Ever seen a shiny red Lamborghini or a flashy Ferrari purring around the streets of your local city and felt a stir of envy?
In coffee, micro-lot is the equivalent of an eye-catching and fashionable sports car. However, instead of posting a photo of you lingering beside it, you can get it out after dinner and offer it to your impressed and awed mates. Even better, you can tell them the story behind the coffee and sound like a knowledgeable and well-educated connoisseur of haute cuisine.
Showing off is all well and good, but what actually is micro-lot coffee?
Micro-lot coffee is the cream of the crop, coffee with a cupping score of 85+ that originates from a small lot or patch of farmland that’s known for producing great coffee beans. All micro-lot coffees are the product of direct trade and can be traced directly back to the farmer.
Great. So, what’s a cupping score?
The Speciality Coffee Association has created a scale on which they rank coffee, ranging from 0 – 100. Those grading coffee must follow their rigorous cupping protocols. Anything graded with a score of over 60 is well thought of. Speciality coffee has a score of over 85. All micro-lot coffees are speciality coffees.
The final buzz phrase: what is direct trade?
Direct trade is when coffee roasters engage directly in trade with the farmers for their coffee beans, rather than through a third party association. It means we know exactly where the coffee is coming from and the process through which it is farmed. Coffee bought through direct trade tastes all the better for the knowledge that it’s an environmentally friendly and sustainable method of buying coffee beans.
Interested in learning more?
