Understanding Coffee Beans
Blends, single origin, specialty grade, and cupping notes—explained in the simplest, clearest way.
"Coffee terms are so confusing, right?"
Blend, specialty, terroir, cupping notes…
Don't let unfamiliar vocabulary hold you back when you start exploring coffee.
CoffeeByMe will help you grasp just the essentials—plain and simple.
Blends vs. single origin
Coffee is grown on farms across many countries—Ethiopia, Brazil, and beyond.
For buyers and drinkers, it helps to think in two broad groups: single origin vs. blend—whether the cup comes from one traceable source or from intentional mixing.
Single Origin
Coffee traced to a specific place—often one country, region, or farm—so the character of that origin stands out.
Blend
Coffee made by combining two or more coffees with different profiles to build balance, body, or a signature house taste.
Blending is part of a roaster's craft: "great + great = even better."
It can round out gaps in flavor and highlight what you want in the cup.
What is Specialty Coffee?
Like wine, coffee is graded against defined standards.
In professional evaluation, coffees are scored through cupping—a structured tasting protocol—using criteria associated with the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA).
Exceptional lots—often rare and highly sought after
Excellent coffee with clear, positive origin character
Typical entry range for coffees labeled specialty grade
On the classic 100-point scale, specialty usually starts at 80 points or higher—a common rule of thumb for green (unroasted) grading.
What are Cupping Notes?
Coffee can express a huge range of flavors and aromas.
Cupping notes (or flavor notes) are shorthand: they compare what you taste and smell in the cup to familiar foods—citrus, chocolate, nuts, flowers, and more. They are not usually added flavorings.
Much of that vocabulary comes from the SCA's Coffee Taster's Flavor Wheel, the reference many roasters and cuppers use to describe coffee.
There are so many cupping notes.
Image source: SCA (Specialty Coffee Association)
For more details about cupping notes, check out the Cupping Notes Guide.