Yesterday, the SCAA (Specialty Coffee Association of America) announced that they plane to launch a new Coffee Taster Certification program. This program will be part of their very successful professional development curriculum, which the SCAA says will "focus on sensory analysis from a broad perspective".
They plan to launch this Certification program to the public at their up coming Symposium and Expo in Boston, MA, April 11 - 14.
This program is being launch to the public, largely in response to an electronic Tasting Analysis Job Survey conducted by the SCAA last November, which revealed that most of those who love coffee, talk coffee, and conduct coffee tastings and cupping's know remarkably little about coffee. More than 87% of the respondents declared that they perform an official cupping or taste test weekly, 64% of them daily. Of a list of 29 sensory analyst tasks, all of them were considered important or critical by more than 50% of those surveyed. The top five tasks were considered critical or important by more than 90% of the respondents. Based on this feedback, the SCAA created the CTC program to provide additional pathways for sensory education and strengthen the industry as a whole by supporting the pivotal profession of Coffee Taster. This program is another facet of the SCAA’s multi-disciplined approach to supporting the supply chain, products and processes that make up the specialty coffee industry.
In an additional study of coffee houses in the United States, many managers and even more baristas in more that 1,200 coffeehouses, when asked who the SCAA where, had no idea.
More information about the Coffee Taster Certification, from the SCAA website:
Slated to officially launch at the 2013 SCAA Event, to be held April 11-14, 2013 in Boston, MA, the Coffee Taster Certificate Program will provide comprehensive education and training that will encapsulate the entire scope of sensory analysis including green coffee, production roast tasting and espresso tasting. This program has been designed to not only complement Coffee Quality Institute’s (CQI) Q Coffee System, which licenses Q Graders to grade green coffee and signifies an independent confirmation of specialty quality coffee, but also allow for an expanded understanding and level of expertise for all coffee professionals focused on product quality and tasting assurance. David Roche, CQI’s Executive Director comments “CQI’s international Q Graders help coffee sectors locate specialty coffees at origin and improve coffees that have the potential to meet specialty standards. The effect is a common language between buyers and sellers that draws attention to specialty coffees while creating an infrastructure that provides producers greater opportunities to enter the marketplace and to increase their economic viability. SCAA’s new CTC program complements our objective to provides comprehensive professional development for coffee professionals.”
How well do you know your coffee?
Would you like more information of Coffee Tasting and Personal Development?
Have you attended any of these programs and would like to share some highlights?
I'd would love to hear and share your comments and opinions.
SamTheWriter
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