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tags: [] - coffee/history - coffee/culture aliases: - Origin of specialty coffee term - specialty coffee coinage created: 2026-05-10 updated: 2026-05-10

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Specialty Coffee Term Origin

Tags: #coffee/history #coffee/culture Aliases: Origin of specialty coffee term, specialty coffee coinage Related: Erna Knutsen | Specialty Coffee MoC | First Wave Coffee Status: 🌱 Stub

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Overview

The term "specialty coffee" was coined by Erna Knutsen in 1974 in an interview published in the Tea & Coffee Trade Journal, where she described how special geographic microclimates produce beans with unique flavour profiles. The term gave language to a quality-differentiated category of coffee and became the organising concept for the specialty coffee movement that followed, eventually giving rise to the Specialty Coffee Association of America in 1982 and the global specialty industry of the 21^st century.

Related Notes

• Erna Knutsen
• Specialty Coffee MoC
• First Wave Coffee
• 1974 - Specialty Coffee Term Coined

References

• SCA, What Is Specialty Coffee?

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