HAPPY MUG ROASTERS
~ 3rd Wave Coffee ~

From mass stocking of Grocery Stores to Specialty Coffee Shops to Educated Personalized Designer Roasts.

THIRD WAVE? WHAT HAPPENED TO THE FIRST TWO?

A quick coffee history lesson for you: back in the 1960s, coffee consumption began to grow exponentially. For the first time, coffee became widely accessible. This marked the first wave.

The second wave came with an increase in the quality of coffee readily available. Big companies – such as Starbucks – started running coffee shops as profitable businesses. Coffee started to become a luxury product rather than a necessity.

What’s more, we started to see more consciousness of the importance of the entire supply chain, from producers to consumers. Green bean buyers started to pay attention to where and how coffee was produced – and this eventually trickled through to consumers.

So if that’s the first and second wave, what’s the third wave?

WHAT SETS THIRD WAVE COFFEE APART?

There are two key words here: “appreciating” and “quality”. It’s both about the coffee we’re drinking and the way we think about it.

Third wave coffee does not accept old traditional ways of growing coffee or roasting coffee.

We can also see the importance of every actor in the supply chain: producer, importer, roaster, and consumer. Unlike the first wave, which was about consumers’ access to coffee, third wave coffee is the result of everyone’s hard work to make each coffee order "special"..

However, these are still vague concepts. Let’s break down the third wave into more specific details.

KEY FEATURES OF THE THIRD WAVE

Increasing coffee quality, more direct trade, a greater emphasis on sustainability, lighter roast profiles, and innovative roasting methods – these are all intrinsic to third wave coffee. We chase sweetness, complexity, and distinctiveness in our brews. We get exactly what we want. No compromises. And we’re happy to pay more to receive this.

But there's one other thing that comes up: customer service.

Thanks to direct trade, we as roasters can tell consumers the stories behind the coffee beans.

Likewise, drinking a specialty coffee that has been produced in the right way, and with all the added value that the supply chain aggregates, is the basis of a great experience. This experience is a combination of education, knowledge, and hospitality.

The third wave is all about making the consumer feel special. Part of that is customer service, but another part is sharing the story behind the cup. This story is one created by producers, importers, and roasters, for the consumer. It explains why a coffee is distinctive, why a consumer can taste certain notes, and why high-quality coffee takes so much work.

This consumer education is also enabled by greater channels of communication between production and consumption, including direct trade and social media.

THE THIRD WAVE VS SPECIALTY COFFEE: WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?

You’ll often hear “specialty coffee” and “third wave coffee” used interchangeably, so is there a difference between them? The answer: is yes.

Third wave coffee is simply a title, not a cup of coffee; it’s a mindset around appreciating and understanding the whole process.

So if third wave and specialty are different, what is specialty? Well, the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) scores coffees on a 100-point scale. Coffees that score 60 points or above are considered commercial-grade; at 80 points or above, they are graded as “specialty”. These exceptional coffees are often the product of specific microclimates and soils, production practices, and careful processing (the removal of the coffee cherry flesh from the beans).

Specialty coffee is an important ingredient in the evolution of great service because it ensures the quality level of your bean through a point system by certified Q-graders.

Similarly, Specialty is how [third wave coffee] is achieved. It’s only with a distinctive quality and noticeable difference in the way we roast coffee that we will be able to connect it to the consumer’s palates.

Third wave coffee is an experience. Specialty coffee is what we serve in that experience.

Happy Mug Roasters