Jordan Montgomery
September 12, 2024
- The SCA’s cupping form is a cornerstone of the specialty coffee industry
- Largely unchanged for 20 years, it has now evolved into the new Coffee Value Assessment form – released in 2023
- The industry remains divided on whether it truly adds value to coffee evaluation
FOR more than 24 years, the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) – the industry’s long standing authority on coffee quality assessment – has relied on a universal form.
But as the coffee industry evolves and sensory science reveals the complexity of consumer preferences, it seems that the traditional evaluation form no longer tells the full story.
Enter the Coffee Value Assessment (CVA) – a tool that attempts to better capture coffee’s value in a globalised market. Heralded as a necessary update by some, it has also raised some concerns – like whether it adds real value to the industry, or whether it is merely another new product aimed at revenue generation.
Since 1999, the SCA has promoted a standardised evaluation form, but the industry has shifted. In recent years, research into sensory science and the realisation that different markets have different preferences have forced a rethinking of coffee quality. What’s good in one market may not resonate in another.
In response to these findings, in 2019 the SCA released a white paper examining the global coffee price crisis and questioning whether the industry’s narrow definition of “value” contributed to the issue.
The CVA, introduced in 2023, emerged from this exploration. Rather than only judging coffee on taste, it incorporates what it calls “extrinsic factors,” such as the cultural and environmental context of production, in the hope of broadening the perception of coffee’s value.
“The difference is that it has eliminated the defect categories of uniformity, clean cup, and sweetness, and has instead added sweetness as a sensory evaluation parameter on a sliding scale,” explains Carlos Pineda from Finca Las Pinequitas in Honduras.
The 2004 evaluation system also held washed Arabica coffees as the ideal cup profile – clean, bright, clean taste. Establishing this profile as a baseline meant that coffees issued from natural or fermentation processes had a skewed assessment by which they were evaluated in comparison with washed Arabicas. This often put them at a disadvantage.
The CVA, however, shifts from this narrow focus to a more inclusive approach, acknowledging a wider variety of processing methods and consumer preferences. This makes it more adaptable to non-traditional coffee profiles that are increasingly valued in global markets.
“Traditional scoring introduced biases, particularly against non-traditional coffee profiles,” says Emma Haines, Sales Manager at Algrano (UK & Ireland). “The traditional cupping form, used for over 20 years, was seen as too focused on Western-trained experts’ preferences. The CVA now seems to account for a more diverse global consumer taste.”
While the intentions behind the CVA seem noble, some industry insiders suspect that other motives are at play. Indeed, it has sparked a wide range of reactions, from enthusiastic support to outright disdain.
A new assessment method means more teacher trainings
One of the SCA’s primary functions is education, and the Authorised SCA Trainer (AST) programme has become a staple of the specialty coffee industry. The training not only provides knowledge but also helps maintain a standardised level of quality across the sector.
However, with the introduction of the CVA, thousands of new evaluators will need to be trained, with courses in Europe priced at €500 – in addition to enrolment fees. This raises concerns about whether the new assessment method is primarily about improving quality, or about generating revenue.
Some, like Emma, try to examine such changes from both perspectives, acknowledging the difficulty in change but believing that the introduction of the CVA marks a positive change.
“Many people have spent years and lots of money learning the old system – I understand people’s resistance, I had my own reservations at first,” she says.
“However, I genuinely believe this is a move in the right direction that should be embraced wholly. I am also under no illusion that it will be a perfect system – but one thing that resonates with me this time round is that it has been developed with the guidance of people from coffee growing backgrounds, and that to me is critical.”
For those embracing the CVA, it is about moving towards a more equitable system – even if it does require a financial investment. On the other hand, many are critical of the training costs, especially for those in coffee-producing countries.
“For Honduras, this could represent up to two months of the cupper’s monthly salary,” says Carlos.
The issue here lies in balancing accessibility with progress. Education is undeniably crucial, but the high price of training could alienate smaller producers and those without the financial resources to keep up with the changing evaluation standards.
The central question surrounding the CVA is whether it truly adds value to the industry.
Do we need a new evaluation form?
As the CVA considers a broader range of coffee attributes, including non-traditional profiles and external factors like culture and environment, it could allow for a fairer and more comprehensive assessment of quality.
This may help bridge the gap between what producers create and what consumers value – supporting both transparency and market alignment.
“The old system was outdated. When I first started cupping, heavy fermented coffees were considered defective and undesirable – now they are in big demand! Coffee processing is an ever-changing and evolving landscape and we need a system that allows for this,” says Emma.
“Who are we to dictate people’s preferences? If a market has a tendency to heavy fermented coffees, that’s great – same as it is if a market likes rio-y coffees. It may not be my personal choice, but I can understand and appreciate others’ likes and dislikes.”
However, many remain sceptical, saying the potential complexity of the new system and the need for widespread retraining could further entrench the SCA’s monopoly on coffee education, making it harder for independent educators to compete.
Estimates place the SCA’s annual revenue at around $15 million per year, with education and training playing a large role in that figure. At the end of 2023, the SCA announced an equity of $12.5 million – its “strongest ever financial position”.
Despite the high cost of courses, the SCA defends their pricing, citing the accessibility of its training resources on “multiple platforms, in different languages, and across different geographies”. However, it does place financial strain on many producers and cuppers in coffee-growing countries.
“The CVA may have to be adopted by coffee professionals around the world regardless, as there is no alternative,” says Carlos.
“It seems to be a new way to generate resources for the SCA and its instructors worldwide at the expense of the need for cuppers to update their skills. It’s the only reference point available, so we have to learn it.”
The CVA marks a significant shift in how the industry evaluates coffee quality. While it attempts to address some of the shortcomings of the previous system, its introduction has sparked debate about whether such progress is actually more inclusive and beneficial in the long term.
Will the sector fully embrace this new evaluation method, or will it resist change? Only time will tell. What is clear is that the CVA has opened up a new chapter in coffee evaluation – one that the industry must navigate carefully, with both its opportunities and its challenges.
Coffee Intelligence
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