In the world of specialty coffee, scores matter… but context matters more.
So when Lofty Coffee received a 92-point score for its Keeping It Classy Espresso in the 2026 rankings from Coffee Review, the number itself told only part of the story.
What makes the achievement notable isn't just the score, but what our espresso represents, and how it's experienced.
Our score wasn’t earned on a limited micro-lot, a competition-only coffee, or a bottle-hidden-behind-the-counter; it was earned by our regular espresso that’s served daily across Lofty cafés, brewed consistently, and offered at an accessible price point. In specialty coffee, that combination is rare.
The Difference Between a High Coffee Score and a Meaningful One
Many of the coffees that earn scores in the 90s exist in controlled, narrow contexts: single-origin releases, small-batch roasts, or coffees evaluated once and rarely replicated. They're often designed to impress under ideal conditions, not necessarily to perform day after day behind a busy café bar.
Espresso Is Demanding
Espressos are one of the most demanding formats in coffee: technically unforgiving, sensitive to grind size, water chemistry, barista technique, and equipment calibration.
Here’s espresso scores are so tough to achieve:
- Temperature fluctuations of even a few degrees can shift flavor dramatically.
- Pressure must remain steady throughout extraction.
- The grind needs constant adjustment as variables like humidity and ambient temperature change throughout the day.
- Each shot depends on precise coordination: dose, tamp pressure, water temperature between 90-96°C, and extraction time typically within a 25-30 second window.
To earn a high score as an espresso is to prove not only quality of green coffee and roasting precision, but balance, clarity, and structure under pressure. To do it at scale, consistently, across different baristas and equipment, during both quiet mornings and midday rushes — that's even harder.
Coffee Scoring Explained: How Coffee Review's 100-Point System Works
Launched in 1997, Coffee Review introduced the first 100-point, wine-style coffee reviews to the specialty coffee industry.
The publication evaluates coffees on factors such as aroma, flavor, acidity, body, balance, and finish. While tasting is inherently sensory, coffee scoring is far from casual or impressionistic.
Coffee Review uses blind testing with formal professional protocols, often evaluating coffees multiple times to ensure repeatability. Small flaws (bitterness, imbalance, muddled flavors) are immediately apparent and penalized. There is little room for embellishment.
In practice, this means scores above 90 are uncommon. Scores above 92 are exceptional.
Why a 92 in Coffee Is Rarer Than a 92 in Wine
Wine and coffee are often compared, but their scoring cultures operate differently.
In wine scoring, 90-plus scores are relatively common, as they’re influenced by broader stylistic ranges, longer production timelines, and, at times, market dynamics. In coffee, the scoring band is tighter. The margin for error is smaller. Scores are less inflated and less forgiving.
A 92-point coffee signals not just excellence, but precision: sweetness without heaviness, complexity without chaos, and clarity that holds from first sip to finish. (For espresso, that bar is higher still.)
What Makes Lofty's Keeping It Classy Espresso Different
Keeping It Classy Espresso was developed to do something most high-scoring coffees aren't asked to do: show up every day and perform.
It has to work across cafés. Across baristas. Across thousands of shots. It has to taste balanced whether pulled in the quiet of early morning or during a midday rush. It has to be elegant without being fragile, expressive without being polarizing.
That's where Lofty's approach comes into focus.
Rather than chasing novelty or intensity for its own sake, the espresso is built around balance and restraint, qualities that often matter more in daily drinking than spectacle. The result is a coffee that satisfies both technically and emotionally: structured, sweet, and composed.
A 92-point espresso you can order every day doesn't just raise the bar, it makes the bar part of everyday life.
We believe this 92-point score isn't a trophy, it's a confirmation of a philosophy, one rooted in consistency, craft, and respect for the drinker.
