Today, Q Grader courses launch as part of the updated program with the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) for the first time. The globally respected license for coffee professionals to evaluate and communicate coffee quality has been updated to align with the latest in coffee science. Many courses are now available, with more locations, languages, and dates to be added continuously over the coming months. 

The Specialty Coffee Association of Japan (SCAJ) and the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the SCAJ Conference in Tokyo Big Sight, marking a milestone in global collaboration for specialty coffee education. 

The Coffee Value Summit combines conversation and education to offer a chance to engage with experts and fellow leaders on the topic of coffee value.

New partnership designates the SCA Coffee Value Assessment as official protocol for Indonesian specialty coffee, advancing transparency, education, and global market access for the country’s producers.   

The Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) and the Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia (FNC) are proud to announce the signing of a transformative Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today at the Specialty Coffee Expo in Houston.

In the last installment of a three-part series, JENN RUGOLO offers tips on how to familiarize yourself with the concepts and workflow of CVA, including suggestions about how to teach and implement the assessments in your workplace.

In this first instalment of a three-part series, LAUREL CARMICHAEL shares stories from industry leaders about the ways the CVA’s Descriptive Assessment has become an insightful and powerful tool for their work.  

Following a preliminary release in June, the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) is proud to announce the adoption of three Coffee Value Assessment components as its official cupping standards: SCA-102 Sample Preparation and Cupping Mechanics, SCA-103 Descriptive Assessment, and SCA-104 Affective Assessment. These standards, approved by the SCA Standards Development Panel, supersede the 2004 Cupping Protocol and Form, advancing the SCA’s comprehensive approach to coffee evaluation. Use these free resources in your cupping practice at sca.coffee/value-assessment

LAUREL CARMICHAEL, SCA Publications Manager, provides an update on the CVA, with a focus on its capacity for information-sharing.

The Coffee Value Assessment (CVA) for Cuppers Course is a two-day, immersive professional development experience tailored specifically for coffee cuppers and other sensory professionals.

Cup of Excellence (CoE) and the Alliance for Coffee Excellence (ACE) are thrilled to announce a transformative partnership with the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today at the World of Coffee Copenhagen trade show. This collaboration aims to unify the approach to defining and appreciating top-quality specialty coffees, ushering in a new era for the industry. 

After valuable input from 800 Early Adopters, community groups, and various industry stakeholders, we are progressing to the next phase of the SCA Coffee Value Assessment—the tool the global industry uses to discover value in coffee!

The Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) is proud to announce that the Coffee Value Assessment (CVA) and its tools are now available to use in the digital space, on two platforms: the Tastify Web App and iOS/Andriod application, CatadorCVA. The online platform Tastify and the next generation of the Catador cupping app, CatadorCVA, have adopted the CVA for digital use.

The SCA is delighted to announce a momentous collaboration with the International Coffee Organization with a mutual commitment to advancing global coffee industry cooperation and reaching new heights in specialty coffee sustainability, education, and outreach.

We are proud to announce two important new developments in the SCA Coffee Value Assessment (CVA); a global introductory and immersive events initiative and a Patrons program to facilitate philanthropic support for the continued growth and development of the initiative.

The five-minute SCA Extrinsic Assessment Survey is your chance to collaborate with the Specialty Coffee Association and play a pivotal role in shaping the ultimate Extrinsic Attribute list for Coffee Value Assessment. Take the survey today.

Anthropology Professor EDWARD F. FISCHER, author of Making Better Coffee: How Maya Farmers and Third- Wave Tastemakers Create Value, explains the different types of value, ways of determining worth, and how we create economic value by drawing on other sorts of values (moral, social, political, and other cultural values) through the lens of his fieldwork in Guatemala.

Earlier today, SCA CEO Yannis Apostolopoulos formally introduced the beta version of the SCA Coffee Value Assessment on the Re:co Symposium stage, a thought leadership event that takes place prior to the Specialty Coffee Expo in Portland, Oregon. Yannis also unveiled an Early Adopter program designed to help the SCA refine the system’s protocol and forms through community feedback before it moves through the SCA’s standards development procedures.

The new SCA White Paper: The Value of Specialty Coffee Cuppers: Perspectives, Roles, and Professional Competencies describes the various roles cuppers currently hold within coffee’s value chain, the value of these roles, and the competencies required to successfully operate as a cupper in each context.