Street coffee vs specialty cafés

1. The Beans: Quantity vs. Quality

The biggest difference starts long before the water hits the grounds.

• Street Coffee: Usually relies on commodity-grade beans. These are often a blend of Arabica and Robusta, sourced in massive quantities. Because consistency and cost are the goals, these beans are often roasted quite dark to mask any defects or variations in the crop.

• Specialty Cafés: They use beans that have been "graded" by experts (Q-Graders). To be called "specialty," a coffee must score 80 points or higher on a 100-point scale. These are almost exclusively high-altitude Arabica beans, handled with extreme care from the farm to the roaster.

2. The Flavor Profile: "Bold" vs. "Complex"

Have you ever noticed that street coffee usually just tastes... like coffee?

• The Street Experience: You get a reliable, punchy, "traditional" flavor. It’s bitter, roasty, and pairs perfectly with sugar and cream. It’s designed to give you a caffeine kick without requiring much thought.

• The Specialty Experience: Here, coffee is treated like fine wine. You might taste notes of blueberry, jasmine, chocolate, or even tomato. Specialty roasters use lighter roast profiles to highlight the "terroir"—the unique flavor of the soil and climate where the bean was grown.

3. The Ritual: Speed vs. Craft

Sometimes you need a drink in thirty seconds; sometimes you want a performance.

• Speed (Street): Street coffee is the king of the "grab-and-go." It’s usually brewed in large batches or through high-speed automated espresso machines. It’s about efficiency and getting you to your next meeting on time.

• Craft (Specialty): In a specialty café, the barista is an artisan. They might measure the water temperature to the degree and weigh the grounds to a tenth of a gram. Whether it’s a V60 pour-over or a perfectly textured flat white, the focus is on the extraction process.

Which One is "Better"?

There is a common misconception that specialty coffee is "better" in every scenario. The truth? It depends on your goal.

If you are looking for a comforting, nostalgic cup of joe that costs less than your bus fare, street coffee is a hero. But if you want to explore the incredible diversity of what a coffee cherry can actually taste like—and you don't mind paying for the ethics and labor behind it—specialty is a journey worth taking.

What’s your go-to? Are you a "no-nonsense" street coffee fan, or do you live for the perfect acidity of a Kenyan pour-over? Let us know in the comments!