Specialty Coffee: What the Term Means Today
Almost everywhere you look, Specialty Coffee is said to start at 80 points. That used to be true. The Specialty Coffee Association has since revised its definition and its scoring system — and the new definition no longer names a score at all.
Before we get into it, so it's clear what this isn't about: Specialty Coffee isn't a ranking of better people. It's a description of how carefully a coffee was handled and how much is known about it. Whether you like it is a different question entirely.
What is Specialty Coffee?
The Specialty Coffee Association today defines it like this: a coffee or coffee experience that is recognizable because of distinctive attributes, and that therefore has significant added value in the market. In the original: “a coffee or coffee experience recognized for its distinctive attributes, and because of these attributes, it has significant extra value in the marketplace.”
What stands out is what this definition doesn't say: no score, no threshold, no scale. The SCA explicitly states that the definition goes beyond a single number and takes into account both intrinsic attributes such as aroma, taste, and mouthfeel, as well as extrinsic ones such as origin, producer, growing practices, and processing.
Does the 80-point rule still apply?
Not as the SCA definition. The threshold comes from the SCA document “Protocols and Best Practices” in its 2018 version, where 80 to 84.99 points were classified as “Very Good – Specialty.” The new SCA-104 standard from 2024 contains neither an 80-point threshold nor the “Specialty Grade” classification for the cup.
The number hasn't disappeared, though. It lives on in the definition of the Coffee Quality Institute — which still certifies from 80 points upward, and because its Q Grader system is deeply embedded in the industry, you'll keep running into the number everywhere. It's just no longer what it's often taken to be: the official SCA definition of Specialty Coffee.
We haven't found an explicit SCA statement to the effect that “the 80-point threshold no longer applies.” What is documented: the current SCA definition names no score, and the new SCA-104 standard knows neither the threshold nor the term. This article draws that conclusion — not the SCA.
From score to system
What is the Coffee Value Assessment?
The assessment system the SCA has worked with since 2024. Instead of a single score, it combines four separate assessments meant to together give a more complete picture of a coffee's value.
| Component | What is assessed |
|---|---|
| Physical | the green coffee: defects, screen size, moisture |
| Descriptive | what is actually tasteable — without judgment |
| Affective | how much the taster likes the coffee — this is where the score comes from |
| Extrinsic | origin, cultivation, processing, certifications |
The three cupping standards are called SCA-102-2024 (sample preparation and cupping mechanics), SCA-103-2024 (Descriptive Assessment), and SCA-104-2024 (Affective Assessment). They explicitly replace the 2004 cupping protocol. A fifth standard, SCA-105, covers the Extrinsic Assessment. Since October 1, 2025, the SCA has also been running the Q Grader program on this basis; the Coffee Quality Institute is no longer involved in operating it.
The real innovation is the separation of describing and judging. On the old form, the two blended together; in the new system, what's there comes first, and separately from that, how much it's liked. That's more honest — and it makes visible that “liking” always presupposes a person doing the judging.
The old 2004 form has been formally replaced, but it hasn't disappeared in practice. Adapted versions of it are still in use in many operations. Whenever you come across a score, it's worth asking which system it was produced under.
How is the score arrived at today?
Through a disclosed formula. The Affective Assessment scores eight sections — Fragrance, Aroma, Flavor, Aftertaste, Acidity, Sweetness, Mouthfeel, and Overall. Each gets a value on a nine-point scale, from extremely low to extremely high, with neither high nor low in the middle.
From this, the standard calculates an overall score on the familiar 100-point scale. The SCA writes that its cupping system automatically translates the results of the nine-point scales onto the 100-point scale, “which is more familiar in the coffee world.” Two points are deducted per non-uniform cup, four per defective cup; the result is rounded to 0.25 points.
The math, in plain terms
- Eight sections times nine levels give a sum between 8 and 72.
- All sections at the minimum give 58.00 points.
- All sections neutral, meaning “neither high nor low,” give 79.00 points.
