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What is the SCA or Specialty Coffee Association?
Becoming professional within the coffee world implies knowing certain relevant aspects, starting with Specialty Coffee Association (SCA), a non-profit association that is responsible for supporting and providing knowledge from coffee growers to baristas and coffee lovers in general from around the world.
Thanks to its events, world championships and its research department, it has managed to promote information about the specialty coffee, as well as the care and quality of this very popular drink.
Stimulating the coffee community with everything related to coffee is one of the main objectives of this organization, but how do they make it a reality? Very simple, through programs such as:
coffee skills
Coffee sustainability
coffee technician
For those who are interested in diving into this adventure, the SCA recommends starting at an initiation level so that the beginner can become familiar with the subject.
What makes SCA stand out?
Its creation occurred in 2017, following a merger between other foundations that are the Specialty Coffee Association of Europe (SCAE) and the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA), since that moment they have demonstrated their commitment to all stages of coffee and the promotion of specialty coffee.
The Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) is an organization dedicated to educating about coffee, and they divide it into different modules, which can be selected according to the needs of the applicant. To obtain the desired diploma, a total of 100 points must be accumulated.
Another thing that makes it more interesting is that its certificate is recognized in more than 100 countries, where they consider that everyone who graduates from there is highly qualified, even these profiles arouse the interest of employers from all over the world.
Belonging to this community brings with it numerous benefits where interacting with other coffee lovers, access to events and fairs and promoting brands are just some of them.
How does the SCA consider specialty coffee to be?
Something that the Specialty Coffee Association is clear about is that promoting specialty coffee is one of its strengths, which is why they share with the world the importance of this product within the market and how to know how to differentiate it from a commercial one.
For the SCA to consider it to be “specialty”, the beans go through a rigorous process where the following is evaluated:
-Collection: This must be done by hand to identify which fruits are in good condition. If the cherry is unripe or overripe the aroma and flavor will be influenced by this.
-Discard: Although the berries have already gone through a verification process, they are once again subjected to another quality control in order to observe if they have any first degree defects and should be excluded.
-Roasting and preparation: The evaluation of the product continues until its last stage, when it finally reaches the cup. What will define whether it is a specialty coffee or not will be determined by its score based on several attributes.
The “Q-Grader certification”, is a certificate granted by the CQI (Coffee Quality Institute) that uses the SCA cupping protocol. A certified Q Grader cupper will be in charge of carrying out the cupping and evaluating the coffee. The attributes it takes into account are: fragrance/aroma, flavor, residual flavor, acidity, body, balance, sweetness, uniformity of the cup, among other attributes. Regarding the score, it must be more than 80 out of 100 to be considered specialty coffee.
On the other hand, the score will be influenced by these aspects:
-The grains must not have any first degree defective grains when analyzing the green sample. First degree defects are those that affect the flavor of the cup, such as immature beans, black beans, among others. And if any defect is found when tasting, it penalizes the score of that coffee sample.
- The green sample may have a maximum of five second-degree defects, such as split, broken, wrinkled grains, among others.
-The humidity of the grains must be less than 0.70 aw.
How to do a tasting under the SCA protocol?
Now, let's proceed to carry out our own coffee tasting. After analyzing our green beans, and subsequently roasting them in our sampling machines less than 24 hours ago. So to comply with the SCA protocol, to the letter we must prepare five cups of each type of coffee we want to taste.
You will surely be wondering why so many? It turns out that in this way we can observe the consistency of the drink. For example, if all five cups taste and smell the same, it means that the coffee is clean and without defects. On the other hand, having these five cups, the probability of identifying if it is a coffee with a possible defect is greater. Because, it is possible for one of those grains to fall into any of them.
However, this can also be very good. Because if you only make one cup and a defective bean sneaks in, you will give that coffee a bad rating. Well, you will think that it was poorly processed or that it is a low quality product. In case it is an exceptional coffee, and only one of the five cups is defective, the penalty will only be for that small fault, but this does not mean that it is a bad coffee.
It should be noted that, for these cases and depending on the price we are willing to pay, we can request that the coffee be checked again to eliminate any defective beans that were sneaked in. We can also inform the coffee grower, so that in the future these risks are not run and the price can improve because they would be offering a quality product.
In the end, these five cups make us reflect that we must be aware of the great effort it takes for those small coffee growers to leave the coffee completely clean. Since, in this last phase the process is done manually, in most cases. In one morning you can only review 3 kg of coffee.
What is the recommended amount?
