SCA (Specialty Coffee Association)

The global body that sets the standards for specialty coffee — covering cupping protocols, brewing parameters, water quality, barista education, and championship rules. Formed in 2017 from the merger of the SCAA (USA) and SCAE (Europe).

Why it matters — When you read "SCA Golden Cup," "SCA water spec," or "SCA-certified," it refers to this body. Their reference points are the most widely adopted in specialty coffee.

Good to know

• The SCA scoring scale (0–100) is the benchmark for whether a coffee qualifies as "specialty" — coffee scoring 80+ does.
• ASCA is the Australian SCA affiliate, delivering training and running national championships here.