Coffee associations serve objectively essential purposes: to support the industry’s growth through research and events, and to promote the consumption of high-quality coffee. Many also assert that they cultivate community and uplift professionals to assist in knowledge sharing and value distribution.
But following recent and abrupt changes to long-standing educational institutions, it’s evident that many in the coffee community are changing how they choose to engage with these organisations.
Association membership and accreditations have long been considered a symbol of credibility. However, as more individuals and companies feel their values and best interests aren’t fully represented, we’re seeing a shift away from the organisations that helped develop the specialty coffee industry some decades ago.
I spoke with Peter Gakuo at Agnimble, Anete Dinne at Covoya Europe, Diana Hoyos at La Nina Coffee, and coffee consultant Jim Cleaves to learn about the potential implications of this for the broader coffee industry.
You may also like our article on what the coffee industry thinks about the “evolved” Q grader programme.
Perceptions of coffee associations are shifting
Trade associations offer a range of services, including defining industry standards, organising events, and providing educational courses and materials.
Several associations operate in the coffee industry, including the US’ National Coffee Association, the National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia, and the African Fine Coffees Association. Perhaps the most well-known, however, is the Specialty Coffee Association.
Established initially as the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) in 1982, the association aims to “foster a global coffee community and support activity to make specialty coffee a thriving, equitable, and sustainable activity for the entire value chain”.
In 2017, the SCAA merged with the Specialty Coffee Association of Europe (founded in 1998) to create an international organisation that claims to represent industry professionals worldwide.
The organisation includes national chapters that focus on events, education, and networking in different countries and regions. However, despite its increasing international reach, many national chapters still face various challenges, often resulting from geographical location and political, economic, and socio-cultural issues.
In less economically developed countries, access to resources and networking opportunities is often more limited, which can make it difficult for some association members to engage fully.
As a result, an increasing number of coffee professionals in many countries have begun to question the value they derive from membership, accreditations, and educational courses.
This was recently highlighted following the announcement about the CVA-Q takeover. Many were shocked, questioning the motives behind the decision to reinvent a longstanding educational programme that supports thousands of certified coffee professionals and affects coffee scoring and pricing.
A natural evolution, or a sign of division?
In response to the “evolved” Q grader programme, some companies and individuals announced that they wouldn’t renew or publicly display their SCA memberships, including AST and Q grader certifications.
SCA membership and certifications have long been regarded as a symbol of integrity and authenticity in the specialty coffee industry. Roasters and cafés display their logos in shop windows to communicate to consumers and other industry professionals that they prioritise quality. The decision not to advertise membership signals a growing sense of disenfranchisement, most recently stemming from the CVA rollout.
“It’s a significant investment to obtain the Q and then renew the certification. Therefore, it has to make some sense on a business or personal level,” says Peter Gakuo, the head of coffee at Agnimble, a direct trade platform. “The backlash is a sign of a maturing industry; with time, people may realise they are investing in programmes that don’t align with their goals.”
The SCA recently announced a new pricing model for its educational courses, including the CVA Q programme. The organisation says it now categorises countries into five groups based on data from the International Monetary Fund and the Purchasing Power Parity per Capita Index, ensuring that costs reflect local economic realities.
Still, concerns and confusion persist about the perceived lack of community engagement with the decision, as well as the abruptness of the rollout.
“The backlash may also be a symbol of frustrations in the industry by people who see it as imposing, redundant, and repetitive without any tangible innovations or advancement,” Peter adds.
Ultimately, the response to the CQI-SCA takeover raises questions about whether coffee professionals no longer obtain as much value in the institutions that first helped develop the industry.
“The industry is maturing and starting to question old systems, which is healthy. But the CVA-Q takeover is also a clear sign of frustration, especially for those of us who work closely with producers or invest time and resources in systems that are suddenly devalued without warning or consultation,” says Anete Dinne, the EU sales manager for green trader Covoya Coffee and a Q grader. “Change is necessary, but this kind of top-down decision-making feels more like corporate maneuvering than genuine progress.”
“From my perspective at origin, the SCA’s impact has become increasingly limited,” notes Diana Hoyos, the founder of La Nina Coffee in Medellín, Colombia. She is also a co-founder of Mujeres en Café Antioquia, which represents women working in the region’s coffee sector.
“While it once played a key role in setting industry standards, its current structure often feels disconnected from the realities we face as producers and brand owners at origin,” she adds. “It fails to reflect the lived experiences of the people behind the coffee – the farmers, the women, the communities whose voices are rarely represented in those decision-making spaces.”
Signs of a maturing industry
As the specialty coffee market has matured, coffee associations have inevitably changed. While some, like the NCA, have long been corporate, grassroots movements like the SCA have adopted a more corporate identity and prioritised revenue generation through research, events, and educational programmes.
To support the growth of a burgeoning global industry, adopting a business-minded approach is logical; however, it risks creating division among members.
“The original mission of supporting the global coffee community feels increasingly disconnected from reality,” Anete says. “What’s even more concerning is that this recent move shows a lack of understanding of sensory science.
“The Q and CVA have completely distinct purposes. One is a calibrated tool for professional green coffee evaluation, while the other is a consumer-preference tool focused on intensity rather than quality,” she adds. “Merging them blurs professional standards and reveals a serious gap in understanding.”
For some, the larger issue at play is that the consolidation of coffee education and scoring systems has the potential to stifle industry innovation and impede value distribution.
