What Makes Specialty Coffee So Unique
Specialty coffee stands out because every step in the chain is carried out with exceptional care. It all begins at the plantation, where only the ripest coffee cherries are hand-picked. The beans are then carefully processed: washed, honey-processed or naturally processed, and ultimately sorted by quality. The entire journey of the coffee bean is transparent and traceable—from region and altitude to variety, processing method, and harvest year. This also includes paying farmers a fair price, an essential part of true specialty coffee.
This transparency is crucial for quality. Only then can a coffee achieve a cupping score of at least 84+, placing it among the best coffees worldwide. Only about 5–10% of all coffee in the world meets this specialty standard. That’s why specialty coffee is not only more flavorful but also special and relatively scarce.
Freshly Roasted, With Attention to Every Batch
Quality in the bean is one thing; the way it is roasted determines how that quality ends up in the cup. In our own roastery, we roast fresh every day and in small batches, allowing us to maintain optimal control over development, aroma, and balance. Every roast is tasted and evaluated by experienced cuppers within the team, ensuring that each coffee retains the character of its origin.
What matters most is consistency. You want to be sure that you’re always serving or drinking the same coffee. That is only possible when you roast yourself—and roast daily. That’s why at Bocca we work according to roast to order: we roast exclusively to order and keep very little stock. This ensures your coffee is always truly fresh.
Unlike commercial coffee, which is often produced in huge volumes and stored for months, specialty coffee remains vibrant, fresh, and refined. Whether you brew espresso or use a filter method, each brewing technique highlights different characteristics, allowing the same coffee to reveal something new every time.
Unique Flavor Profiles for Every Coffee Drinker
Specialty coffee offers a wealth of flavors that you won’t easily find in standard, dark-roasted coffee. This doesn’t mean that commercial coffee has only one flavor—commercial coffee also comes from different regions and can vary. The main difference is that specialty coffee retains far more nuance because it isn’t roasted too dark to mask defects.
Brazilian coffees such as Soulmate & Bombita are creamy, round, smooth and chocolatey, making them popular with fans of a classic, accessible flavor. Ethiopian coffees such as Gusto, The Blend & Ethiopia are known for their floral notes and flavors of berries, citrus or stone fruits, giving them a fruity and elegant character. Kenyan coffees in our Pionier line like Kamwangi offer pronounced brightness and lively acidity, making them loved by coffee drinkers who enjoy discovering new and exciting flavor nuances.
Even within our blends, you’ll find surprising balance between sweetness, freshness, and depth. Even our decaf, processed using high-quality methods such as CO₂ or Swiss Water®, retains its full aromatic character—so you can enjoy specialty coffee at any time of day.
Fairly Produced, Sustainable at Every Step
Specialty coffee goes beyond flavor; it tells a story of craftsmanship, respect, and collaboration. By working directly with farmers, building long-term relationships, and paying fair prices, producers can invest in sustainable farming, innovation, and improved living conditions for their communities.
As a B Corp certified coffee brand, we are committed to positive impact at every stage of the process—from source to roastery. This means fewer intermediaries, more transparency, and more value for both the farmer and the consumer.
When you drink specialty coffee, you’re not only tasting exceptional quality—you’re also supporting a future-proof coffee sector.
Find Your Specialty Coffee and Taste the Difference
Curious which coffee suits you best? Explore the flavor profiles of our single origins and blends, or try different coffees to discover your preferences.
Want to taste for yourself? In our espresso bar at Kerkstraat 96 in Amsterdam, you can explore our coffees extensively and receive personal advice from our baristas. You can also book barista workshops, where you will learn to taste, brew, and recognize the flavors that make specialty coffee so unique. Step by step, you’ll become a true home barista.
We offer all our coffees as whole beans or freshly ground, precisely tailored to your brewing method—from espresso to filter. You can also choose from various formats: our standard 250-gram bag, 500 grams, or larger bags for intensive home use, horeca or office. Whatever your preference, you can always count on the same freshness and quality.
Whether you enjoy sweet and round, fresh and fruity, intense and powerful, or elegant and refined, you’ll always find a specialty coffee that fits your taste. And once you’ve tasted the difference, you’ll likely never want anything else again.
