Looking for the former CQI Q Arabica Grader? SCA has operated the updated Q Grader program since October 1, 2025. The current course uses Coffee Value Assessment (CVA), lasts six consecutive days and requires passing eight practical assessments and one written exam. This guide maps preparation for the current course and explains what legacy holders should check.
The credential now lives with the SCA
The current SCA Q Grader course follows the former CQI program with a changed curriculum and assessment structure.
The history matters for what you can book today. The Coffee Quality Institute introduced the Q Coffee System in 2004, and the Q Grader certification ran under CQI for two decades. In 2025, CQI stopped administering the program, and from 1 October 2025 the SCA has operated the Q Grader program on a rebuilt curriculum.
The updated course uses CVA, which separates physical, descriptive, affective and extrinsic information. Current Q licensing runs through SCA; older CQI Arabica exam guides describe a historical assessment structure.
If you already hold a CQI certificate, it stays valid until the expiry date printed on it. The transition FAQ also described a CVA for Cuppers fast-track for legacy holders, but that route carried a 31 December 2025 deadline, which has passed. Ask the SCA which path applies to your certificate and its expiry date.
- Legacy credential: CQI Q Arabica Grader.
- Current program: SCA Q Grader, based on CVA.
- The two course structures are not interchangeable.
Official sources: SCA Korea — Q Grader program transition FAQ — korea.sca.coffee/q-grader; About Us — Coffee Quality Institute — coffeeinstitute.org/about; Education - Q Grader — Specialty Coffee Association — sca.coffee/education/q-grader
Course format: six days, nine assessments
The Q Grader Course runs over six consecutive days and ends in nine assessments: eight practical evaluations and one written exam.
The course targets experienced coffee professionals. Its focus is sensory evaluation, cupping, and green coffee grading, all framed through CVA. The SCA suggests you arrive with cupping and sensory analysis experience, familiarity with CVA, and a high level of sensory skill.
You must pass all nine assessments. Each permits two attempts during the course. From 2026, the overview also allows a third attempt for individual practical exams after the course; it does not extend that third attempt to the written exam. Confirm the practical retake deadline, booking and fee with your instructor.
The published day-by-day schedule is described as an example of how the course typically runs, not a guaranteed assignment of exams to days. The license itself is valid for three years and renews through continuing professional development; you do not repeat the six-day course to renew.
Official sources: Education - Q Grader — Specialty Coffee Association — sca.coffee/education/q-grader
The written exam: CVA and cupping procedure
The written exam focuses primarily on Coffee Value Assessment, with cupping procedures including setup also covered in detail.
The SCA names its own study materials for this exam: the CVA Protocol, Standards SCA-102, SCA-103, and SCA-104, the CVA Theory Video Series, and the downloadable CVA forms. Working through those documents is the reliable way to prepare, rather than memorizing summaries of the retired CQI-era syllabus.
If you have not used the forms in a professional setting, the SCA recommends running CVA Physical, Descriptive, Affective, and Extrinsic Assessments on coffees at your workplace. The CVA for Cuppers course is recommended for experienced cuppers who want structured, hands-on introduction to the Descriptive, Affective, and Extrinsic Assessments.
- Read the CVA Protocol and Standards SCA-102, SCA-103, SCA-104
- Download and practice with the official CVA forms
- Consider the CVA for Cuppers course if you are an experienced cupper new to these forms
Official sources: How to Prepare — Specialty Coffee Association — sca.coffee/education/how-to-prepare
The eight practical exams and how to practice each
Each practical has a defined purpose, and the SCA's preparation page pairs every one with concrete practice recommendations.
The table below maps each practical exam to what it evaluates and the official preparation focus. Two practicals reward real equipment time: the physical assessment, where the SCA suggests practicing moisture and bean-size identification with a moisture-content instrument and sieves, and cupping skills, where a workplace cupping lab is the recommended practice environment.
For roasting problems, SCA’s preparation page supplies comparison targets for a standard cupping roast and roasts that are too light, dark, fast or slow. Use instructor-prepared samples and the linked protocol to learn the distinctions. The practical tests recognition through smell and taste; reading numerical targets does not demonstrate that ability.
SCA recommends practice with actual forms and samples, colleague-prepared blind triads, and the CVA Olfactory Example Library. For main tastes, use the linked WCR Lexicon’s Taste Basics instructions with trainer guidance; this guide does not supply solution concentrations.
