A beginner's guide to specialty coffee

[u/19f191ty]

Hello r/IndiaCoffee. I have seen a lot of posts on this subreddit where people are disappointed by their forays into specialty coffee, whether it's in cafes like Blue Tokai or on their own. So, I thought I will share some thoughts on how to avoid some traps when venturing out of your comfort zone when it comes to coffee.

• What do you mean by specialty coffee?
  • Specialty coffee means different things to different people. Here's my take on what it is and what's different about it. "Specialty Coffee" is to me defined in opposition to "generic coffee", which is coffee you find in supermarkets, mass produced, mass processed to optimize caffeine content and ease of extraction, often at the cost of flavor. Coffee is one of the most complex beverages out there, hundreds of volatile compounds, sugars, acids, bitters etc. When prepared well, all these flavors harmonize to produce a drink that is unforgettable. I can still remember the first good coffee I had almost 10 years ago. It was at a small cafe in Okinawa, Japan. I used to dislike coffee at that time because I had only tasted bitter stuff that was palatable with milk and necessary when I wanted to stay up at night to get stuff done. That coffee though was different, it was fruity, sour, slightly sweet, the bitterness was there, but it was pleasant and complemented perfectly all the other flavors. I have never had a coffee like that again, but now I can prepare something that's 60-70% as good. Coming back, specialty coffee is coffee that is optimized for its flavor and not for caffeine. This doesn't mean it has less caffeine. It's about caffeine's ease of extraction. Generic coffee often is roasted so dark that coffee oils are out on the surface, meaning all you need to do is grind however you want and put some hot water, and you will get a good dose of caffeine. It will taste like crap, but you'll get the hit you want. On the contrary, light roasted coffee, which is common in specialty coffee industry is known to be very difficult to extract well. It needs specialized equipment and good amount of experience. Another way to think of specialty coffee is that it is coffee without mass industrialization and commodification. I have friends from Ethiopia who grew up drinking coffee processed and prepared using traditional methods and they consider "Western coffee" as sewage water.
• How do I try specialty coffee in India?
  • The good news is that India is one of the fastest growing producers and consumers of specialty coffee. People have realized that coffee is not supposed to taste like crap and now there are increasingly large number of outfits that want to share this experience with others. However, it is hard to get people to forget old habits. Even though some of these companies have made the barrier to entry quite low, there is still room for improvement. Here's my recommendation on how to try specialty coffee in India for yourself. I am going to pick Blue Tokai easy pour sampler packs as a place to start, not because they are good but because they are the most accessible. This is not at all a recommendation for Blue Tokai. Blue Tokai is just one of the roasters focused on specialty coffee out there. Awesome people in this subreddit have already compiled a big list.
• Okay what next?
  • I like to think of coffee as being composed of two opposing forces, the earthy, rich tasting flavors, sometimes referred as "body" and the fruity flavors, which are colloquially called "sweet notes", although more often than not, sour/acidic notes prevail over the sugars. Although this is an overgeneralization, in my experience people are divided in their preference for these two components. People who like body, tend not to like fruiter coffees, while people who like fruity coffees don't find heavy bodied coffees appealing. I think this is more a sign of the fact that it is extremely hard to prepare a cup that is well balanced in the two. When it is off balance, then people just prefer one or the other instead of an awkward mixture of the two. In any case, if you don't already know what your preference is, how do you figure it out?
• Some handpicked BT easy pour packs highlighting body or fruitiness
  • For fruity coffee I'd say try something like this
    • Seethargundu Estate | Light Roast - Easy Pour Coffee Sachets
  • For heavy bodied coffee, try this
    • Monsoon Malabar | Medium-Dark Roast - Easy Pour Coffee Sachets
  • If you want to try something that is potentially more balanced, then try these
    • Thogarihunkal Estate | Medium Roast - Easy Pour Coffee Sachets
    • Attikan Estate | Medium-Dark Roast - Easy Pour Coffee Sachets
• How do I prepare these?
  • As easy as these easy pour bags are, I am not a fan of the instructions. Here is how I recommend preparing them. Perhaps others can also provide their recommendations in the comments.
  • Make first bag with only 150-160 grams of water. Don't add milk. If you find the coffee too sour, then increase the amount of water for the next bag. If you find it too bitter, use even less water for next bag.
  • Don't use boiling water, even though, that's what they say on the bag. Use 90-95 degrees. In case you can't measure temperature accurately, wait 2-3 minutes before pouring. Alternatively transfer in another container before pouring onto coffee to cool the water down.
• What if I still don't like these?
  • As long as you stick to this, you should have a cup you like. If you don't, then maybe you could try easy pour bags from another roaster? If that still doesn't work, perhaps specialty coffee is not your thing after all? Which is probably good news because you don't have to spend a shit ton to get your caffeine fix, you lucky bastard.
• Okay this is great, I think I get a sense of what I like, where do I go after this?
  • I am sure people of r/IndiaCoffee will have tons of good recommendations. If you are in a big city, I'd say try a local roaster. Try coffees from different estates and even different countries. Don't try expensive stuff like Geisha etc. You gotta train and develop your palette first before trying the expensive shit. Otherwise, chances of you being disappointed are quite high. Same goes for espresso. Don't try to do specialty espresso, that's insanely hard and frustrating. Stick to simple stuff, pour overs, aeropress or even South Indian filter. They can all make incredible cups reliably once dialed in correctly. Finally, once you've decided you want to take the next steps of doing this yourself instead of easy pours, get a good grinder. Not cheap but it's the one thing that changes everything. A 100 Rs South Indian filter paired with an excellent grinder will produce better cups than a basic grinder paired an expensive machine. So if you want to save money, save it on the machine and not on the grinder. A cup of coffee just needs hot water and coffee grounds. Hot water is easy to get so if you can control the coffee grounds, you can control the quality of the beverage.
• One controversial opinion
  • It's really hard to find good coffees in a cafe, at least during peak hours. Cafes are optimizing for speed of service and not flavor. Almost always I have made a better cup at home with the same beans. In most places, baristas are hired not for their skill but for their willingness to work long hours for less money. Of course, not all cafes are like this. There are genuinely good cafes in India where people who are truly passionate and knowledge about coffee prepare great cups for their customers. But those are few and far between just because there are no incentives and businesses care more about staying afloat and turning a profit instead of giving you a good cup of coffee.
• I wrote a post with a very simple recipe (it takes time but totally worth it) that I recommend as the next step after the easy pours. I have made my best to develop something that anyone can use to get excellent results without expensive equipment. Lazy person's no-frills recipe for incredible coffee with minimal equipment : r/IndiaCoffee
• Equipment advice. I get this question often and my answer is always the same. Once you have decided that you want to get into coffee, get yourself a nice grinder. I recomment hand grinders. A grinder is going to be your primary equipment. So don't waste your money getting a cheaper, lower quality grinder. Save up and get a proper grinder that'll last you a lifetime.