- All sections at the maximum give 100.00 points.
Where 80 points sits today
And here's where it gets interesting. The number 80, which for decades marked the threshold to Specialty, corresponds on the CVA scale to a section total of 42 out of 72 — a coffee, in other words, that sits just above “neither high nor low” overall. Reading an 80 on a CVA form today means reading something different than an 80 from 2004.
This comparison is our own calculation from the values printed in the standard, not a statement by the SCA. We haven't found an official statement on whether or how old and new scores can be compared. The formula itself is embedded in the standard as an image and isn't readable as text; going by the table printed there, the conversion works out to 0.65625 times the section total plus 52.75, minus the cup deductions. We checked this against eighteen reference points in the table.
Does a high score mean I'll like the coffee?
No. It records how a group of trained tasters assessed a sample under standardized conditions. Whether you'll like that same coffee isn't answered by that — and that's not the question a score is meant to answer.
The SCA is remarkably open about this in its own material. Aroma, taste, and mouthfeel can be described, it says there; preferences, on the other hand, are always subjective. What the Affective Assessment records is how the coffee came across to the tasters — people, in other words, with palates shaped by personal experience and culture. The SCA itself describes the Affective Assessment as capturing a taster's impression of quality, relative to her personal preference.
Important, because it's often misunderstood: this doesn't abolish the score. According to the preface of the SCA-104 standard, the Affective Assessment explicitly serves the same purpose as the 2004 cupping protocol — to evaluate a taster's impression of quality “and express it in the form of an overall score.” What has changed isn't the existence of the number, but how it comes about and how much context sits alongside it.
Then there's the practical side, which is often overlooked. The score is produced at the cupping table, on a sample prepared and tasted according to the SCA-102 standard. That is explicitly not the way the coffee later reaches you.
What lies between the score and the cup
This is clearest with roasting. It changes a coffee more than almost anything else after harvest — and for exactly that, there's still no published SCA standard: SCA-131 “Coffee Roast Level” is listed as under development. The same green coffee can taste of apricot and tea roasted light, and of chocolate and nuts roasted dark. The lot's score stays the same. Your verdict probably won't.
From there it continues: how long the beans rested after roasting, how fine you grind, what water comes out of your tap, whether it's Espresso or filter, with milk or without. Each of these stations shifts the result — and none of them is captured in the number on the bag.
What a score can do — and what it can't
- It can show that a lot was carefully sorted and was perceived by a trained panel as clean and well-defined.
- It can make two green coffees comparable for purchasing — that's what it was built for.
- It can't predict whether you'll experience acidity as liveliness or as a flaw.
- It can't know how something will be roasted, ground, and brewed — what ends up in your cup.
Two people can drink the same coffee and honestly arrive at opposite verdicts, without either of them being wrong. That's not a flaw in the system — it's the normal case.
A note from us: we don't pay attention to the score at all when selecting our coffees. That's not a criticism of the score — in the green coffee trade it's a useful tool, and that's exactly what it was made for. It's just not our yardstick. The score belongs to the lot; the taste belongs to you: if a coffee with 84 points tastes better to you than one with 89, that's not a misjudgment — it's simply your taste.
Who coined the term?
Erna Knutsen, in 1974, in the Tea & Coffee Trade Journal. She was one of the defining figures of the American coffee trade, and used the term for coffees from distinctive microclimates with their own flavor profiles — as opposed to anonymous commodity goods.
The year, the person, and the publication are documented, including by the SCA itself and by a document from the International Coffee Organization. The exact issue, the month, and the article title aren't documented in any official source. If someone gives you a page number, they probably didn't look it up.
What must green coffee meet to be Specialty Grade?
This is where it gets concrete and verifiable. The requirements for green coffee are count values, not taste judgments.
What green coffee has to meet
A Category 1 defect is, for example, a fully black bean. Not a single one is allowed in 350 grams. Category 2 defects carry less weight, and up to five full ones are allowed. On top of that comes water activity below 0.70 — a measure of how much water in the green coffee is available for microbial processes, and thus an indicator of storage stability.