- Use the official CVA forms rather than self-made substitutes
- Have a colleague set up blind triads so cup identity stays hidden from you
- Follow the linked resources (CVA Olfactory Example Library, WCR Lexicon) for their exact specifications
| Practical exam | What it evaluates | Official preparation focus |
|---|---|---|
| Cupping skills | Your conduct, focus, and professionalism during cuppings (not setup) | Review Standard SCA-102; practice setting up, running, and cleaning up sessions in a cupping lab |
| Physical assessment (green grading) | Accurate performance of the CVA Physical Assessment | Use the Physical Form; practice with moisture and size equipment; study the SCA Washed Arabica Green Coffee Defect Guide |
| Roasting problems | Recognizing a correct cupping roast using smell and taste alone | Compare instructor-prepared standard, light, dark, fast and slow samples using SCA’s published references |
| Descriptive assessment | Form use and descriptive accuracy in the CVA Descriptive Assessment | Review the CVA Protocol and Standard SCA-103; practice on workplace samples |
| Affective assessment | Form use and consistency in the CVA Affective Assessment | Review the CVA Protocol and Standard SCA-104; practice on workplace samples |
| Olfactory category examples | Recognizing and describing olfactory sensations | Set up examples from the CVA Olfactory Example Library and practice blind CATA-box identification |
| Triangulation | Detecting subtle differences among coffee samples | Ask a colleague to set up blind triads at varying levels of difficulty |
| Main taste solutions | Detecting and describing main tastes and their intensities in simple and complex solutions | Prepare sweet, salty, and sour solutions per the WCR Lexicon and vary the intensities |
Official sources: How to Prepare — Specialty Coffee Association — sca.coffee/education/how-to-prepare
Worked example: descriptive versus affective
Descriptive work records what you sense; affective work records a quality judgment. The SCA trains and assesses the two separately.
This original exercise distinguishes a sensory description from a quality impression.
Worked example
In a fictional tasting exercise, Colleague A records “citric acidity, medium intensity, lemon-peel aroma.” Colleague B records her quality impression for the intended market and compares its consistency with her earlier evaluations. Which CVA assessment is each performing, and what distinction should their records preserve?
Show answer
Colleague A is performing the Descriptive Assessment. Colleague B is performing the Affective Assessment.
A records sensed attributes, so the assessment is descriptive. B records a quality impression, so it is affective. SCA’s preparation page identifies descriptive accuracy and form use for the Descriptive practical, and consistency and form use for the Affective practical. A descriptor is not itself a quality rating, and a preference does not establish which aroma was perceived.
Official sources: How to Prepare — Specialty Coffee Association — sca.coffee/education/how-to-prepare; SCA Korea — Q Grader program transition FAQ — korea.sca.coffee/q-grader
If you hold a legacy CQI Q Arabica certificate
A legacy certificate remains valid until its printed expiry. Confirm your individual transition route with SCA.
The transition FAQ’s CVA for Cuppers fast-track had a December 31, 2025 deadline. Do not assume taking that course now automatically renews a legacy certificate.
For the current SCA license, the published validity is three years and renewal uses continuing professional development (CPD), without repeating the full six-day course. That current-license rule does not by itself establish how an unconverted legacy certificate moves into the new program.
- Check your certificate’s issuer, issue history and printed expiry.
- Ask SCA which current transition or renewal route applies.
- Confirm current CPD requirements for an SCA license.
Official sources: SCA Korea — Q Grader program transition FAQ — korea.sca.coffee/q-grader; Education - Q Grader — Specialty Coffee Association — sca.coffee/education/q-grader
Career value and your next steps
Compare your experience with the actual tasks and the practical feedback available.
SCA lists potential roles in quality analysis, buying, sensory work and roasting. Use those as career context when assessing the course against your goals.
If cupping, grading or sensory testing is unfamiliar, review SCA’s recommended introductory and skills courses. They are preparation options, not universal certificate prerequisites for Q Grader.
- Review the SCA Q Grader overview and how-to-prepare pages
- Download the CVA forms and practice each assessment on real samples
- Read Standards SCA-102, SCA-103, and SCA-104 with the CVA Protocol
- Find courses on the SCA calendar and confirm fees, dates, and location with the instructor before booking
Official sources: Education - Q Grader — Specialty Coffee Association — sca.coffee/education/q-grader; How to Prepare — Specialty Coffee Association — sca.coffee/education/how-to-prepare
Official sources
Verified exam facts: