精品咖啡(Specialty coffee)的定義 - 咖啡討論

※ 引述《ultimachen (Ultima)》之銘言：
http://kaffee.netfirms.com/Coffee/SCAASpecCofDef.html

Specialty Coffee
The Definition of Specialty Coffee
by Don Holly, Administrative Director, SCAA

就我的了解，"精品咖啡"這個詞是由Knutsen Coffee的Erna Knutsen在1798年
法國Montreuil的國際咖啡會議上的演講所創造。基本上，這個概念相當簡單：特殊的
風土條件創造出獨一風味的咖啡豆，稱之為"精品(特殊)咖啡"。在這名稱的概念下，
精品咖啡的基本前提是"經過妥善處理的、新鮮烘焙的、適度淬取的"。這是在她演講之前
二十年間在咖啡工業漸漸展開的工藝。SCAA持續定義這個詞的特殊性。我們的工作則是
透過會員的活動持續推廣這個定義。

精品咖啡由咖啡的最源頭開始，在世界上特定的區域種植特定的品種。阿拉比卡的某些
品種非常適合產生精品咖啡。有些品種也許永遠不能。一般品種的Typica跟Bourbon，
最近Catuai的變種跟其他相關的變種是最適點用來產生精品咖啡。Robusta系似乎總是
在風味上顯得較短。但精品咖啡並不僅僅如此。生長不佳、欠收、或是不當處理的Typica
或Bourbon同樣在杯測時表現極差。精品咖啡的概念並須包含咖啡樹的照養及出品前的
準備。同樣的，有些地區證明了產出最佳咖啡豆的能力，因為其高度、緯度、土壤及
其他特點。其他地區則沒有表現出這樣的能力。

生豆分級表由SCAA的Ted Lingle所製作。幾年來清楚地定義了精品咖啡在生豆期的標準:
沒有缺陷的咖啡(豆)並且在杯測時有可辨識的特色。"premium"這個等級略低於精品咖啡，
使這個概念更清楚。特級咖啡同樣是沒有基本缺陷的咖啡，但不一定要有可辨識的特色。
這個澄清，幫助精品咖啡在其特殊性有更多著墨。精品咖啡並不僅僅是好喝的咖啡，
而是為了其特殊性，它必須是顯著地好。

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累了，剩下之後再翻

The next phase is roasting, and here is where there is a lot of opportunity in
our industry to continually define specialty. The SCAA Roast Color
Classification System developed with noted industry scientist Carl Staub gave
us a valuable measure for controlling roast development. Still, every coffee
in combination with every roaster has a potential to express itself in a way
that will be most satisfying for every customer. Bringing out a coffee's
distinctive character is the roastmaster's challenge and if they come close
to succeeding then it is still specialty if it started out in the green form
as specialty. A roaster cannot take a coffee beyond the potential it contained
when it came off the tree and was processed; but they can certainly fail to
bring it close.
接著進入烘培的階段. 在這個階段我們的產業有更多機會持續地來定義"精品". 由知名的
咖啡科學家Carl Staub幫忙研發的SCAA咖啡烘培分級制度使我們在控制烘培程度上有了
可靠的標準. 但不同烘培者仍然有空間, 為滿足不同的顧客而對不同的咖啡做處理. 烘培
師最大的挑戰便是使一種咖啡顯著的特性表現出來. 只要生豆是符合精品的原則, 那就算
烘培師沒有完全烘出, 還是可以算精品咖啡. 生豆的潛力在於摘採和處理; 烘培者無法帶
出潛力之外的東西, 但絕對能連潛力也帶不出來.


