SCA Sensory Intermediate Course/ Sensory SCA Intermediate
Grow your skills with our advanced coffee tasting program! This Coffee sommelier course is your next career step, held in Florence, Italy
This Advanced Coffee cupping class introduces objective evaluation techniques. Through sensory sessions, you will learn to identify origins, aromas, and defects—from blends to high-value specialty coffees—mastering professional cupping.
You will practice triangulation (triangle testing) to recognize consistency and prepare for the Q Grader foundation. This comprehensive training is valid for the international SCA Sensory Skills Intermediate certification.
Courses are held in English
Where
One of the most beautiful cities in the world
Next dates
September 16th and 17th 2026
From 10am till 6pm, with a lunch break from 1pm to 2pm
Price
including handbooks, slides and CVA protocols sheets
Installment payments
You can pay our courses in three installments with Stripe, making it easier to manage your budget and enjoy flexibility.
*This option depends on approval by the payment provider, inform us in advance.
Coffee campus
This course is part of the “Espresso Academy Coffee campus”. The most advanced training program for professionals. Discover more
Are you interested in this course?
During this class, you will
- Learn how to use cupping for the identification of coffee defects
- Learn how to manage a triangular test and a panel group
- Refine your ability to recognize different acids and their concentrations
- Recogne and rank solutions by acidity or sweetness
- Proceed on the path to SCA Professional and Q Grading
Prior experience in coffee tasting is recommended to participate in this course.
This course allows access to two international certifications: IBC Advanced Sensory and SCA Sensory Intermediate.
Why Espresso Academy?
- 1500+ students from all over the world at our Italian headquarters
- All courses taught in English by certified trainers
- 30+ branches around the world
- #1 school in the world on Tripadvisor and Google
- The highest number of SCA, LAGS and IBC certified students
- And… we are in Florence, a city worth visiting
Program: Advanced Coffee Sommelier Course / Sensory Intermediate SCA
The course utilizes an extremely hands-on approach and it mainly consists of practical sessions around:
DAY 1: Fundamentals and Analysis
- The three main tastes of coffee: sweet, acidic (sour), and bitter.
- The concept of calibration in tasting.
- Recognition of the three tastes in combinations of varying intensity and complexity.
- The body (mouthfeel) of coffee. Analyzing it quantitatively and qualitatively.
- Recognizing coffee aromas with the support of the Coffee Flavour Wheel.
- The cupping tasting technique: how to organize and manage it.
- The SCA Evaluation Score Sheet in its various parts.
- Identifying and analyzing coffee defects.
- Tasting stale or old coffee, fermented, herbaceous (grassy), earthy, phenolic, and rubbery notes.
- How coffee variety influences the coffee's organoleptic profile.
- Tasting of different Arabica coffee varieties, from Bourbon to Caturra.
DAY 2: Advanced Correlation and Global Value
- The impact of processing methods at the farm/producer level.
- Cupping of washed, natural, and honey processed coffees.
- The influence of roasting.
- Tasting (cupping and espresso) of coffees at different roast levels.
- The concept of Specialty Coffee.
- Tasting specialty coffees with different scores and from various origins.
- Tasting, evaluation, and comparison of commercial coffee blends.
- Coffee value beyond technical evaluation: the SCA Coffee Value Assessment.
- The price of coffee: how score, intrinsic values, and market trends determine the quotations of green coffee.
Would you like to include this course as part of a great coffee experience in Italy?
Sensory SCA - Intermediate Level Class
At the end of this course it’s possible to part-take in the SCA Sensory Intermediate level certification. Anyone wishing to part-take in the certification exams are asked to report it to us when registering for the course. At our school you can also book the Sensory Foundation SCA class and the Professional certification.
Costs
Certification
Practice
Are you looking for a job?
Coffee campus
What you will learn through the professional coffee tasting course
Through this professional coffee tasting course, you will learn to identify coffee defects by tasting and you will master triangular cupping.
You'll refine your ability to recognize different acids at various concentrations, and rank solutions by bitterness, acidity, and sweetness. Using the coffee flavor wheel, you'll identify aromas and set up cupping sessions to evaluate specialty coffees and their market prices.
You'll use the Coffee Value Assessment SCA for specialty evaluation and practice +/- assessment exercises, fundamental for the calibration skills. Finally, you'll learn the professional protocol for espresso tasting, becoming a professional coffee taster.
Your Coffee Sensory and Cupping Course in Florence, Italy
One of your first encounters at Espresso Academy will be the opportunity to meet and connect with fellow coffee enthusiasts from around the world. Your course will take place in a vibrant international environment where you and the other participants will experiment, learn, and grow together.
Perfect for those aiming to become professional coffee tasters or enthusiasts seeking the highest level of expertise, this course is set in Florence, one of the world's most beautiful cities.
You'll have the chance to visit iconic landmarks such as the Uffizi Museum, Ponte Vecchio, and The Duomo, and immerse yourself in the enchanting medieval city center.
If you wish to enjoy the city or participate in several courses, we have numerous accommodations offering discounts to Espresso Academy students.
It will be a great coffee course. It will be a fantastic journey. It will be an unforgettable experience!
Combine Multiple Courses in One Trip!
Are you interested in expanding your coffee knowledge beyond tasting and cupping? Our courses are always organized on consecutive days allowing you to participate in multiple courses through a single training trip. Check out our course schedule!
All the professional SCA courses in a row
Do you want to get the best for your coffee education? Join the SCA professional Coffee line. Take all the intermediate coffee SCA classes consecutively, maximizing the value of your time.
The Espresso Academy Coffee Campus
Are you aiming for professional level education? This course can also be one of the starting points of the “Espresso Academy Coffee Campus”. The most comprehensive coffee training program globally for coffee professionals.
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Student says...
I left there very happy.
Overall, I cam only recommend this course to anyone who wants to learn about coffee machines and have fun along the way.
Highly,highly, highly recommend.
From the very first email, Cristina was so friendly, knowledgable and welcoming that she put my mind at rest and showed me that Espresso Academy know exactly what they are doing.
I booked my flights, my accommodation, and told the team I was coming for the course!
I could not recommend these guys enough - they are knowledgable, friendly and absolutely professional. I learned so much in such an engaging, interesting and thorough way that I have come home and been able to apply my knowledge immediately - starting my own small business in the UK.
The course leader - Robert - is so kind, welcoming and full of knwoledge - but most importantly he is an excellent teacher, delivering the information in an easy to understand way to a mix of abilities in the class.
I met some fantastic people and have made some friendships for life - and for even more joy, you get to stay in Florence when you're visiting for a course and what a beautiful city to stay in!
Thank you for such a wonderful experience, and I hope to come back and visit again in the future :)
I would also like to particularly commend Robert, our teacher, who has managed to show me in a very short amount of time a wealth of accessible and comprehensible information on a difficult subject. He is awesome, poised, didactic, knowledgeable, approachable and generally very pleasant to be around.
Milk art.
I nostri Trainer
