The opposite of specialty is commercial coffee. From the consumer's viewpoint, the most immediately noticeable difference between commercial and specialty coffees is packaging: Commercial coffee comes in little bottles of instant or is already ground and packed in a tin or a collapsed, plastic-encased brick. Specialty coffee comes as whole beans or ground, either in small bags or in bulk.

Commercial coffee is typically roasted and packed in large plants, under nationally advertised brand names. Specialty coffee is usually roasted in small factories, using traditional methods and technology.

Specialty coffees offer considerably more choice than commercial coffees. You can buy coffee by the place where the bean originated (Costa Rica, Colombia), by roast (Dark, Light, Etc.), or by blend designed for the time of day, price, or flavor. Commercial coffees offer only a very limited selection of blend and roast, and little possibility of buying straight, unblended coffees.

More and more consumers are buying specialty coffees and fewer and fewer are buying commercial coffees.