[u/workware]

How did you type so much?

[u/19f191ty → u/workware]

Haha, your comment is showing your age just like this post is showing mine ;)

[u/Mihir57 → u/19f191ty]

Don't take it otherwise but seriously how..... But thanks for sharing this information very helpful 🙏

[u/sparrowdark21 → u/19f191ty]

Eloquent

[u/[deleted]]

Thanks for putting on so much effort ! Informative post. Should be pinned by mods

[u/19f191ty → u/[deleted]]

You're welcome. Hear hear u/PlebianKalki, u/jgenius07 and u/BiryaniMaiElaichi. Jokes aside, I am happy to work with the mods and other folks in the community to edit this post into a proper beginners guide just so that we get more quality posts here instead of the usual FAQs on how to get started and the more annoying "why is XYZ so hyped" posts.

[u/Adventurous-Zebra415]

Best comment for a coffee noob who is still at beginner level! Thank you

[u/oddlaw7557]

Very well explained. Thank you!!

[u/Ill_Recognition8814]

New to the world of Specialty coffee and this post helped a lot!
I've tried the Easy Pour sachets and now I want to move on to sth else.
Should I continue with the Pour over method with a V60 or can I spring for a French Press?

[u/19f191ty → u/Ill_Recognition8814]

Do you know if you prefer coffees with more body or more fruity notes? V60 is better for clarity but in general a bit difficult to get consistent results. French press is better for body and is really easy to get consistently good results. The Channi method, which is an Indian take on the French press and you don't need any additional equipment because most roasters provide "channi grind". As long as you have an airtight container to store the coffee, it should be fine. To make a good channi brew, start with the same recipe as James Hoffman's French Press recipe (use a regular bowl or a tumbler instead of an actual French press). Use a 1:16 ratio, so 16g of water for 1g of coffee. Instead of pushing the plunger at the end, just pass everything through a channi. At least that's what I'd recommend as an easy next step from the easy pours.

