What is the SCA cupping score?

The SCA score is the 100-point rating given to a coffee during cupping under the Specialty Coffee Association protocol. Ten sensory attributes are scored out of ten (fragrance, flavor, aftertaste, acidity, body, balance, uniformity, clean cup, sweetness, overall), then defect points are subtracted. Above 80, the coffee is officially 'specialty'.

The SCA Cupping Form is the global reference for qualifying a coffee, green or roasted. It was formalised by the SCAA (now SCA, after the 2017 merger with the SCAE) and relies on panel evaluation by certified Q-graders. Q-grader certification is delivered by the Coffee Quality Institute after a six-day exam of 22 stations: identification of organic acids, basic tastes at different concentrations, defects, and blind comparative cupping. Around 7,000 active Q-graders exist worldwide in 2025; about a dozen in Belgium, several of them in Brussels and Ghent.

The scoring mechanism is simple in principle, demanding in practice. Five cups of the same coffee are prepared under standard cupping (8.25 g of medium-coarse grind in 150 ml of 93 °C water, 4-minute brew, crust broken with two spoon strokes). Each Q-grader scores ten attributes individually out of ten on precise scales: 6.00 = good, 7.00 = very good, 8.00 = excellent, 9.00 = outstanding. Half-point steps (6.50, 7.25) are the usual granularity. Cup scores are averaged, then multiplied for uniformity, clean cup and sweetness (two points per defect-free cup, maximum ten). Defects — taints and faults — are subtracted: two points per taint, four points per fault, per affected cup. The final score mathematically ranges from 0 to 100, but in practice commercial coffees sit between 70 and 79, specialty coffees between 80 and 86, premium lots between 87 and 89, and rare competition lots (Best of Panama, Cup of Excellence) occasionally pass 90.

The 80-point threshold is not arbitrary: it statistically filters out more than 95 % of global green production (around 10 million tonnes/year). Above 85 puts a lot in another bracket again (under 1 % of production), negotiated at two to six times world market under direct trade. Record lots are striking: an Elida-farm Panamanian Geisha hit 95.25 at Best of Panama 2019 and sold for USD 1,029/kilo green; an Ethiopian Kaffa reached 94 in 2021; the top five Colombian Cup of Excellence lots in 2022 all cleared 91. A lesser-known point: within the SCA form, 'balance' is the attribute that most often separates an 82 from an 85 — it is overall balance, not spectacular fragrance, that drives the highest scores.

In Belgium, serious specialty roasters now increasingly publish the SCA score of each microlot on the product sheet, with the name of the scoring Q-grader and the cupping date. It mirrors the transparency trend you see on a wine label's alcohol percentage and vintage. At 20hVin in La Hulpe and La Cave du Lac in Genval, coffees on the menu generally sit between 84 and 88 points — a sweet spot that offers strong aromatic definition without drifting into auction pricing.

SCA score: tiers and benchmarks