What is specialty coffee?

What is “specialty” coffee?

First, it’s important to know that there are two major species of coffee, arabica and robusta. Arabica coffees, grown at high altitudes (4,000 - 6,000 feet) with abundant rain fall, warm temperatures, fertile soil and adequate shading, develop superior coffee flavors. Picked by hand at the peak of ripeness, these arabica beans are processed with care by wet or by dry method (depending on country of origin) then meticulously graded and separated by bean size and density. All of the world’s great coffees are 100% arabica, but only the top 10% or so have fine enough flavor to be selected as “specialty” coffee.

Is specialty coffee expensive?

What do all the exotic names mean?