Specialty Coffee: What the Term Means Today

Almost everywhere you look, it says specialty coffee starts at 80 points. That used to be true. The Specialty Coffee Association has since overhauled its definition and its scoring system – and the new definition doesn't mention a score at all anymore.

Upfront, 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 the taste is a different matter entirely.

What is specialty coffee?

The Specialty Coffee Association today defines it like this: a coffee or coffee experience that stands out for distinctive attributes, and because of these attributes carries significant extra value in the marketplace. In the SCA's own wording: "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 does not 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 like aroma, flavor, and mouthfeel, and extrinsic ones like origin, producer, growing practices, and processing.

Does the 80-point rule still apply?

Not as the SCA's definition, no. 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." In the new SCA-104 standard from 2024, there's neither an 80-point threshold nor a "Specialty Grade" classification for the cup.

That said, the number hasn't disappeared. It lives on in the definition of the Coffee Quality Institute, which certifies from 80 points up – and because its Q-Grader system is widely established in the industry, you'll still run into the number everywhere. It's just no longer what it's often taken to be: the official SCA definition of specialty coffee.

We didn't find an explicit SCA statement to the effect of "the 80-point threshold no longer applies." What is documented: the current SCA definition names no score, and the new SCA-104 standard has neither the threshold nor the term. That conclusion is drawn by this article, not by the SCA.

From a Single Score to a System

What is the Coffee Value Assessment?

The assessment system the SCA has used since 2024. Instead of a single score, it combines four separate assessments that together are meant to give a more complete picture of a coffee's value.

Component	What is assessed
Physical	the green coffee: defects, screen size, moisture
Descriptive	what's actually detectable in taste – 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 operated the Q-Grader program on this basis; the Coffee Quality Institute is no longer involved in running it.

The real innovation is separating describing from judging. In the old form, the two blended together; in the new system, what's there comes first, and then, separately, 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 variants of it are still in use at many operations. If you come across a score, it's worth asking which system it was produced under.

How is the score calculated today?

Through a published 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 a total score on the familiar 100-point scale. The SCA states 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 the nearest 0.25 points.

Where 80 Points Falls 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 sum of 42 out of 72 – in other words, a coffee that sits just above "neither high nor low" overall. Anyone reading an 80 on a CVA form today is reading something different from an 80 from 2004.

This comparison is our own calculation from the values printed in the standard, not a statement from the SCA. We didn't find 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; based on the table printed there, the conversion works out to 0.65625 times the section sum plus 52.75, minus the cup deductions. We checked this against eighteen reference points in the table.

Does a high score tell me whether 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 this – and that's not the question a score is meant to answer, either.

The SCA says this remarkably openly in its own materials. Aroma, flavor, and mouthfeel can be described, it states; preferences, on the other hand, are always subjective. What the Affective Assessment records, it says, is how the coffee came across to the tasters – people, in other words, with personally shaped and culturally influenced palates. The SCA itself describes the Affective Assessment as capturing a taster's quality impression, relative to their personal preference.

Important, because this is often misunderstood: the score hasn't been abolished. According to the preface of standard SCA-104, the Affective Assessment explicitly serves the same purpose as the 2004 cupping protocol – assessing a taster's quality impression "and expressing it in the form of an overall score." What's 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 part, which often gets 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 that exact reason, there's still no published SCA standard for it: SCA-131 "Coffee Roast Level" is listed as in 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 not.

It doesn't stop there: how long the beans rested after roasting, how fine you grind, what water comes out of your tap, whether espresso or filter, with milk or without. Every one of these stages shifts the result – and none of them is baked into the number on the bag.

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 on our own approach: when selecting our coffees, we don't pay attention to the score at all. 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 built for. It's just not our yardstick. The score belongs to the lot; the taste belongs to you: if you like an 84-point coffee better than an 89-point one, 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 formative figures of the American coffee trade, and she used the term to mean coffees from distinctive microclimates with their own individual 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 of the official sources. Anyone who gives you a page number probably didn't look it up.

What must green coffee meet to be Specialty Grade?

Here it gets concrete and verifiable. The requirements for green coffee are count-based values, not taste judgments.

What Green Coffee Must 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; up to five full ones are allowed. Then there's 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. Standard SCA-110 "Green Coffee: Grading, Specifications, and Test Methods" is in 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 credibly – and we tried.

The International Coffee Organization doesn't report a market-share figure for specialty coffee in its reports. The only share figure that appears in SCA publications refers to the year 2004: back then, roughly 20 percent of volume, but about 50 percent of value. All the more recent percentages circulating online come from commercial market research that provides revenue forecasts but doesn't report a share and doesn't disclose its definition of "specialty."

The deeper reason is more fundamental: there's no industry-wide standard definition. In 2024, the ICO set up its own working group and, for this purpose, compiled nine different existing definitions. As long as the definition isn't harmonized, every percentage figure is measuring something different.

What does specialty coffee mean for you in the cup?

Practically speaking, three things. 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 more recently, because the supply chains are shorter.

What it doesn't mean: that you have to like it. A light, fruity Ethiopian bean scoring 88 points can be a complete miss for someone looking for a dark, chocolatey espresso. Both verdicts are right, because they answer different questions.

How do you recognize 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: anyone who prints only "Arabica, 100%" and a best-before date either has little information or little interest in passing it on.

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. Likewise, "highland coffee" without an altitude figure is an empty shell – 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 recognized for distinctive attributes that give it significant extra value in the marketplace. 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's definition. Today it appears in the definition of the Coffee Quality Institute, which certifies from 80 points up. The SCA switched its assessment system to the Coffee Value Assessment in 2024, which no longer has 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 partial 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 the official sources – the year, the person, and the publication are documented.

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's a nonprofit 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 – tested on a 350-gram sample. These values 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 standard definition, a percentage figure would hardly be meaningful anyway.

Is specialty coffee automatically better?

It's more carefully sorted, usually traceable, and typically roasted more recently. 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 that simple.

Are there still scores in the Coffee Value Assessment?

Yes. The Affective Assessment under standard SCA-104 still produces 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 ranging 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. That's why, at the Coffee Coaching Club, the score plays no role in how we select our coffees.

Now What?

The most practical step isn't to hunt 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.

If you want to know how species and variety affect the cup: Arabica, Canephora, Geisha, and Typica. If you'd rather just start brewing: Espresso Dial-in and V60 guide. And if you want to go through it hands-on with guidance, in the workshops in Bern and Zurich. 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, as well as 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.
• Translation of the nine-point scales onto 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 in development – so a published roast-level standard doesn't exist yet.
• SCA operation of the Q-Grader program from October 1, 2025: joint announcement by the SCA and Coffee Quality Institute, April 2025.
• That the score plays no role in our coffee selection is a statement about our own operations 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.
• SCA founding in January 2017 from SCAA and SCAE: Specialty Coffee Association, About.
• No reliable current primary source exists for market share; this is flagged as such in the text.