A numbered SCA standard for green coffee doesn't exist yet. The SCA-110 standard, “Green Coffee: Grading, Specifications, and Test Methods,” is under development. Until then, the operative reference is the document “Coffee Standards, Revised 2018,” together with the Green Arabica Coffee Classification System from 2001.
How big is the market for Specialty Coffee?
We can't answer that responsibly — and we tried.
The International Coffee Organization doesn't report a market-share figure for Specialty Coffee. The only share figure that appears in SCA publications refers to the year 2004: at the time, around 20 percent of volume but about 50 percent of value. All the more recent percentages circulating online come from commercial market research that delivers revenue forecasts, but doesn't state a share and doesn't disclose its definition of “specialty.”
The deeper reason is more fundamental: there's no industry-wide unified definition. In 2024, the ICO set up its own working group and compiled nine different existing definitions for it. As long as the definition isn't harmonized, every percentage measures something different.
What does Specialty Coffee mean for you in the cup?
Three things, in practice. First: the coffee is carefully sorted — fewer defects means less of what quickly tastes like cardboard, earth, or fermentation. Second: it's usually traceable back to the farm or cooperative, which makes roasting and brewing more predictable. Third: it's typically roasted fresher, because the supply chains are shorter.
What it doesn't mean: that you have to like it. A light, fruity Ethiopian bean with 88 points can completely miss the mark for someone who wants a dark, chocolatey Espresso instead. Both verdicts are right, because they answer different questions.
How do you spot good coffee in the store?
By what's on the bag — and by what's missing. The more specific the information, the more the roaster knows about the coffee. Conversely: whoever prints only “Arabica, 100%” and a best-before date either has little information or little interest in passing it on.
Four things worth checking
- Roast date, not best-before date. Whoever states the roast date has nothing to hide.
- Origin more specific than just the country. Region, farm or cooperative, altitude, variety, processing.
- Tasting notes that actually claim something. “Jasmine, apricot, black tea” says more than “full-bodied and aromatic.”
- A score is a clue, not proof. Ask which system it was produced under.
What you can safely ignore, on the other hand, are labels without a definition. “Premium,” “gourmet,” and “barista quality” aren't protected terms and say nothing. “Highland coffee” is also an empty shell without an altitude figure — the number would be the information, not the word.
Frequently asked questions about Specialty Coffee
What is Specialty Coffee?
According to the Specialty Coffee Association's current definition, Specialty Coffee is a coffee or coffee experience that is recognizable because of distinctive attributes, and that therefore has significant added value in the market. The definition deliberately no longer names a score, focusing instead on attributes — both in taste and in origin, cultivation, and processing.
Does the 80-point rule for Specialty Coffee still apply?
Not in the SCA definition. Today it appears in the definition of the Coffee Quality Institute, which certifies from 80 points upward. In 2024, the SCA switched its assessment system to the Coffee Value Assessment, in which there is no longer an 80-point threshold or a “Specialty Grade” for the cup.
What is the Coffee Value Assessment?
The SCA's assessment system in effect since 2024. It consists of four sub-assessments: Physical (green coffee), Descriptive (what you taste), Affective (how much you like it), and Extrinsic (origin, cultivation, processing). It replaces the SCA Cupping Protocol from 2004.
Who coined the term Specialty Coffee?
Erna Knutsen coined it in 1974 in an issue of the Tea & Coffee Trade Journal. The exact issue and the article title aren't documented in official sources — the year, the person, and the publication are.
When was the Specialty Coffee Association founded?
In January 2017, through the merger of the Specialty Coffee Association of America and the Specialty Coffee Association of Europe. It is a non-profit organization headquartered in Irvine, California.
What requirements apply to Specialty Grade green coffee?
Zero Category 1 defects, at most five full Category 2 defects, and water activity below 0.70 — checked on a 350-gram sample. These figures come from the SCA document “Coffee Standards, Revised 2018.”
