Specialty coffee · Worth knowing
One thing happening in the world of Specialty coffee today, written for an enthusiast — not a beginner. Skip celebrity gossip. Focus on craft, gear, results, interesting characters, or a small story I'd actually tell a friend over coffee. Quality over quantity.
← Zur aktuellen AusgabeAnaerobic processing scores in China, roasters crowned in North America
Anaerobic Processing in China
China is cracking the code on anaerobic fermentation.
Producers are using sealed, oxygen-free environments to lift cup scores and unlock flavor complexity previously masked by commodity processing [Quelle: Daily Coffee News]. The approach mirrors what's working in Colombia and Costa Rica—controlled variables, measurable microbial succession, repeatable excellence. China's high-altitude terroir, long overlooked, is finally getting the engineering it deserves.
Watch roasters scramble to source Chinese microlots.
Global Coffee Awards Winners
North American roasters just got ranked by the harshest judges in the business.
Sweet Bloom Coffee from Denver took the 2026 Global Coffee Awards US & Canada crown after competing across filter, espresso, and milk-based categories, with Q graders scoring coffees blind on aroma, flavor, acidity, body, and balance [Quelle: Perfect Daily Grind]. Gold, silver, and bronze winners now advance to the World Championship in Mexico next March, where they'll face regional champions from around the globe. Every participant walked away with written feedback—the real prize for roasters chasing consistency.
The bar for North American roasting just got publicly set.
Why Dark Roast Doesn't Belong
Some roasters refuse to offer dark roast, and they're onto something.
Troubadour Coffee Roasters skips the dark end entirely because sourcing matters more than roasting style—they buy coffees chosen for their flavor ceiling, not their roasting flexibility [Quelle: Troubadour Coffee]. Dark roasting masks origin character and turns terroir into charcoal. The philosophy flips conventional roastery economics: curate beans first, then roast only to reveal—not to hide.
It's a direct challenge to volume-first thinking.
Anaerobic Natural Processing Lifts Quality Scores in China8 hours ago ... Daily Coffee News by Roast magazine provides essential only news and resources for specialty coffee professionals. Daily Coffee News covers coffee news from ...dailycoffeenews.com
Global Coffee Awards crown the best roasters in US & Canada8 hours ago ... Emi Rueda and Anita Tam at the 2026 Global Coffee Awards US & Canada. Awarding excellence in a mature specialty coffee market. The GCA runs its competitions ...perfectdailygrind.com
Why Troubadour Coffee Roasters doesn't offer dark roast coffee4 hours ago ... The Craft of Light Roast Coffee Roasting coffee at the specialty craft level is just that: a craft. ... coffee by relying on standardized techniques.facebook.com