Specialty Coffee Association (SCA)¶
The Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) is the world's largest coffee trade association. It describes its role as fostering a global coffee community and supporting specialty coffee through research, standards, education, and events.[cite:2][cite:13]
Overview¶
SCA was established in January 2017 through the unification of the Specialty Coffee Association of America (founded in 1982) and the Specialty Coffee Association of Europe (founded in 1998).[cite:2][cite:9] Its stated aim is to make specialty coffee a thriving, equitable, and sustainable endeavour across the entire value chain.[cite:2]
What SCA does¶
SCA’s work is centred on several core functions:
- Research: publishing and supporting research related to coffee quality and the specialty coffee sector.[cite:13]
- Standards: developing and revising SCA Standards through its technical office, standards panel, and expert groups.[cite:11]
- Education: offering modular certificate programs and skills diplomas through SCA Education.[cite:6][cite:7]
- Events and community: connecting coffee professionals across producing, trading, roasting, retail, and barista communities.[cite:2][cite:13]
Standards¶
SCA states that its standards are developed through a formal process involving stakeholder liaison and expert drafting groups, and that published standards are revised periodically.[cite:11] These standards can also support certifications, such as the SCA Certified Home Brewer program.[cite:11]
Education¶
SCA Education offers certificate-based learning in multiple coffee disciplines. According to SCA, individual certificate programs build specific skills, while Skills Diplomas combine certificates to show readiness for roles such as café manager or coffee trader.[cite:6][cite:7][cite:15]
Specialty coffee definition¶
SCA defines specialty coffee as a coffee or coffee experience recognized for its distinctive attributes.[cite:1] In practice, this positions SCA as an important reference point for how coffee quality, professional competency, and industry standards are discussed across the specialty coffee sector.[cite:1][cite:13]
Why it matters¶
For coffee professionals, SCA serves as a common framework for training, quality evaluation, and professional networking.[cite:2][cite:6][cite:11] For coffee businesses and educators, its standards and education programs often function as globally recognized benchmarks.[cite:11][cite:15]