Ultimately, however, concerns about the value of membership and accreditations have been apparent for some time.
“There are dynamics at play beyond the discontent about the recent amalgamation of CQI into SCA; it’s a logical outcome of dynamics that have been playing out for many years,” says Jim Cleaves, a coffee consultant with over 40 years’ experience working for large players like Dunkin’ and has been a certified Q grader since 2007.
“I have seen an increasing number of coffee, beverage, and food companies question the value of membership in various trade associations such as SCA, NCA, and the National Restaurant Association. This has been going on since at least 1997, when I worked at Sara Lee Coffee & Tea and Douwe Egberts,” he adds.
“More and more of us are feeling that disconnect, especially those of us working at origin, close to the people who grow the coffee,” Diana says. “What these associations often promote doesn’t always reflect the reality we live in, the struggles we face, or the values we hold. The systems feel distant, rigid, and overly focused on quality control rather than care. Coffee is not just about protocols or scores – it’s also about people.”
Implications for the future of the coffee industry
As the specialty coffee industry has grown worldwide, it has become increasingly commercial, appealing to a broader range of customers, exemplified by acquired brands such as Blue Bottle Coffee and Stumptown Coffee. Some celebrate this growth, while others remain sceptical, claiming market consolidation stifles genuine innovation.
The industry has expanded to encompass a broader range of small, independent coffee businesses and larger multinational brands. When associations attempt to support the entire specialty coffee sector, the mission and scope arguably become too broad to be impactful and supportive of all categories.
“I think the majority are in agreement that the values and missions of these associations are somewhat in a grey area,” Peter says. “They generate substantial profits, but the community impact is minimal. The coffee sector is a tight one with zero margins for error and very narrow profit margins; therefore, if you are investing in a third party, you expect tangible results. This, unfortunately, has not exactly been the case, which brings forth frustrations and suspicions.”
A growing shift away from associations has significant implications across the supply chain. If fewer people renew their membership or certifications, organisations will inevitably cater to a smaller pool of people and companies, which could result in changes to their research, market reports, and educational programmes.
As membership includes exhibitor discounts, we could also see a shift in the types of businesses that attend major industry events, inadvertently favouring brands with more spending power.
“More people are speaking up about the gap between what these associations claim to stand for and what they actually do,” Anete says. “The community wants transparency, equity, and real involvement from origin and smaller actors, not just rebranding, closed-door decisions, and more products to sell.”
However, the loss of trust and perceived value in associations doesn’t just affect members and certified professionals.
“Trust is essential in any trade association, whether individual companies choose to participate as members or not,” Jim says. “Many in the industry question the authority of the SCA to define standards, best practices, and protocols. The obvious example is the CVA.
“Plenty of people, including myself, question not only the practicality of its day-to-day use but also the philosophical viewpoint that underlies it, specifically the Affective portion of the CVA,” he adds. “This questioning attitude is a positive sign that there is a much more solid foundational base of expertise in the industry than there was, say, 10, 15, or 20 years ago.
“Specialty importers, for example, have done a great job creating and disseminating educational and analytical sensory evaluation tools. Who is to say the SCA’s system is the ‘best’ and everyone should use it?”
Opportunities to be more inclusive
Despite claims of representing the entire supply chain to promote inclusivity, coffee associations are arguably skewed towards majority-consuming countries. This limits access to educational programmes and research for professionals in majority-producing countries.
A move away from these associations could potentially have a more positive impact at origin.
“It would give rise to more mutually beneficial associations that are producer-centric and take into consideration what the industry needs to make it more equitable and fair,” Peter says. “It may initially be disruptive as the industry has come to depend on them, but evolution is necessary.
“Any association claiming to come up with programmes to better the quality of coffee, sustainability, or even producer development should really take the time to engage the producers,” he adds. “Some associations claim their missions are related to producers, quality, and so on, but this is a fallacy. For one, their services are exclusive, expensive, and difficult to access. Their presence in the origins is virtually non-existent, so it begs the question: Is it really about the producers?”
Organisations could emerge that offer more diverse educational programmes and research projects, ensuring that a wider range of industry professionals benefit, especially those living and working in producing countries.
“When we look at the history of the coffee business, we see a remarkably relationship-oriented industry; however, there’s also a lot of fragmentation and secrecy,” Jim tells me. “In 2010, I had a conversation in Rwanda with an agricultural scientist about the ‘potato defect’. He said that, in any other commodity, this problem would have been solved fifty years ago through pre-competitive research.”
“This is a wake-up call. If we truly believe in sustainability, equity, and transparency, we need to act like it, starting with who gets to shape the systems we use,” says Anete. “Producers should be co-creators, not an afterthought.
“It could be a positive shift – if it opens the door to more transparent, collaborative, and locally grounded systems. There is potential for origin-driven initiatives, new forms of sensory evaluation, and frameworks that respect the difference between professional and consumer roles.”
The recent response to the CVA-Q takeover demonstrates how the coffee community’s attitudes towards associations are changing.
“If people move away from the SCA, it’s probably because it’s not meeting the needs of the industry, but instead aiming primarily, consciously or not, to further its own goals, while assuming that these goals will provide the industry with the support its mission statements outline,” Jim concludes.
There are several implications this could have for the entire coffee industry. However, to achieve true value, new and emerging systems must benefit everyone in the supply chain.
Enjoyed this? Then read our article on whether coffee associations have become too corporate.
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