Specialty Coffee Guides, Origins and Brewing

Blog

Brew guides, origins and stories from the world of specialty coffee. Written by people who drink what they sell.

Espresso cup with thin crema next to a DeLonghi Magnifica automatic espresso machine, specialty coffee bag in background

Brewing Guide

Why specialty coffee tastes different in an automatic espresso machine and what to adjust

Automatic espresso machines are calibrated for commercial coffee. Specialty coffee extracts differently and comes out sour or flat. Fixed in 3 shots.

19 August 2026 · 7 min readRead more

Five white porcelain cupping bowls with coffee and a grounds crust on a linen-covered beige table, with a cupping spoon and a handwritten scoring sheet, soft natural side light

Education

The SCA Score: what it means and why the threshold is 80 points

The SCA score is the only objective line between specialty and commercial coffee. Not a label, not marketing. A blind, standardized evaluation written by a certified Q-Grader.

13 August 2026 · 6 min readRead more

Coffee beans at various stages of natural drying on wooden trays, with colors ranging from amber-orange to deep brown

Education

What fermentation in coffee is and why it appears on the bag

Fermentation doesn't mean something went wrong. It's a controlled step in coffee processing that transforms the sugars in the fruit into complex flavor notes: fruity, vinous, floral. What's written on the bag reflects how much and how the bean fermented.

7 August 2026 · 7 min readRead more

Several different specialty coffee bags arranged on a wooden table, with labels showing flavor descriptors

Education

How to choose a specialty coffee when you don't know where to start

You don't need to know origins or processing methods to choose well. Start from what you already like in the cup: sweet, bitter, acidic, full-bodied or light. From there, the tasting notes on the bag become a direct guide to what you want to taste.

6 August 2026 · 7 min readRead more

Fresh red coffee cherries in a round bamboo basket on a white surface with warm natural light

Education

What is specialty coffee and how to recognize it

Specialty coffee is coffee that scores at least 80 points on the SCA evaluation, with full traceability and roasted recently. The difference from commercial coffee isn't marketing: it comes from how the bean is grown, processed, and roasted.

5 August 2026 · 7 min readRead more

Freshly roasted specialty coffee beans, a visual comparison between light, medium, and omniroast roast levels

Education

Roast levels: light, medium, and omniroast

What do light, medium, dark, and omniroast mean? Learn how the roast level affects acidity, body, and flavor notes in Guido specialty coffee.

5 August 2026 · 6 min readRead more

DeLonghi Magnifica automatic espresso machine with visible panel settings and an espresso cup with golden crema

Education

How to set up your automatic espresso machine for specialty coffee

The default settings on an automatic espresso machine are calibrated for commercial coffees, not specialty coffee. Dialing in takes 3-4 shots and requires no prior experience. A specific guide for Philips LatteGo, DeLonghi Magnifica, and Siemens EQ.

2 August 2026 · 6 min readRead more

Automatic espresso machine brewing espresso with golden crema in a white ceramic cup

Education

Which Guido coffee should I choose for my automatic espresso machine at home

CORE is the first choice for any automatic espresso machine: no adjustments needed, good results from the very first cup. EXPLORE and VISION work too, but require calibration: increase the intensity by one level and adjust the grind one step coarser.

1 August 2026 · 7 min readRead more