Sensory Skills Foundation – SCA Certificate Course
📅 Co-hosted by ASTs Brit Horn & Eric Musil – Friday, August 1 9 am – 5 pm | 🕘 Full-Day Course
This introductory course is designed for anyone looking to develop a foundational understanding of sensory analysis in coffee. As part of the SCA Coffee Skills Program, Sensory Skills Foundation explores how we perceive flavor, aroma, and mouthfeel, and how to apply this knowledge in a coffee cupping context.
Through interactive tasting exercises and guided instruction, students will learn to identify key sensory attributes and begin building a sensory vocabulary. This course also introduces the core principles of the Coffee Value Assessment System (CVAS)—the SCA’s evolving framework for assessing coffee quality and value across the supply chain.
With the new SCA–CQI partnership, this course now serves as a stepping stone toward the Q Arabica Grader Program, including an introduction to two key forms from CQI’s updated Quality Evaluation (QE) program.
Whether you’re a barista, roaster, green buyer, or aspiring Q Grader, this course offers practical tools and insight to help you navigate sensory evaluation with clarity and confidence.
🌟 What You’ll Learn:
- Discover Sensory Science – Learn the fundamentals of sensory evaluation through practical, interactive exercises that help you understand how we perceive taste and flavor.
- Coffee Cupping – Build a strong foundation in cupping protocols and sensory analysis, developing the skills and tools to assess coffee quality using professional terminology.
- Engage All Your Senses – Through interactive exercises, explore how gustation, olfaction, taction, and even auditory and visual cues influence sensory perception in coffee. You will get to use sensory tools including, SCA Flavor Wheel, WCR Sensory Lexicon and the Les Nez du Café Aroma kit.
- Evaluate Coffee with Confidence – Gain the tools to analyze coffee characteristics objectively and apply this knowledge in a professional setting.
💡 Topics Covered:
- Introduction to the Coffee Value Assessment System
- Principles of Sensory Science
- Physiology & Sensory Attributes
- Identifying Sensory Characteristics in Coffee
- SCA Coffee Cupping Protocol
- Practical Considerations for Sensory Professional Services
🍴 Additional Details:
- This full-day course runs from 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM.
- Registration includes: SCA certificate cost, lunch, snacks, refreshments, and coffees.
- Final Exam: Upon course completion, students have 21 days to take the SCA Sensory Skills Foundation written exam online.
- Allergy Note: This course includes tasting exercises with various foods and liquids, including potential allergens (dairy, nuts, wheat, etc.). While we strive to accommodate dietary needs, we cannot guarantee 100% avoidance of allergens.
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