The selloff of the Q program from Coffee Quality Institue (CQI) to Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) is a critical shift impacting the very foundation of coffee quality evaluation. There’s a narrative that the SCA Evolved Q (EQ) program, represents a natural progression or even an evolution. In fact, this EQ program will not only stop the true evolution of professionally trained Q Graders to truly evolve into educated objective assessment; it will reverse the progress of the skills and the only common language between people in producing and consuming countries. This isn’t just a change in forms; it’s a fundamental re-direction that will kill the coffee industry’s collective progress towards a more objective understanding of coffee quality.
SCA Evolved Q program will effectively stop the true evolution of coffee assessment
– Dixon Ip, CQI Q Arabica Instructor
For the past two decades, the Q Grader program, using the 2004 SCA Cupping Form, has been CQI Q Instructors’ global go-to for teaching coffee quality evaluation.
Humans are subjective, but the Q calibration process was designed to get their coffee graders’ judgments in sync, creating a sense of objectivity. The Q Graders focus on “reporting the facts” about a coffee’s attributes, building a shared, professional understanding for clear communication and trade. This collective judgment, even though it started with individual perception, allowed coffee professionals with various cultures from different countries to work with a shared framework for quality control. Q Graders were trained to achieve what’s called intersubjectivity.
Q Graders were trained to achieve what’s called intersubjectivity
– Polina Vladimirova, CQI Q Arabica & Q Processing Instructor
The Q Grader program, slated for transition to the SCA on October 1, 2025, is poised for an evolution rooted in the CVA. This impending change has initiated considerable discourse within the coffee community regarding the future of quality evaluation.
Concerns have been raised that the CVA primarily indicates personal preference, with its scale appearing to encourage subjective rather than objective scoring. This focus on individual preference risks decentralizing the definition of ‘quality’, potentially allowing each participant to establish their own preferences or even standards. Such an approach diverges significantly from the calibrated alignment industry professionals have diligently striven to achieve.
Consider how individuals come to understand the preferences of spouses or friends
Consider how individuals come to understand the preferences of spouses or friends. This understanding is not typically forged through a strict, objective rubric, but rather through shared experiences and repeated interaction, leading to an alignment with unique subjective definitions of ‘quality’. This mirrors the ambition of traditional Q calibration: to cultivate profound intersubjectivity, thereby enabling consistent quality assessment and communication across the entire coffee supply chain.
However, should the CVA continue to prioritize individual subjective value, there is apprehension that it could impede efforts to guide coffee tasters toward truly educated, objective assessment practices.
Stay tuned to our Podcasts “Coffee Deep Dive” on the “true” evolution of coffee quality evaluation!
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