We know that we need five cups, but now our question will be: The quantity. According to the SCA protocol, 8.25 g of coffee is needed for every 250 ml of water. At this stage it is advisable to weigh the grains and grind them separately. If we grind everything together, and there are some defective ones, we would be damaging all the cups.
It is important that you take into account that the samples must be ground just before tasting. Nor should 15 minutes have passed from the time it is ground until the water is added. In the blink of an eye, the olfactory particles disappear. Once it has been ground, it should be covered immediately.
Another point that we must consider is that the cups must have the same conditions. Related to the degree of roasting and quantity of coffee. As well as the temperature and amount of water, so that it is as fair as possible when making comparisons. For example, if we opt for high temperatures, olfactory notes appear that fade as the drink cools.
If we add a little colder water to an exceptional coffee and try it when it is already warm, we will not have lost those nuances and it will be scored a little lower than it really deserves. After we have everything ground, we can grab our tasting sheet and start evaluating each attribute.
The first thing we should do is take a look at the roast. Because, if the roasting grain is higher or the other way around, very clearly, we have to take it into account when evaluating. Since this influences the flavor.
dry fragrance
Having reviewed the previous points, now we focus on the dry fragrance. For those who don't know, it's about smelling before pouring the water. While the aroma is when we add water. When throwing away all the water, it is essential to fill all the cups equally and try to keep the temperature at approximately 93° in all of them.
We let it infuse for about three minutes and then we smell it. Before five minutes have passed, we proceed to break the crust, detecting the aromas that remained underneath. From this point, we must include the olfactory properties. If they are complex coffees and very high quality, enzymatic notes predominate, in short, aromas of flowers and fruits.
But if they are coffees whose quality is medium high, the olfactory qualities that we will detect will belong to the family of caramelization of sugars, such as vanilla, nuts and cocoa. While those that are basic, the aromas of cedar and wood will predominate, it will only smell like roasted coffee.
Flavor and aftertaste
When we taste a cup of coffee we always try to evaluate certain attributes, applying the SCA protocol. The experts of Incapto Coffee, they agree that the first time they try coffee, they analyze its flavor and aftertaste. This is because the hotter it is, the better these attributes will be perceived.
Here we can also take into account qualitative nuances of fruits or nuts. As for the aftertaste, it would be that same flavor, which can last a longer or shorter time in your mouth.
Acidity, body and balance
In the second round, our experts evaluate acidity, body and balance, just like the SCA does. As we have explained in several videos on our YouTube channel, acidity is what is known as the personality of coffee. In English it means brightness, which according to a coffee farmer this is the brightness of that coffee that motivates you to take that first sip and surprise you. That is why those coffees whose acidity scores are high are considered to be of higher quality.
If we refer to the body, the texture of the coffee is analyzed here. That is, that feeling of the drink in your mouth. While balance or balance, as it is also known, is scored by thinking about how all the attributes fit together at the same time.
Third round What is evaluated?
Well, here we are going to perceive these qualities as sweetness, uniformity and cleanliness. If any of the cups have certain defects with any of these, they will be highlighted in the boxes that the taster has. Penalties will be imposed depending on whether it is a slight defect if it is very noticeable.
Because it has a defective grain, it is very difficult for that cup to have a score of 80 points and be special. That's why we recommend using five cups of each type of coffee.
The taster scoring box is the last step. Here the professional will be in charge of giving his opinion on the other attributes. It must be objective. The attributes of the cup will have to be rated with an 8. We hope that this virtual tasting has been useful to you. Now you will know how to apply the SCA protocol and the methods we apply to evaluate our products.
What is specialty coffee?
Its productive stage is considered an art. A work that achieves great results by including people who aim for maximum quality, a work that begins in the cultivation areas and ends up delighting the most demanding palates.
For a coffee to be a specialty, its harvest must be 100% sustainable, thus achieving the perfect cup in terms of aroma and flavor. If we talk about its harvest, it is taken into account:
- Temperature
- Humidity
- Height
- Shadow
Another fascinating fact about this exclusive product is that the seed can be grown once or twice a year depending on the variations of the coffee tree and the areas, and when the fruits are ready they will be harvested manually and carefully.
The success of the product will be thanks to the coffee grower, and will even give him more value to quality and not quantity.
We can't leave out toasters either, why? Because it is the second stage in which the coffee is cooked. Experience at this point is very important to develop coffee and be able to get the most out of the coffee grower's work.
