Specialty Coffee in Zürich

What is specialty coffee?

Specialty coffee is a classification, not a style. The Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) defines it as green (unroasted) coffee that scores 80 points or above on a 100-point scale when evaluated by a certified Q Grader. Below 80 is commodity coffee, the kind used in mass-market products. Above 80, you're in specialty territory, with scores in the 80s considered "very good", 85+ "excellent", and 90+ "outstanding".

The grading evaluates fragrance, aroma, flavour, aftertaste, acidity, body, balance, uniformity, clean cup, and sweetness. A high score means the coffee has positive attributes in each category: no off-flavours, no defects, and a distinct, pleasant flavour profile. Getting there requires good agriculture (the right altitude, soil, and processing methods), careful harvesting (ripe cherries only), precise roasting, and skilled preparation.

Why most coffee isn't specialty

About 3% of global coffee production reaches specialty grade. The remaining 97% is commodity coffee, grown for volume and price, not quality. Most of the branded coffee you'll find in Swiss supermarkets, chain cafés, and hotel breakfasts falls into this category. That doesn't necessarily mean undrinkable, but it does mean you're paying for packaging and convenience as much as for quality in the cup.

The roast matters

Specialty coffee is typically roasted lighter than commodity coffee. Dark roasting is a common way to mask defects; the roast flavour overpowers any sourness, staleness, or off-notes in the bean. With specialty coffee, the goal is to preserve and highlight the natural flavours already in the bean. A well-roasted specialty bean might taste fruity, floral, nutty, or chocolatey depending on the origin, and those flavours survive into the cup. Dark-roasted specialty coffee exists, but it's the exception, not the rule.

Specialty coffee and espresso

Espresso amplifies everything in the coffee, good and bad. With commodity beans, high heat and high pressure extract a concentrated shot that tastes primarily of roast and bitterness. With specialty beans, the same process extracts sweetness, body, and complexity. This is why the espresso at a specialty coffee bar tastes fundamentally different to what you get from a superautomatic or a petrol station machine. The equipment matters, but it only works if the beans are right to begin with.

How Skippy Coffee approaches specialty

Skippy sources beans graded at specialty level, 80+ SCA score, roasted by a quality-focused roaster to a profile that suits espresso-based milk drinks. We pull a double shot as the base for every drink. The grinder is calibrated daily. The espresso is dialled in to the right extraction time and yield for the specific batch of beans. When the batch changes, the process starts again. This is what separates specialty from commodity in practice: not just better beans, but better attention to every variable that affects the cup.

Specialty coffee in Zürich

Zürich has a small but serious specialty coffee community. There are roasters, barista championships, and cafés that take extraction as seriously as any city in Europe. The challenge for customers is that the word "specialty" is used loosely; it appears on menus that serve commodity coffee, because there's no regulation preventing it. The best way to know is to ask: who roasted the beans, what is the origin, and what score did it grade? A good café can answer all three. Skippy Coffee can answer all three.