Finally.

The Specialty Coffee Association in conjunction with the Coffee Quality Institute has finally created a universal third party evaluation of specialty coffees.

The Q has created an army of trained and vetted coffee evaluators. All along the coffee chain a Q score identifies the quality of coffees. Traceability of each lot of coffee allows that value to be present along the chain. Valuation based on quality. It is about the coffee quality.

Over 800 Q graders are certified. They have agreed to use the same protocols, the same language, the same scale to evaluate coffees. Now third party evaluators determine the score for blind samples. It is about the system.

Roasters, importers, exporters, producers, and consumers can all see instantly the value of Q graded coffees. The verbosity, the marketing words, can now be solidly based by a Q score. The consumer can now look past the verbage to see an independent evaluation. And again, it is about the coffee quality.

It works.