As you may have heard, the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) and Coffee Quality Institute (CQI) announced that SCA would be taking over the Sensory Education and Certification (i.e. the Q) from CQI.
While the change offers some benefits to the work of CQI globally and improves equity and access to the certification, the timing and structure of the change has been a challenge for those in the industry who have invested deeply in Q Education and will certainly be disruptive in the short term. We will be making some modifications to our upcoming programming accordingly.
CALIBRATION
- Current and lapsed Q-graders who want to “fast-track” into the new system and become an “evolved” Q-grader need to successfully complete the “Coffee Value Assessment (CVA) for Cuppers” course and an online application before the December 31 deadline.
- This means that if you are at or near the end of your current three-year certificate, you do not need to complete a calibration to be certified under the new program.
- However, some in the industry are taking a wait-and-see approach and electing to re-calibrate and extend their current Q Grader.
- Accordingly, we are still hosting a calibration in June to accommodate those who wish to maintain their “legacy” certificate (or “OGQ” as we like to say). Passing the calibration will mean that you are a licensed Q Grader for an additional three years. Space is available and you can sign up here.
RETAKES
- If you have recently taken the Q and need one or more retakes, we are working to set up a “Retake” course to help you complete your certification ahead of the deadline and avoid having to start over with the new system (and another six-day course).
- Please contact us if you are interested in this option.
Q GRADER ARABICA COURSE
We have canceled our next Q-Arabica Grader course which was scheduled to take place just two days before the transition to the new system.
CVA FOR CUPPERS & EVOLVED Q
We are planning to host at least two CVA for Cuppers courses before the end of the year. We’ve confirmed dates for one taking place in late September and will be posting the registration link on our Education page this week.