The meaning of “specialty coffee” has changed significantly over the years. While it was once defined strictly by a cupping score, the Specialty Coffee Association’s Coffee Value Assessment (CVA) offers a new, holistic way to evaluate coffee quality. Learn how the CVA is reshaping the way we define, evaluate, and communicate specialty coffee across the supply chain.
How Specialty Coffee Has Evolved
For those of us who have been in the industry for at least a few years, it’s clear that the definition of “specialty coffee” has evolved beyond just a cupping score. While the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) originally benchmarked specialty at 80 points or above on a 100-point scale, today’s conversations are moving toward a more holistic and subjective understanding—one that factors in not just sensory quality, but also context, sustainability, and value across the entire supply chain.
The Coffee Value Assessment
This shift has been most evident in the development of the Coffee Value Assessment. SCA introduced the Coffee Value Assessment to replace their previous cupping form. Their new framework breaks down coffee evaluation into 4 components: physical, descriptive, affective, and extrinsic.
As traders, the physical and descriptive assessments are particularly useful as they help communicate value in concrete terms to buyers and roasters. But the affective (how much people like a coffee) and extrinsic (variety, altitude, processing, etc.) assessments reflect the nuanced storytelling that increasingly drives purchasing decisions.
Check out our blog post where break down the Coffee Value Assessment.
Specialty Coffee & The CVA
The CVA is more than just a new scoring sheet for the industry; it’s almost a response to how subjective the “quality” of a coffee can be without any context. Moreover, the CVA acknowledges that value is not universal. For example, what might be a very high-scoring lot in a Nordic cupping lab may not be what a roaster in the southeastern U.S. is looking for in a coffee. Through embracing complexities like this, the CVA helps us have more meaningful conversations about quality.
When it comes to coffee trading, it’s crucial that we have transparent, consistent, and contextualized assessments like the CVA to help us build trust with both customers and suppliers. Whether we’re negotiating pre-shipment samples with a producer or helping a roaster build their blends, having a shared framework can anchor those conversations. More importantly, it encourages all of us to align on values that go being cupping scores.
Final Thoughts
Specialty coffee isn’t just about what’s in the cup—it’s also about how that cup got there and who was part of the journey. Every day, that journey reminds us that, as importers, we sit at the intersection of quality and impact. How we define “specialty” today shapes the future of our industry.
