The SCA cupping protocol is the standard method for tasting and scoring coffee, published by the Specialty Coffee Association and used by Q graders, roasters, importers and exporters worldwide. It fixes the roast, the grind, the ratio, the water, the timing and the scoring so that a coffee cupped in Medan on Monday can be compared with the same coffee cupped in Melbourne on Friday.
We use it every week. As a green coffee exporter, cupping at origin is how we decide which lots qualify as specialty, which go into a pre-shipment sample, and what we tell a farmer group about last season’s processing. This guide sets out the protocol step by step, from sample roast to final score, then explains what cupping at origin adds, how the newer Coffee Value Assessment fits in, and the mistakes that most often spoil a cupping table.
Last updated: 21 October 2026
What the SCA Cupping Protocol Is and Why It Still Matters
Cupping is a tasting method in which ground coffee is steeped in hot water in an open bowl, without filtering, and evaluated as it cools. The SCA cupping protocol standardises every variable in that process and pairs it with the SCA cupping form, on which ten attributes are scored to produce a total out of 100. A coffee that scores 80 or above is specialty coffee; that single number is the basis of most specialty contracts.
The protocol was formalised by the SCA’s predecessor, the SCAA, in 2004 and 2005. The SCA began revising it in 2020 and published the Coffee Value Assessment (CVA), a broader system described later in this guide, but the cupping protocol remains the method most buyers and exporters use day to day, and the CVA’s own tasting mechanics are built on it. If a spec sheet says “cupped at 85.5”, this is the procedure behind the number.
SCA Cupping Protocol: Sample Roasting Rules
The protocol starts before the kettle. Samples are roasted light and fresh so the cupper tastes the green coffee, not the roaster’s choices.
| Parameter | SCA requirement |
|---|---|
| Roast timing | Roasted within 24 hours of cupping, then rested at least 8 hours |
| Roast duration | 8 to 12 minutes, with no scorching or tipping |
| Roast colour | Light to light-medium: Agtron Gourmet about 63 on ground coffee (58 on whole bean), plus or minus 1 |
| Cooling | Air cooled, never water quenched |
| Storage | Airtight, cool and dark; not refrigerated or frozen |
The light roast target is deliberate. A darker roast hides acidity and defects, which is exactly what a buyer needs to see. At origin we roast samples in small batches the afternoon before a table and cup the next morning, inside the 8 to 24 hour window.
SCA Cupping Protocol: Ratio, Grind and Water
| Parameter | SCA requirement |
|---|---|
| Ratio | 8.25 g of coffee per 150 ml of water (about 55 g per litre), adjusted plus or minus 0.25 g to the bowl’s volume |
| Cups per sample | At least 5, each weighed and ground separately |
| Grind | Slightly coarser than paper-filter drip; 70 to 75 percent of particles pass a US 20 mesh sieve |
| Grind timing | Grind no more than 15 minutes before pouring, or pour within 30 minutes of grinding |
| Water | Clean, odour free, about 125 to 175 ppm TDS (100 to 250 acceptable), not distilled or softened |
| Water temperature | About 93°C (200°F) at the moment of pouring, adjusted for altitude |
Five cups per sample is what makes the protocol a quality control tool rather than a tasting. One bad cup in five reveals a defect that a single cup would hide or exaggerate; the uniformity and clean cup scores depend on it. Water matters as much as it does in espresso: very soft water makes every coffee taste thin and sour, hard water flattens acidity, and both move scores by a point or more.
Step by Step: Running the Cupping Table
- Set out the bowls. Five bowls per sample, grounds weighed into each, samples in a randomised order with coded labels. Cuppers should not know which lot is which.
- Evaluate dry fragrance. Within 15 minutes of grinding, lift each bowl and smell the dry grounds.
- Pour. Fill each bowl to the rim with 93°C water, directly onto the grounds, and start a timer.
