The Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) has announced new changes to the Q Grader Program in tandem with the Coffee Quality Institute (CQI) to provide better support and more accessible education opportunities across the coffee industry.
As of 1 October 2025, SCA will be operating an evolved Q Grader Program based on its Coffee Value Assessment (CVA), which was introduced in 2023 and expands coffee assessment to encompass flavour and other attributes.
The program is designed for professional cuppers and coffee assessors, with participants set to learn practical techniques in sensory evaluation, green coffee defect identification, and quality control in a research-informed curriculum. Students will become licensed Q Graders upon completion.
SCA CEO Yannis Apostolopoulos says the new program will set a new standard in coffee evaluation practices.
“Coffee is more than a score,” he says. “The partnership between SCA and CQI to evolve the Q Grader program is the latest milestone towards delivering on the SCA’s purpose to make coffee better.
“Upon completion of the program, Q Graders holding the evolved, CVA-based licence will set the standard for modern coffee evaluation. Through a system that takes a holistic view in the value of coffee, they’ll play a key role in driving progress in the global specialty coffee industry.”
CQI will no longer be involved in the operation of the Q once it transitions to the new program. CQI CEO Michael Sheridan has expressed the institute’s pride at its two decades of involvement in the program’s development.
“We are proud of the role we have played in the first 20 years of the Q, and honoured by the way it has been embraced in the coffee industry,” Michael says.
“We are excited to partner with the Specialty Coffee Association to evolve the Q and meet the demands of the industry today.”
The evolved Q Grader licence will be a globally recognised qualification, and anyone interested in the program can quickly update their status.
SCA Sensory Skills Professional Certificate holders, current or lapsed Arabica or Robusta Q Graders, Q Instructors, and Q Assistant Instructors may fast-track their evolved Q licence by completing the SCA’s CVA for Cuppers course by 31 December 2025.