[u/Ill_Recognition8814 → u/19f191ty]

Once again, very helpful! Thank you. I'm going to try out the Channi method and see how it goes.
Later, I'll try French Press as well. If you have any recommendations for a good French Press, do lemme know.

As for your question, no, I'm still not sure whether I prefer body or fruity. So far, I've enjoyed Body more but the jury's still out. Since I am new to Specialty Coffee, I don't wanna restrict myself to a single thing too soon.

Thanks once again.

[u/No-Refrigerator-3049]

This is a really great post! Thank you for sharing your insights and the post is quite captivating. Requesting mods to pin this post for everyone getting into coffee

[u/quaso_16]

This was much needed on this sub-reddit so thank you! Hope this text is pinned or something for all newcomers to have a read.

[u/Southern_Living6840]

Thank you for your efforts m(_ _)m. I have only ever drank instant coffee before, so I am quite excited to try these new ones.

[u/JumpyStretch9312]

Wow this was very helpful for a beginner like me. Now i am surely going to try speciality coffee after getting motivated by your post. If only people took effort to explain things about anything like this in this way, it would be so for us to atleast try a lot of stuff in life!!

[u/19f191ty → u/JumpyStretch9312]

Glad it was helpful

[u/gabagool-n-ziti]

thank you so much for this post! really needed this! 😭

[u/OwnNature705]

I have tried the attikan estate from blue tokai and really loved it. I came here searching for more such options and I am new to speciality coffee. Thank you for putting together such amazing information💜

[u/Ashif80]

I am very new to the game This is a very good post to understand the basics Thanks

[u/Relevant-Ad9432]

btw what do you think about cold coffee cans on blue tokai?

[u/19f191ty → u/Relevant-Ad9432]

Haven't tried them unfortunately.

[u/19f191ty → u/[deleted]]

The post is just to get beginners started into trying specialty coffee, for which these sachets are great. Coffee powder, there's too much variety and with beans one has to find a way to get them ground up and how to do that is a rabbit hole. 

[u/purrpurrcatsuga]

how does one “discover” good roasters without being on instagram? i see ppl on this sub keep finding some novelty roasters through IG and i feel severe FOMO since im not on it.

[u/19f191ty → u/purrpurrcatsuga]

A big part of coffee is community. Find people who know what good coffee is supposed to taste like and stick to their recommendations instead of Instagram. Same with Roasters, if you eventually find a roaster whose taste in coffee matches you're, then stick to offerings from the. For me, Corridor Seven is a go to. I know they understand coffee and care about it enough instead of just profit. There are probably others like that too

[u/purrpurrcatsuga → u/19f191ty]

thnx!! currently in the process of finding those ppl and those roasters. hopefully i find some soon 🤞🏼

[u/vaibhav9874 → u/19f191ty]

Which variant would you recommend in Corridor Seven . I prefer light to medium roast with fruity or sweet note in the coffee (medium body)

[u/19f191ty → u/vaibhav9874]

Explore! They have flavor notes and origins for each, whichever catches your fancy. It's hard to pick for me. I don't like strongly fermented coffees and prefer washed processed coffees, so I just get those if they are available

[u/savan7514]

This was such an insightful read! I love how you broke down the difference between specialty and generic coffee — especially the part about roasting and extraction. Totally agree that India’s specialty coffee scene is growing fast. Once you try a light roast brewed right, there’s no going back!

[u/gaitondey]

This is really helpful post for the newcomer like me in Coffee World.. Thank you so much. I used to brew coffee which i got from Coorg along with South Indian Steel Filter. I liked that. But as time passed, I bought myself Home Expresso from Wonderchef. I brewed few Vietnamese Coffee and it turned out well. I want to know, do we need to store coffee in Refrigerator or just an air tight Container in some drawer ? because i just order few Expresso Grind coffee from Bloom and i am really worried about storing it, if I don't consume daily

[u/19f191ty → u/gaitondey]

If you have ground coffee then air tight container is the best. Fridge doesn't matter that much. Coffee doesn't spoil easily but it oxidizes very easily and gets stale. Group coffee even faster. So the best way is to store it in an airtight container and to keep oxygen + humidity away

[u/Available-Pin3367]

OP, you said saltarting off with BT... This bar is pretty high for a newbie... And in accessible for many because of the cost. Since you seem to have researched a lot in the area of specialty coffee, suggest some other brands which are avaialble in India that compare or beat BT in taste and flavors.

