers can easily conflate “exclusivity” with “quality”. This can cause widespread confusion, damage consumer perception of “middle-tier” specialty coffees, and overexaggerate the size of the high-end coffee market.
Furthermore, as roasters often use these upscale coffees as unique selling points, they risk losing customers if quality isn’t a priority across all of their offerings.
“Some cafés can use a high-end lot as an exclusive offering, while their bulk coffee is subpar,” says Mark, the co-owner of Seven Seeds, a specialty coffee roaster in Melbourne, Australia. “Any roaster or café that uses the word ‘specialty’ should be transparent about the quality of all the coffee they buy; to do that makes you stand out.”
But in more mature specialty coffee markets such as North America, Europe, Australia, and Japan, consumers are accustomed to the widespread availability of specialty coffee.
“People are inundated with options,” Bogdan says. “In addition to the countless new coffee shops opening on every street corner, more recently, specialty coffee has also penetrated other types of retail businesses.”
Expectations about quality then rise, but the risk of consumer fatigue – when consumers are overwhelmed by excessive marketing or too many purchasing decisions – also increases.
“People will question whether or not it’s worth paying US$4 for an espresso or a cortado,” Bogdan adds. “The bar is raised higher and higher, more and more money is invested in equipment and design, and entering a mature market becomes increasingly difficult.”
Value and brand experience become crucial
As coffee quality becomes more of a prerequisite than a differentiator, roasters must find new ways to capture the attention of consumers.
“Whether you want to call it ‘peak specialty’ or something else, we have reached a point where roasters need to make decisions,” Mark says. “The need to stand out has driven a lot of change in the industry; now it’s time to focus on what longevity for the coffee industry is.”
To stay competitive, having a strong brand that communicates values and allows people to connect with them is more crucial than ever.
“Modern consumers are experience-driven; they remember how they feel more than what they buy,” Bogdan tells me. “They are super socially conscious; they align with brands that share their values.”
Simultaneously, as retail prices rise, independent specialty coffee roasters have an opportunity to double down on the value they offer customers – convincing them to switch to a buy local or small mindset.
“However, value is not just about price – it’s also about perceived worth: sustainability, origin story, craft, service, and café design,” Bogdan adds. “Brand experience is the emotional and sensory journey from packaging to in-café service to online interaction.”
To be successful, brand experience should be more than visual identity, a new logo, or refreshed packaging. The focus must shift from product-first to experience-first; roasters need to curate a cohesive brand narrative that customers want to be a part of, not just buy from.
“There is room for any roaster to tell a new, beautiful, and interesting story about great coffee,” Bogdan says. “In an industry full of Colombians and Ethiopians, you could introduce lesser-known origins such as Bolivia, Nicaragua, Tanzania, or Papua New Guinea.”
Above all else, roasters must offer dependability and reliability, especially in an increasingly volatile coffee market.
“The true differentiating factor is the consistency with which you can deliver these coffees,” Bogdan adds. “You need to convince customers by offering quality coffees year after year – this consistency leads to a culture of quality that people notice over time.”
Once differentiators, exceptional quality and unique micro lots have become the norm in specialty coffee. To stand out in today’s rapidly changing market, roasters now need to focus on consistency, value, and transparency.
“Each café needs to showcase what specialty coffee means to them,” Mark concludes. “The industry needs ambassadors to communicate the value of coffee, why roasters are so excited about it, and why it requires so much work and effort to serve it to customers.”
Enjoyed this? Then read our article on how producers can drive quality in specialty coffee.
Photo credits: Meron Coffee
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