The third stage in which coffee is cooked is when it is prepared, either by a qualified barista or by the end user if they prepare it themselves at home. In both cases, you must have certain basic knowledge to be able to prepare an excellent cup.
Specialty vs. commercial coffee
Each palate probably has different tastes, but there is nothing that equals thespecialty coffeeAs we noted above, it is an exclusive product whose score exceeds 80 points, unlike the commercial one, which may include defective beans and is not as rigorous with quality throughout the process.
Differentiating specialty from commercial is very simple. Some concepts to know are:
- Low quality Robusta variety coffee is used for commercial purposes.
- The degree of ripeness is not taken into account during harvesting; machines are used to collect the coffee and it is not done manually.
- It is easy for us to be offered old vintages that have already lost organoleptic qualities.
- The degrees of toasting are usually higher to cover possible defects.
- Basic information to know the quality of the coffee is not reflected on the coffee label, such as the origin of the bean, roasting date, name of the farm, the height of cultivation or the variety.
- Commercial coffee is usually roasted in large quantities.
- It is usually the coffee that we will find in supermarkets or in hospitality that does not aim to offer high quality product to its customers.
While with specialty coffee it has a whole history and it is much easier if they can provide you with the following information on the package:
- They are normally of the Arabica variety, although in recent years you can also find high-quality Robusta coffees.
- The roaster informs us of the roasting date since it is very important to know how fresh the coffee we are going to consume is.
- We can know the cultivation height, the processing process that has been used, the farm and the botanical variety.
- It has no defects that could affect the taste of the cup.
- It is evaluated by certified Q Grader tasters.
- It has complexity of aromas and flavors, it is not just black and bitter. Even the first time we try very complex specialty coffees, they may seem strange to us until our palate gets used to it and no longer wants to try other types of coffees.
- In specialty coffees with high scores, it is common for the acidity of the coffee to also be high. For coffee lovers, balanced acidity is the personality of that coffee, without acidity it will be a flatter, more basic coffee.
- Coffee farmers can prepare microlots with their higher quality coffee and can sell it at higher prices, thus being able to dignify their great work.
That being said, you won't look at the coffee you drink every day the same way anymore. In Incapto Coffee, we offer you a wide variety of coffees so that every day you can enjoy this great little pleasure with the flavor and aroma that you like the most.
Source:perfectdailygrind.com | Concafe.es
Another thing that makes it more interesting is that its certificate is recognized in more than 100 countries, where they consider that everyone who graduates from there is highly qualified, even these profiles arouse the interest of employers from all over the world.
Belonging to this community brings with it numerous benefits where interacting with other coffee lovers, access to events and fairs and promoting brands are just some of them.
However, this can also be very good. Because if you only make one cup and a defective bean sneaks in, you will give that coffee a bad rating. Well, you will think that it was poorly processed or that it is a low quality product. In case it is an exceptional coffee, and only one of the five cups is defective, the penalty will only be for that small fault, but this does not mean that it is a bad coffee.
It should be noted that, for these cases and depending on the price we are willing to pay, we can request that the coffee be checked again to eliminate any defective beans that were sneaked in. We can also inform the coffee grower, so that in the future these risks are not run and the price can improve because they would be offering a quality product.
In the end, these five cups make us reflect that we must be aware of the great effort it takes for those small coffee growers to leave the coffee completely clean. Since, in this last phase the process is done manually, in most cases. In one morning you can only review 3 kg of coffee.
What is the recommended amount?
We know that we need five cups, but now our question will be: The quantity. According to the SCA protocol, 8.25 g of coffee is needed for every 250 ml of water. At this stage it is advisable to weigh the grains and grind them separately. If we grind everything together, and there are some defective ones, we would be damaging all the cups.
It is important that you take into account that the samples must be ground just before tasting. Nor should 15 minutes have passed from the time it is ground until the water is added. In the blink of an eye, the olfactory particles disappear. Once it has been ground, it should be covered immediately.
Another point that we must consider is that the cups must have the same conditions. Related to the degree of roasting and quantity of coffee. As well as the temperature and amount of water, so that it is as fair as possible when making comparisons. For example, if we opt for high temperatures, olfactory notes appear that fade as the drink cools.
If we add a little colder water to an exceptional coffee and try it when it is already warm, we will not have lost those nuances and it will be scored a little lower than it really deserves. After we have everything ground, we can grab our tasting sheet and start evaluating each attribute.
