tags: [] - coffee/history - coffee/education aliases: - CQI Q Grader 1996 - Coffee Quality Institute founded 1996 created: 2026-05-10 updated: 2026-05-10
1996 - Q Grader Programme Established¶
Tags: #coffee/history #coffee/education Aliases: CQI Q Grader 1996, Coffee Quality Institute founded 1996 Related: Q Grader Certification | Specialty Coffee MoC Status: 🌱 Stub
Overview¶
The Coffee Quality Institute (CQI) was founded in 1996 as a non-profit organisation by the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) to improve coffee quality and the livelihoods of coffee producers through quality-based market access. The Q Grader certification programme — CQI's flagship credential — was developed in the late 1990s and launched in the early 2000s, creating the first internationally standardised qualification for coffee quality evaluators using the SCA cupping methodology. The establishment of CQI and the Q Grader system gave the specialty sector a formal quality-assessment infrastructure that underpins producer certification, green coffee trade, and professional education globally.
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