The Master of Specialty Coffee logo.
The Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) is launching a new professional certification program called Master of Specialty Coffee, describing it as “the highest professional distinction in specialty coffee” and comparing it to the Master of Wine and Michelin-star recognition.
Applications for the first cohort are set to open in late 2026, with the inaugural class beginning in 2027.
According to the SCA, eligibility will be narrow from the start. Candidates must hold all four SCA Skills Diplomas — Café, Roastery, Coffee Trade and Sustainable Coffee — plus a current Q Grader License, along with relevant industry experience and professional recommendations.
Applicants who clear that bar must then pass a 100-point knowledge exam and an interview before entering a five-day preparatory program and four final exams, including three case-study assessments and one communication exam.
The Specialty Coffee Association announced the Master of Specialty Coffee program at a press event in Seoul, South Korea. SCA press photo.
The program launch comes just over a year after the SCA announced its takeover of the Q program from the nonprofit Coffee Quality Institute(CQI). Under CQI’s leadership, the Q had long been widely regarded as one of coffee’s most rigorous professional credentials. The move surprised many existing Q Graders and instructors, who questioned whether their credentials might erode under the SCA’s program leadership, as DCN reported at the time.
In its announcement, the SCA positioned the Master of Specialty Coffee designation as a lifetime title that includes a permanent place in an SCA directory, featured speaker opportunities at World of Coffee trade shows and other SCA-backed public recognition. The group said that Masters will be “positioned as sought-after experts for international press, interviews, and media opportunities.”
The first cohort is expected to include only 15 to 20 people. The SCA, which has not yet announced the cost of the program, is currently accepting “expressions of interest.”
“Every great discipline reaches a moment when its accumulated knowledge, research, and professional excellence demand a new kind of recognition,” the SCA said in a press announcement today. “Culinary excellence has the Michelin star. Wine has the Master of Wine. Now, Master of Specialty Coffee takes its place alongside the highest distinctions in food and beverage.”
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