The first thing we should do is take a look at the roast. Because, if the roasting grain is higher or the other way around, very clearly, we have to take it into account when evaluating. Since this influences the flavor.
dry fragrance
Having reviewed the previous points, now we focus on the dry fragrance. For those who don't know, it's about smelling before pouring the water. While the aroma is when we add water. When throwing away all the water, it is essential to fill all the cups equally and try to keep the temperature at approximately 93° in all of them.
We let it infuse for about three minutes and then we smell it. Before five minutes have passed, we proceed to break the crust, detecting the aromas that remained underneath. From this point, we must include the olfactory properties. If they are complex coffees and very high quality, enzymatic notes predominate, in short, aromas of flowers and fruits.
But if they are coffees whose quality is medium high, the olfactory qualities that we will detect will belong to the family of caramelization of sugars, such as vanilla, nuts and cocoa. While those that are basic, the aromas of cedar and wood will predominate, it will only smell like roasted coffee.
Flavor and aftertaste
When we taste a cup of coffee we always try to evaluate certain attributes, applying the SCA protocol. The experts of Incapto Coffee, they agree that the first time they try coffee, they analyze its flavor and aftertaste. This is because the hotter it is, the better these attributes will be perceived.
Here we can also take into account qualitative nuances of fruits or nuts. As for the aftertaste, it would be that same flavor, which can last a longer or shorter time in your mouth.
Acidity, body and balance
In the second round, our experts evaluate acidity, body and balance, just like the SCA does. As we have explained in several videos on our YouTube channel, acidity is what is known as the personality of coffee. In English it means brightness, which according to a coffee farmer this is the brightness of that coffee that motivates you to take that first sip and surprise you. That is why those coffees whose acidity scores are high are considered to be of higher quality.
If we refer to the body, the texture of the coffee is analyzed here. That is, that feeling of the drink in your mouth. While balance or balance, as it is also known, is scored by thinking about how all the attributes fit together at the same time.
Third round What is evaluated?
Well, here we are going to perceive these qualities as sweetness, uniformity and cleanliness. If any of the cups have certain defects with any of these, they will be highlighted in the boxes that the taster has. Penalties will be imposed depending on whether it is a slight defect if it is very noticeable.
Because it has a defective grain, it is very difficult for that cup to have a score of 80 points and be special. That's why we recommend using five cups of each type of coffee.
The taster scoring box is the last step. Here the professional will be in charge of giving his opinion on the other attributes. It must be objective. The attributes of the cup will have to be rated with an 8. We hope that this virtual tasting has been useful to you. Now you will know how to apply the SCA protocol and the methods we apply to evaluate our products.
Differentiating specialty from commercial is very simple. Some concepts to know are:
- Low quality Robusta variety coffee is used for commercial purposes.
- The degree of ripeness is not taken into account during harvesting; machines are used to collect the coffee and it is not done manually.
- It is easy for us to be offered old vintages that have already lost organoleptic qualities.
- The degrees of toasting are usually higher to cover possible defects.
- Basic information to know the quality of the coffee is not reflected on the coffee label, such as the origin of the bean, roasting date, name of the farm, the height of cultivation or the variety.
- Commercial coffee is usually roasted in large quantities.
- It is usually the coffee that we will find in supermarkets or in hospitality that does not aim to offer high quality product to its customers.
While with specialty coffee it has a whole history and it is much easier if they can provide you with the following information on the package:
- They are normally of the Arabica variety, although in recent years you can also find high-quality Robusta coffees.
- The roaster informs us of the roasting date since it is very important to know how fresh the coffee we are going to consume is.
- We can know the cultivation height, the processing process that has been used, the farm and the botanical variety.
- It has no defects that could affect the taste of the cup.
- It is evaluated by certified Q Grader tasters.
- It has complexity of aromas and flavors, it is not just black and bitter. Even the first time we try very complex specialty coffees, they may seem strange to us until our palate gets used to it and no longer wants to try other types of coffees.
- In specialty coffees with high scores, it is common for the acidity of the coffee to also be high. For coffee lovers, balanced acidity is the personality of that coffee, without acidity it will be a flatter, more basic coffee.
- Coffee farmers can prepare microlots with their higher quality coffee and can sell it at higher prices, thus being able to dignify their great work.
That being said, you won't look at the coffee you drink every day the same way anymore. In Incapto Coffee, we offer you a wide variety of coffees so that every day you can enjoy this great little pleasure with the flavor and aroma that you like the most.
Source:
perfectdailygrind.com | Concafe.es
