The Coffee SCA Certifications and the SCA Diploma System
The SCA, Specialty Coffee Association, is an organization that sets recognized professional standards for those who want to start on a journey in the world of coffee, from plantation to cup, and above all on the scientific side of coffee and coffee specialty. SCA certifications are recognized all over the world.
Certification exams are held in eight training areas: Coffee Introduction, Green Coffee, Tasting, Roasting, Barista, Brewing, Water & Maintenance and Coffee Sustainability. Each area, aside Coffee Introduction. is structured in three levels: Fondation, Intermediate and Professional.
Passing different exams in different areas will allow the students to achieve the diplomas in the four SCA main routes:
- SCA Coffee diploma
- SCA Roastery Diploma
- SCA Trade Diploma
- SCA Sustainable Coffee Diploma
Once passed the exams will be also possible to become SCA Authorized Trainers
THE SCA CERTIFICATION AREAS
The training and the exams of the Coffee Skills Program SCA is structured in six areas:
Introduction to coffee. A four-hour course, with a theoretical final exam only, based on an overview of the world of coffee. Botany, plantations cultivations, coffee classification, roasting, extraction in both espresso and brewing. A journey to get to know coffee as a product and a value chain.
Barista Skills - From one to three days of courses depending on the level. The courses are about the skills and competences needed for baristas working with the espresso machine. From how to set up the grinding, the techniques for preparing milk and latte art up to customer service and management. In the Professional level, competence is required on the calculation of the TDS, on the science of extraction and on how to use it to create the perfect extraction.
Green coffee. From one to three days of courses, depending on the level, to discover the world of coffee as a plant and as an agricultural product. Species, varieties and cultivars, botany and agronomy of the plant. Harvesting and processing, classification by sieves, altitude and by defects, stock exchange futures and Incoterms systems and knowledge of decaffeination and organic and Fair Trade certifications.
Roasting. From one to three days of courses, depending on the level, to deep enter the roasting process, including the roasting phases and how they affect the taste in the cup, the profiles and the use of roasting software, the right selection of green in relation to the organoleptic profile to be obtained, scorching, tipping and other classic roasting process errors, up to the evaluation cupping of the roasted coffee.
Coffee Sensory. In this area, too, the course range from one to three days, depending on the levels. In the lessons we work on discovering how to recognize, analyze and measure the olfactory, gustatory, flavor and tactile sensations of coffee, both in cupping and in espresso. To get there a lot of knowledge and a lot of tasting practice.
Water and preventive maintenance Water and Preventive Maintenance Foundation is the exams covering the key concepts of water treatment systems and preventive maintenance of coffee machines.
The exam is about the capability to identify the components, function, impact of machine, grinder and batch brewers. Also they will be able to define water parameters and treatment. demonstrate the simple steps in conducting these tasks with the appropriate tools and supplies.
Coffee sustainability An exam covering the more challenging sustainability issues that the coffee, and the coffee industry is facing today. The exam of Coffee Sustainability aims to offer even knowledge about what the term ‘sustainability’ means. The course is designed to have broad applications and appeal for people new to coffee as well as for professionals. A fundamental course for everybody working in coffee as well as for our planet!
The SCA Skills Diploma
A passed SCA certification exam can be the building block for broader and deeper knowledge in a certain area of the coffee business. SCA has created a system of "SCA Skills Diplomas", a series of four "role diplomas" that can be obtained by passing various exams in various areas, to make complete our professionalism.
The SCA Skills Diplomas are
- SCA Coffee diploma
- SCA Roastery Diploma
- SCA Trade Diploma
- SCA Sustainable Coffee Diploma
*It should be noted that, from January 2024, the SCA Skills Diplomas system will replace the old 100 point system of the SCA Coffee Diploma System.
How to take part in SCA exams
Taking part in the SCA exams requires some steps. Those steps can be different in case of participation in the Foundation exams or in the Intermediate or Professional exams or, again, in the Introduction to Coffee exam.
- Before the course/exam it is necessary for the student to be registered on the site https://sca.coffee/
- Once the student, after the foundation course, wants to enroll in the SCA exam, he has to communicate us the Email address he used to register on the SCA website. The payment of 70€ is requested for the first tranche of the payment at the same time.
- The student receives from SCA the invitation for the exam. He accepts it
- The student pays (receiving the invoice directly to SCA) the second tranche (50€)
- The student receives the link to take the exam via email from SCA itself. The exam consists of a quiz of about twenty multiple choice questions, to be answered in about twenty minutes. To pass the exam, at least 60% of the questions must be answered correctly in a Foundation exam, the 70% in an intermediate one and the 80% in professional.
- After successfully completing the SCA exam, the student will be sent an email with the result and then another Email, from which it will be possible to download the diploma.
* If you have previous work and study experiences it is possible to go directly to the Intermediate level without taking part in the Foundation level. You can take part in the Professional exam three months after taking the intermediate.
SCA courses and exams at Espresso Academy
With his routes “Coffee week” and “Coffee Campus” Espresso academy allow you, with the better prices on the market, to achieve all the SCA certifications and diplomas.
Espresso Academy “coffee Campus”
- The most complete coffee training course in the world,
- Four months of advanced coffee training.
- All coffee courses including coffee shop management, coffee sustainability and technician courses
- Internships in micro roastery and practical coffee shop management workshops.
THE COFFEE DIPLOMA SYSTEM AND THE 100 SCA POINTS
Until January 2024, SCA kept in force the rule whereby each exam passed gave a score and, upon obtaining 100 points, an "overall" diploma called Coffee Diploma was obtained.
Anyone who has obtained 100 points before this date can still contact SCA https://education.sca.coffee/ to get the diploma.
