SCA Barista case studies
SCA Barista · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The SCA Barista credential sits within the Specialty Coffee Association's education framework, which the SCA describes as globally recognized coffee education designed to support career growth at every level, used by coffee professionals and businesses worldwide. The SCA reports 80,000+ learners per year across 89 countries, delivered by 2,000+ authorized SCA trainers through 16 skills-based modules and 4 career-driven diplomas. Barista skills is one of the topic areas the SCA names for its certificates, alongside brewing, sustainability, and equipment maintenance. This study page is organized around those four areas in equal parts: brewing and barista techniques, sustainability, equipment maintenance, and coffee quality evaluation and cupping. The SCA Barista case studies are 5 cases and about 2,389 words.
1Dialing In a New Single Origin
You are working a busy Saturday morning shift at a specialty café. A new single-origin Ethiopian coffee has just been roasted and rested for 7 days.
478 words, about 2 min2Sustainability in Milk Selection
You manage a café that prides itself on sustainability. Currently, you offer dairy milk from a local farm that uses conventional practices, and you also offer oat milk and almond milk.
456 words, about 2 min3Grinder Burr Wear Diagnosis
A café's espresso grinder (Mazzer Super Jolly) has been in service for 5 years, grinding about 20 kg per week. Recently, baristas report that shots are inconsistent: sometimes they gush, sometimes they choke, even with the same grind setting and dose.
402 words, about 2 min4Cupping a Defect
You are cupping a new crop of Costa Rican coffee. The samples were roasted 24 hours prior to cupping, and you are using the SCA cupping protocol: 8.25g coffee to 150ml water at 93°C, 4-minute steep, then break.
536 words, about 3 min5Water Quality and Espresso
A café's espresso machine (La Marzocco GS3) has been experiencing scale buildup despite regular descaling. The water used is from the municipal supply, which has a hardness of 250 ppm as CaCO3 and a pH of 7.5.
517 words, about 3 min