Coffee Tasting and Cupping Course / Sensory SCA

A coffee tasting course for enthusiasts and coffee lover

Every December, many people contact us to gift a coffee course to their loved ones, an heartwarming gesture for those who are truly passionate about coffee!

Throughout our catalog, the most popular and gifted course remains: the coffee tasting course!

And we're pleased about this! We're pleased because finally, coffee is being discovered and becoming interesting even for many people who are not professional baristas, but who discover coffee much like discovering cuisine or wine, a wonderful world to explore and love!

What's the layout of a coffee tasting course?

How many coffees do you drink? Are they made with a Moka pot? With an espresso machine? Do you add sugar? These are just a few of the questions we receive from people who are interested in taking their first coffee tasting course.

But how does it really work? A coffee tasting course doesn't start with coffee, actually. We begin by tasting various solutions of water with dissolved substances (all natural!) that gradually allow us to distinguish between sweet, acidic, and bitter flavors and balance these tastes.

Then, we work deeply into aromas—the ones that come from the coffee plant, those that arrive from roasting, and those that are considered technical defects.

At this point, we're ready for the main event: tasting the coffee. And the technique/ceremony of cupping will simply be fascinating!

Discover Coffee's Secrets: Is There a Coffee Sommelier Course?

In recent years, coffee has become a much more experiential product. Many people, even non-professionals, have discovered this beverage not just as a simple morning pick-me-up, but as an interesting product, with different production regions and varieties, each with its own unique flavor profiles.

That's why a coffee tasting course has become such a fascinating experience, both for those approaching coffee as an "interesting" product and for the more dedicated "home baristas".

Is there a course to become a "caffelier"?

The word "caffelier" has become very common in recent years. It's easy to understand that it's a mix of the word "coffee" with the word "sommelier," a term used to describe a wine taster.

At a professional level, this figure doesn't exist, and the professional coffee taster is often referred to as a "Q grader."

However, for coffee enthusiasts, those who want to discover the aromas and wonderful sensory notes of this beverage, even without making it their profession, a caffelier course is definitely a beautiful experience that will completely change the way they approach to coffee!

Q Grader Course

The professional coffee taster, who has the opportunity to travel among the various coffee fincas and farms around the world, tasting extraordinary coffees, is called a Q Grader, short for Quality Grader.

Becoming a Q Grader is not a simple task. In fact, the Q Grader course starts by taking part in the courses you'll find on this page, the various SCA levels.

Once you've completed the professional SCA Sensory course, you can apply to the Coffee Quality Institute to take the exams, which are very difficult and very costly
A big effort for a big achievement!