How big is the market share of Specialty Coffee?
There's no reliable current figure for that. The only share figure cited in SCA publications refers to the year 2004. Since there isn't even an industry-wide unified definition, a percentage wouldn't be very meaningful anyway.
Is Specialty Coffee automatically better?
It's more carefully sorted, usually traceable, and typically roasted fresher. Whether you like it is still decided by your cup, though. A highly rated coffee you don't enjoy isn't a good coffee for you — it's as simple as that.
Are there still scores in the Coffee Value Assessment?
Yes. The Affective Assessment under the SCA-104 standard still yields a score on the familiar 100-point scale. Eight sections are rated on a nine-point scale and converted via a formula into a cupping score that ranges from 58.00 to 100.00. What's new is that this number is only one of four assessments, and comes about differently than on the 2004 form.
Does a high score mean I'll like the coffee?
No. The score records how trained tasters assessed a sample under standardized conditions. The SCA itself states that preferences are always subjective. On top of that: between that sample and your cup lie roasting, freshness, grind size, water, and brewing — the score says nothing about any of that. At the Coffee Coaching Club, the score therefore plays no role in how we select our coffees.
So, what now?
The most practical step isn't to go looking for scores, but to drink two coffees side by side. A light one and a dark one, brewed the same way, will tell you more about your taste in ten minutes than any rating scale.
Two coffees made for exactly this comparison
- Bright Cassis — a light omniroast from Ethiopia, Guji, with pronounced fruit and lively acidity.
- Cozy Chocolate — a natural from Brazil, cocoa and dark chocolate, barely any acidity.
Both from our own roastery, both without a score on the bag. The whole selection is waiting for you among our coffee beans.
If you want to know how species and variety affect the cup: Arabica, Canephora, Geisha and Typica. If you'd rather get straight to brewing: Espresso Dial-in and V60-Anleitung. And if you'd like to go through it once with guidance, in our Workshops in Bern and Zürich. We are United by Coffee — score or no score.
Sources and context
- Current definition and Coffee Value Assessment: Specialty Coffee Association, What is Specialty Coffee and Coffee Value Assessment (sca.coffee/value-assessment).
- Scale, eight sections, score range 58.00 to 100.00, deductions and rounding, and the purpose of the Affective Assessment: SCA Standard 104-2024, Coffee Value Assessment: Affective Assessment, sections 4.2, 5.2, 5.5, and Appendix 7.1.
- Conversion of the nine-point scales to the 100-point scale: Specialty Coffee Association, A System to Assess Coffee Value, June 2024.
- Further standards: SCA-102-2024, SCA-103-2024, and SCA-105 Extrinsic Assessment; the standards explicitly name the SCA Cupping Protocol (2004) as superseded.
- On the subjectivity of the assessment: Specialty Coffee Association, CVA In Action: The Affective Assessment.
- SCA-131 “Coffee Roast Level” is listed in the SCA's official standards list as under development — so a published roast-level standard doesn't yet exist.
- Operation of the Q Grader program by the SCA from October 1, 2025: joint statement by the SCA and the Coffee Quality Institute, April 2025.
- That the score plays no role in how we select our coffees is a statement about our own operation at the Coffee Coaching Club, not a claim about other roasteries.
- Requirements for green coffee: Specialty Coffee Association, Coffee Standards, Revised 2018; Green Arabica Coffee Classification System (2001).
- 80-point threshold in the CQI definition, and the collection of nine definitions: International Coffee Organization, Focus Group on Specialty Coffee, document FGSC 03/24 dated November 11, 2024.
- Origin of the term: Specialty Coffee Association, 25 Magazine, article on Erna Knutsen; confirmed in the ICO document cited above.
- Founding of the SCA in January 2017 from the SCAA and SCAE: Specialty Coffee Association, About.
- No reliable current primary source exists for market share; this is noted as such in the text.
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