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.
← See today's latestBlends fund the roastery, micro-lots build the craft
Third-wave roastery economics
Micro-lots are not the business model—they're the calling card.
Tim Wendelboe, Coffee Collective, and peers build their sustainable roasteries on flagship blends and consistent single origins purchased in volume from long-term producer partners, not on rare micro lots [Source: Coffee Intelligence]. Micro-lot purchases stay in the 7–50 bag range—enough to showcase innovation and producer relationships, not enough to move the needle on the P&L. The transparent tension: specialty coffee celebrates rarity and experimentation, but roasters who survive do it on prestige-building experiments funded by dependable, approachable signature coffees priced to reach beyond the ultra-premium niche.
Brand reputation compounds; inconsistent supply does not.
Colombia's thermal shock washed
Colombian processing is becoming a flavor lever, not an afterthought.
Farms like Las Flores are marrying traditional Red Bourbon genetics with modern post-harvest technique—thermal shock washing, precise fermentation—to dial in clarity and complexity that used to require five years and a lottery ticket [Source: Rish Coffee]. When producer families—Johan and Diego at Las Flores—own the processing pipeline and can iterate, the coffee stops being a commodity variation and becomes a signature. That control is where the craft actually happens.
Technique beats luck when you own both sides.
Double fermentation, sensory precision
Fermentation duration is a dial, not a default.
Teodomiro's double fermentation—two days on cherry, then depulping—produces pronounced stone fruit and cordial notes that signal intentional flavor design rather than waiting for luck [Source: Three Ships Coffee]. This mirrors the cofermentation conversations we tracked earlier—producers and roasters are now treating fermentation stages as flavor architecture, not process overhead. Hand-picked peak-ripe cherry, same-day processing, technique-driven outcomes: the discipline is tightening.
Sensory intention separates craft from convenience.
Third wave roasters' profit centres are blends, not micro lots11 hours ago ... Rather than competing with flagship coffees, micro lots play a complementary role – building reputation and driving innovation. ... coffee from farm to roastery.intelligence.coffee
Colombia Las Flores Red Bourbon Thermal Shock Washed10 hours ago ... ... coffee: This Red Bourbon showcases the innovation of modern Colombian processing ... After Nubia's passing in 2012, their sons Johan and Diego took over the farm ...rishcoffee.com
Teodomiro's Ecuadorian single-origin coffee with cherry and plum ...4 hours ago ... The farmers always produce high quality and innovative coffees. These two characteristics make it easy for Costa Rican coffees to demand premium prices. In ...facebook.com