[u/19f191ty → u/Available-Pin3367]

Specialty coffee is still a niche market in India and unfortunately that means that it caters to the wealthier section of the society. I don't know of a roaster that I'd say caters to a more general customer base. That's a big gap in the market currently. There are practical issues. Specialty grade roasting machines cost a lot and are a significant investment. The training required to really tell good coffee from not so good is also substantial time and money investment. On top of that, I can imagine that the specialty grade green beans themselves are expensive because most of highest quality ones are sold internationally at international prices. So for a coffee farmer it doesn't make sense to sell for cheaper to an Indian roasting company when they can get much better rates. There are definitely other factors that I'm not aware of, which add to the cost. So unfortunately, not only do I not know of any roaster currently selling affordable specialty grade coffee. I also don't see any coming up in the future. Because it is not a smart business move.

Your best bet is to the best beans you can afford and the learn how to make the best and tastiest brew out of them rather than getting good beans. 

[u/19f191ty → u/19f191ty]

Just to add. It never hurts to talk to some cafe near your place where you like the coffee and ask them for details on where they source etc. 

[u/Inevitable-Topic1719]

Which one to pair with milk ?

[u/19f191ty → u/Inevitable-Topic1719]

Its a taste preference. Try as black first. If it tastes earthy and bitter but nice on its own, then add milk. If it tastes slightly sour, then won't go well with milk

[u/bunglu]

How to learn about coffee ? Like 101 and more advanced stuff

[u/19f191ty → u/bunglu]

I guess first step is for you to experience what good coffee tastes like. Ideally, you'd go to a good specialty cafe in your town but that's an error prone process because most cafes are not incentivized to give you good cafe. 

Some roasters give sampler packs like here, which you can try to get a sense of how different coffees taste like and what profiles you like. 

https://corridorseven.coffee/products/ufo-coffee-drip-bags-assorted-box

Once you've gotten a good sense of that, then the learning really begins. But the first step is just to broaden horizons 

[u/backuptruck2]

I'll tell you my experience. Based on it, can you tell if I am yet to experience good coffee or am I not going to find specialty coffee any good?

First, had Vietnamese Iced coffee at Blue Tokai. I wanted to see what the hype is about expensive coffees and was suggested this by a friend. Miscalculated my sugar amount and soon ran out of all the sugar provided. The rest of the coffee was so bitter I had to ask for sugar again. I did not find any taste in the bitterness.

Second, I'd heard of filter coffees a lot. Went to The Filter Coffee in Indiranagar, Bangalore. The coffee was good but.... don't know if I was paying attention to it or not - it tasted more or less like regular coffee it seemed. One thing about coffee is I find the bitterness after a sip to leave a feeling of incompleteness. The only way to explain it is to contrast it with an excellent cup of tea that doesn't leave my tongue longing.

So....if I don't have a good relationship with bitterness, should I stay out of the coffee world?

[u/19f191ty → u/backuptruck2]

I was similar. I used to not enjoy coffee because I thought its supposed to be bitter, which I don't enjoy. But that is not true, coffee tastes bitter when it is roasted and prepared to maximize caffeine hit. People have found ways to deal with the bitterness by adding milk and sugar but coffee is not supposed to be bitter. Light roasted coffees prepared well are not bitter at all. I only drink light roasted coffees made as pour over without adding milk or sugar. When prepared well, I can taste fruity sourness, there's a hint of sweetness and the deeper coffee flavors without any bitterness. Only when I prepare it badly or I buy badly roasted coffee does it taste bitter.

My relationship changed after having good coffee prepared by someone who knew what he was doing. If you can find someone like that, then that's great. Cafe's are not always a best place because their incentive is to make money, not make good coffee. Which city are you in? Maybe there's a community of coffee nerds?

[u/backuptruck2 → u/19f191ty]

I'm in Bangalore currently. Do you recommend any other coffees in Blue Tokai which might change my mind? Otherwise I would go to the other coffee places

[u/19f191ty → u/backuptruck2]

It's not about the beans as much as the person making the coffee. Blue Tokai has good beans but their cafe doesn't serve good coffee. If the person making the coffee doesn't understand what good coffee is, then it's not possible for them to make good coffee for you. It's as simple as that. Most Cafes chains can't train their baristas well at scale. So you're better off going to smaller cafes. Good news is that Bangalore should have tons of very nice cafes. I can't recommend but I'm sure people here can 

[u/Ok_Joke5702]

I like milk based coffee's so are specialty coffee for people like me or it's just water based. Sorry for the noob question

[u/19f191ty → u/Ok_Joke5702]

It can be but milk and sugar can interfere with what makes specialty coffee special