Specialty Coffee Association (SCA)
Q Grader Course
The Q Grader Program is specialty coffee’s leading license for professionals, encompassing cupping, sensory analysis, and green coffee evaluation.
The Q Grader course curriculum prepares coffee professionals to demonstrate their ability to evaluate coffee by its physical, descriptive, affective, and extrinsic assessments. Graduates earn the globally respected Q Grader license, a mark of excellence recognized across the global coffee value chain.
For more information, please visit https://education.sca.coffee/q-grader for more details.
SCA Q Grader Course
Driving progress in specialty coffee evaluation
The updated Q Grader Program has been designed for experienced coffee professionals with a curriculum that tests their ability to detect differences and defects, describe sensory profiles, and apply the Coffee Value Assessment in real-world contexts. Participants will enhance their sensory acuity, ensuring they have the tools to evaluate and communicate coffee’s value clearly and confidently.
The result? A global network of modern Q Graders who share an understanding of quality that is aligned with the latest developments in sensory science and that reflects the diversity, ingenuity and continued evolution of the modern coffee industry.
Join a trusted network of professionals shaping the future of coffee.
Take the new Q Grader course to earn the definitive global license for coffee evaluation.
Over six intensive days you’ll undergo rigorous training and assessment in cupping, sensory analysis, and green coffee evaluation. The updated curriculum is designed for experienced cuppers, and integrates the latest advancements in coffee science and industry best practices to build your sensory acuity and the ability to evaluate coffee.
Learners will test their skills in detecting differences and defects, describing sensory profiles, and applying Coffee Value Assessment (CVA) tools in real-world contexts. Graduates earn the globally respected Q Grader license—a mark of excellence recognized across the coffee value chain—and join a global network of roasters, importers, producers, and traders united by a shared understanding of quality that drives buying, selling, and assurance throughout the industry.
