What's In Your Cup? — green coffee

Imagine you're a Guatemalan coffee producer, traveling to the states during the greatest pandemic in a hundred years to visit family. Now imagine that family lives in the local Rhode Island area and you're looking to sell some of your coffee to a local roaster while you're in town.

We see labels like “gourmet” and “premium” thrown around every end of the food and beverage industry. Customers become desensitized by these poor advertising attempts until well-defined indicators begin to lose their weight. The phrase “specialty coffee” is not just some cliché. So when used properly, what does it really mean?