In roasted coffee, most agree freshness is part of the definition for
specialty. The consensus breaks down in attempting to develop guidelines for
freshness. At SCAA, we are concerned that there are no established technical
standards for evaluating this facet of coffee quality. While our Retail Roaster
members focus on the issue of time-maintaining a 3 to 7 day window is optimum
for best results-many of our Wholesale Roaster members contend that today's
packaging technology greatly expands this period of time into weeks or even
months. Beyond the issue of "who is right" in this debate lies the more
compelling question of "how do we decide." In order to find consensus on the
first question, we have to reach agreement on the second. It is true that good
coffee, well-roasted, and packaged in conditions that prevent oxidation, will
brew up a flavorful cup of coffee. The scientific question is whether the
packaging can retain the aromatic properties of the coffee that helped make
it "special". My experience as a Retail Roaster suggests that "while the
tongue may tell, only the nose knows for certain." Therefore, if the coffee
is not highly aromatic then it no longer deserves to be called "specialty."
The important job for SCAA is to quantify this aspect of quality into a good
technical standard. This won't be an easy task.

多數的人都同意, 熟豆是否新鮮是其是否為精品的定義之一. 但在評斷新鮮度的準則上
並沒有共識. SCAA也注意到, 在這個面向上, 並沒有一套確立的技術標準來衡量咖啡的
品質. 我們的零售烘培會員認為3-7天的保存期能有最好的表現, 而許多量販烘培會員則
堅持, 現今的包裝技術能將保存期大幅延長到數星期甚至數月之久. 在"誰才是對的"的
爭論背後, 更令人關切的問題是"我們如何來決定". 我們要能在後者上取得一致, 才能
在前者上取得共識. 這是一個科學問題: 這些包裝是否能保持咖啡"特殊"的香氣? 作為
一個零售烘培者, 我的經驗認為, "用舌頭或許可以分辨, 但用鼻子才能確定." 因此,
當咖啡不再充滿香氣, 它就不應該被稱為"精品". SCAA的重要工作變是在這個方面將品質
量化, 進而使成為一個好的技術標準. 這個任務並不容易.


Then there is the brewing phase. There are many ways in which you can extract
the most flavorful soluble materials of roasted coffee into water, and they
are best-organized into methods of how the water moves. Steeping methods like
the French Press give a different flavor of beverage than drip methods or
espresso, even when you use the same coffee. All are capable of brewing
beverages that can qualify as specialty coffee, but only if done correctly.
The right recipe of coffee to water, the right grind suited to the method and
the coffee's physical characteristics, the proper water temperature and
contact time, a good preparation of the coffee "bed" or "cake" are all
fundamentals that must be satisfied to produce a specialty cup of coffee.
For example, I believe that it takes at least 100 hours, or the preparation
of at least 1,000 shots of espresso, under demanding tutelage, before anyone
should consider themselves anything more than a trainee-barista. It takes
several hours of trial and testing before any combination of brewer and
grinder is fit to brew a Golden Cup. Unfortunately, many coffee companies
do not allocate enough investment in training and quality control to meet
the standards for brewing specialty coffee.

There are some great stories and marvelous promotions out there in our
industry from people claiming that they have the "best" coffee, and that
they work hard to produce specialty coffee. It does take a lot of work to
produce specialty, and it is not always tangibly clear (especially to the
managing accountants and financial investors) that the customers can tell the
difference. There is sometimes a tendency to rely more upon telling a good
story and creating a good promotion than putting out all of the effort that is
required to offer specialty coffee consistently. But, it is my opinion that
those who will succeed in the long term, building a loyal clientele and
generating a healthy and sustainable return on investment for their company,
are going to be the ones who are spending more attention and resources on
training and quality control than they are on marketing. Check the financial
statements. If expenditures on advertising and marketing are greater than on
training and quality control, what is being sold? I would suggest that it is
probably not specialty coffee.

Specialty coffee is, in the end, defined in the cup. It takes many steps to
deliver that cup into the customers' hands. Each of those steps can uphold
the classification of specialty if quality has been maintained throughout all
the preceding steps. Given all of the effort that it takes to produce specialty
coffee, and given how pleasurable such a cup can be, we should all jealously
guard our definition for it, protect its meaning and credibility, and only use
the word specialty when it is worth it.



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