- Break the crust at 3 to 5 minutes. Push the crust back three times with the cupping spoon, nose close to the bowl, and record the wet aroma. Then skim the foam and grounds off the surface with two spoons.
- Taste at about 71°C (160°F), roughly 8 to 10 minutes after pouring. Slurp hard enough to spray the coffee across the palate. Score flavour and aftertaste first.
- Score acidity, body and balance as the cup cools from 71°C to 60°C. Revisit each bowl several times; the scores can change.
- Score sweetness, uniformity and clean cup below 38°C (100°F). Check all five bowls of each sample against each other.
- Stop at 21°C (70°F) and record the overall score last.
A full table of eight to ten samples takes about 45 minutes from pour to final score. Our guide to preparing a cupping session covers the equipment and room setup.
Want to cup our current lots yourself? See our pricelist or contact our team for 1 kg samples with the cupping form attached.
How Scoring Works on the Cupping Form
The SCA cupping form scores ten attributes on a 16-point scale from 6.00 to 9.75 in quarter points, where 6 means good, 7 very good, 8 excellent and 9 outstanding.
- Scored on quality: fragrance/aroma, flavour, aftertaste, acidity, body, balance and overall, each 6.00 to 9.75.
- Scored per cup: uniformity, clean cup and sweetness, each worth 2 points for every cup that passes, up to 10 points across the five cups.
- Defects: a taint (a noticeable off-flavour) is intensity 2, a fault (an overpowering one) is intensity 4. The defect score is the number of affected cups multiplied by the intensity, subtracted from the total.
The final score is the sum of the ten attributes minus defects. The form’s key reads 80 to 84.99 as very good, 85 to 89.99 as excellent and 90 or above as outstanding; in today’s market all three count as specialty. Below 80 is not specialty, whatever the label says. Our article on whether the cupping score defines great coffee explains why an 83 can outsell an 87, but the line at 80 is the one that contracts care about.
Why Cupping at Origin Matters
The protocol is the same anywhere; what changes at origin is what the cupper can do with the result.
- The green coffee is still in the warehouse. When a lot cups at 79 in Medan, it is re-sorted, re-graded or sold as commercial before it ships. When it cups at 79 in a buyer’s lab, it is already a dispute.
- Fresh crop, fresh samples. We cup lots within weeks of hulling, before the long slow fade that green coffee goes through in transit and storage. Our green coffee transport guide covers how much a voyage can cost a coffee.
- Feedback reaches the farm. A ferment taint or a phenolic cup traced to one farmer group changes next season’s processing. That loop does not close from a lab 10,000 kilometres away.
- Process is cupped honestly. Semi-washed, wet-hulled (Giling Basah) Sumatran coffee carries an earthy, herbal character that cuppers unfamiliar with it mark down as a defect. At origin we score it for what it is, and tell buyers which lots show clean examples of the style, as our SCA quality control for Gayo Arabica article shows.
- Pre-shipment samples mean something. The PSS a buyer approves was drawn from the bags on the floor and cupped on the same table, under the same protocol, as the offer sample. The buyer’s arrival cupping becomes a confirmation, not a surprise.
Cupping at origin does not replace the buyer’s own cupping. It makes the two cuppings agree.
What Changes With the Coffee Value Assessment
The SCA’s Coffee Value Assessment, published as four standards (SCA 102 to 105, 2024 editions), broadens the single cupping score into four assessments:
- Physical: green grading, moisture, colour, size and defects, based on the 2004 green grading system.
- Descriptive: what the coffee tastes like, recorded in standardised vocabulary without a quality judgement.
- Affective: how much the evaluator likes it, which is where the familiar quality score now lives.
- Extrinsic: everything outside the cup: origin traceability, certifications and processing information.
For buyers the practical change is that a spec sheet can now carry a descriptive profile and an extrinsic record alongside the score, which suits traceability rules such as EUDR. The tasting mechanics of the SCA cupping protocol, the ratio, water, roast and timing, carry over into the CVA’s sample preparation standard. Our Coffee Value Assessment guide covers the forms in detail.
