Which coffee certifications come from which organization?
Three international bodies have built systematic coffee teaching and certification programs: SCAA in America, SCAE in Europe, and the Coffee Quality Institute. SCAA runs the Pathway Programs, covering Barista, Coffee Buyer, Roaster and Coffee Taster branches, and in 2017 SCAA and SCAE merged into the SCA. Q-Grader is a quality grading qualification rather than a course track.
Because SCAA and SCAE have merged and SCAA courses are more cumbersome to run, SCAE-style courses are currently the more mainstream option. Understanding which organization issues a certificate avoids confusion between levels that look similar on paper. Learners can also focus on the technical segment that matches their role, such as the Barista Pathway Level 1 or the Roaster Pathway.
Faced with a bewildering array of coffee certifications on the market, many people who want to study coffee systematically often feel at a loss. To clarify the differences between these courses and certifications, the key is to trace back to the issuing organizations. At present, the three major authoritative institutions internationally that have established scientific coffee teaching systems and issue certifications are SCAA, SCAE, and CQI. This article will break down the course structures and certification logic of these three organizations one by one, explain the changes brought about after SCAA and SCAE merged into SCA in 2017, and introduce the widely known but often misunderstood quality grading qualification Q-Grader, helping coffee enthusiasts find the learning path best suited to them.
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There are many types of certifications in the coffee field, with complicated names, and wanting to study scientifically does not necessarily mean you can quickly identify the course system that suits you best. To understand the relationship between courses and certifications, you have to start with the issuing organizations to sort things out. Internationally, there are mainly three authoritative institutions that have established systematic coffee teaching systems and issue certifications:
SCAA, Specialty Coffee Association of America
SCAE, Specialty Coffee Association of Europe
CQI, Coffee Quality Institute
About SCAA
The education system of SCAA (Specialty Coffee Association of America) is officially called Pathway Programs. This course system provides career-oriented introductory courses around different professional roles in the coffee industry.
Targeting the four technical segments of the coffee industry, SCAA first provides a coffee foundation course, and then splits the Pathway Programs into four branches:
Barista Pathway (Level 1/Level 2)
Coffee Buyer Pathway (Level 1)
Roaster Pathway (Level 1/Level 2)
Coffee Taster Pathway (Level 1/Level 2)
Learners can choose and take corresponding courses according to their own needs. Because SCAA and SCAE are about to fully merge, and SCAA courses are more cumbersome to operate than SCAE courses, SCAE courses are currently more mainstream.
About SCAE
The learning system developed by SCAE (Specialty Coffee Association of Europe) is essentially a "coffee diploma system." This means that after completing the specified courses and accumulating enough credits, one can obtain the course framework corresponding to a "certificate."
Like SCAA, it also has a coffee foundation course. On this basis, it is further divided into five major directions:
Barista Skill (Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced)
Brewing (Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced)
Roasting (Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced)
Sensory (Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced)
Green Bean (Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced)
Each direction of SCAE courses comes with credits. When any combination of courses accumulates to 100 points, one can apply for the "Coffee Diploma."
After completing the advanced course in any direction, one can apply to become a certified trainer (AST) for that subject.
About CQI
CQI (Coffee Quality Institute) may be the most mysterious and low-key presence in the coffee industry. Many coffee enthusiasts may have never heard of this organization, but almost everyone knows Q-Grader. In fact,
The Q Coffee System is used to identify coffee quality and allow coffee to enter the market through a trustworthy and verifiable standard.
The Q Coffee System identifies quality coffees and brings them to market through a credible and verifiable system.
Source: CQI
Everyone describes coffee differently, and CQI provides the answer to how coffee people around the world can communicate when they gather together and how to unify scoring standards. That's right, CQI is precisely the organization that created the coffee quality grading system. A so-called Q-Grader is someone capable of scoring coffee quality. CQI has established such a scoring system, as well as a system for training new Q-Graders.
Q-Grader is divided into Q-Arabica Grader and Q-Robusta Grader.
Q-Grader is known for its astonishing course intensity and exam difficulty.
About the latest SCA
Regarding the merger of SCAA and SCAE after 2017, that is, the latest SCA (Specialty Coffee Association).
Since 2017, SCAE certificates have begun to be issued by SCA!
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