Common Mistakes When Following the SCA Cupping Protocol
- Roasting too dark or too fresh. A roast past the Agtron target hides acidity; a sample cupped two hours out of the roaster is still degassing and tastes flat. Keep to the 8 to 24 hour window.
- Cupping too hot. Scoring flavour above 71°C exaggerates bitterness and masks sweetness. Wait for the temperature, not the clock.
- One cup instead of five. A single bowl cannot show uniformity or clean cup, and one dirty bowl in a batch of one looks like a bad lot.
- Wrong water. Distilled, softened or chlorinated water shifts every score. Test the water once and keep it the same.
- Knowing the lots. Cuppers who can see the labels score what they expect. Code the samples and randomise the order.
- Not rinsing the spoon. Carrying one taint across a table turns one defective lot into three.
- Scoring in one pass. The protocol asks for repeated tasting as the coffee cools because acidity, body and balance change; the final score should be the last revision, not the first impression.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the SCA cupping protocol ratio?
The SCA cupping protocol specifies 8.25 grams of coffee per 150 millilitres of water, about 55 grams per litre, adjusted by up to 0.25 grams to match the volume of the cupping bowl. Each of the five bowls per sample is weighed and ground separately, and the water is poured at about 93°C directly onto the grounds.
What water temperature does the SCA cupping protocol use?
Water should be about 93°C, or 200°F, at the moment of pouring, adjusted for altitude. The water itself should be clean and odour free, with a total dissolved solids level of roughly 125 to 175 parts per million and never distilled or softened, because very soft or very hard water changes acidity, body and the final score.
How is a cupping score of 80 calculated?
Cuppers score fragrance and aroma, flavour, aftertaste, acidity, body, balance and overall from 6.00 to 9.75, add 2 points per clean cup for uniformity, clean cup and sweetness across five bowls, and subtract defects at 2 points per tainted cup or 4 per faulty cup. The total is the final score, and 80 or above qualifies as specialty coffee.
How should coffee be roasted for SCA cupping?
Samples are roasted within 24 hours of the cupping and rested for at least 8 hours. The roast should take 8 to 12 minutes without scorching, finish at an Agtron Gourmet reading of about 63, and be air cooled rather than water quenched. The light roast keeps acidity and defects visible so the cupper judges the green coffee.
Is the SCA cupping protocol still used after the Coffee Value Assessment?
Yes. The Coffee Value Assessment, published by the SCA in 2024, adds descriptive, affective, physical and extrinsic assessments, but its tasting mechanics are built on the cupping protocol, and most exporters, importers and Q graders still use the classic form for contracts. Spec sheets increasingly show both a cupping score and a descriptive profile.
Why do exporters cup coffee at origin?
Cupping at origin lets an exporter grade lots while the coffee is still in the warehouse, so coffee that scores below 80 can be re-sorted or sold as commercial before it ships. It also gives farmers processing feedback within the same season and ensures the pre-shipment sample a buyer approves was cupped under the same protocol as the offer sample.
Cupped-at-Origin Lots From Indonesia Specialty Coffee
Indonesia Specialty Coffee cups every export lot in Medan under the SCA protocol before it is offered, and sends the cupping form with the spec sheet. Our origins include Gayo, Mandheling, Lintong, Toraja, Flores, Bali Kintamani and Java Arabica, Lampung Robusta, and Liberica. Every lot is graded against SNI 01-2907-2008, specialty lots cup at 82 to 88 SCA points, and all coffee is Halal certified, with Organic and Rainforest Alliance available on request. We ship FOB Belawan, with CIF on request.
Order tiers run 1 kg for a cupping sample, 60 kg for a microlot rate, 350 kg for standard wholesale, and container loads from 9 MT.
See our current pricelist or contact our team to request samples and join a cupping by video.
