A coffee scoring system built on the SCA’s Coffee Value Assessment framework — calibrated by our own cupping panel. Here’s how it works, how it compares to SCA scores, and why it matters.
What a coffee score really means — and what it doesn’t
Let’s be upfront: no number can fully capture the experience of a coffee. Flavour is personal. What’s extraordinary to one palate may be merely good to another. We know this.
We score coffee for one reason: to give you a reliable, consistent reference point when choosing what to roast. Not to rank coffees against each other. Not to justify a price tag. Not to win arguments on the internet. The Geen Score is a tool — nothing more, nothing less.
If a number on a bag ever matters more to you than what’s in the cup, we’ve failed.
How coffee scoring works: from SCA 2004 to CVA
If you’ve ever seen a number like “86 SCA” on a bag of specialty coffee, that score came from a standardised cupping protocol. But the system behind that number has recently changed in a fundamental way. Understanding the shift helps explain why we created the Geen Score — and why, when choosing coffee based on its score, it now matters more than ever who did the scoring.
SCA 2004 cupping protocol
The industry standard for two decades. Developed by the Specialty Coffee Association of America (later merged into the SCA), this 100-point cupping form evaluated ten attributes, each scored from 6 to 10. A coffee needed 80 points or above to be classified as specialty grade. Scores above 90 were exceptionally rare — reserved for competition-winning lots and extraordinary micro-lots. The system was designed so that any trained cupper (or Q Grader) anywhere in the world would arrive at roughly the same score for the same coffee.
Coffee Value Assessment (CVA)
The SCA’s updated framework, officially adopted in November 2024 to replace the 2004 cupping protocol. A fundamental shift in philosophy: instead of pretending all cuppers agree, CVA acknowledges that each cupper or cupping team has their own calibration. The system splits evaluation into four components — physical, descriptive, affective, and extrinsic — giving a much more complete picture of a coffee’s value. The affective assessment (the part that generates a score) uses 8 categories scored on a 0 to 9 scale, with a maximum of 72 points that can be translated to the traditional 100-point range.
What matters under CVA is not universal agreement between cuppers, but internal consistency: each team must be consistent with itself. This is a concept the SCA calls “inter-subjectivity” — and it changes everything about how you should interpret a coffee score.
Why who scores the coffee now matters as much as the score itself
A score of 86 from one team and 86 from another team are not necessarily the same thing. This makes the credibility, consistency, and transparency of the cupping panel more important than ever. It’s no longer enough to see a number — you need to trust the people behind it.
The Geen Score: our own coffee quality scale
The Geen Score is the result of applying the CVA affective assessment framework with our own calibration. We’ve intentionally stretched the scale to give you more resolution when comparing coffees.
In the SCA 2004 system, specialty coffee occupied a narrow band between 80 and roughly 92 points. That’s only 12 points to describe everything from “clean and pleasant” to “once in a lifetime.” We wanted more room.
Our calibration maps the range so that a coffee scoring around 84 on the old SCA scale lands at about 80 on the Geen Score, while a coffee scoring 91-92 SCA reaches 94-95 on ours. The result is a wider effective range that lets you distinguish between coffees with much greater precision — especially at the top end, where differences matter most to experienced roasters.
How we arrive at a score
CVA protocol cupping
Every lot is cupped following the Coffee Value Assessment framework. We evaluate Fragrance, Aroma, Flavour, Aftertaste, Acidity, Sweetness, Mouthfeel, and Overall.
Panel evaluation
Our cupping panel evaluates each coffee independently. Each member scores blind, without knowing the origin, process, or price of the sample.
Calibration and alignment
The panel compares scores and discusses significant discrepancies. The team constantly calibrates against itself to maintain internal consistency — the core principle of CVA.
Consensus score
The Geen Score is only published once the panel has reached consensus. There’s no averaging of wildly different scores — if there’s no agreement, we cup again.
Scale mapping
The raw CVA scores are mapped to the Geen Score scale, which stretches the effective range beyond the traditional SCA 80-92 window. This gives you finer resolution to differentiate between coffees.
Meet the cupping panel behind the Geen Score
Under CVA, the score is only as credible as the team behind it. We take this seriously.
Marc Romeu
Marc leads the Geen cupping panel and is responsible for calibration across all evaluations. As a certified Q Grader — one of the most rigorous professional certifications in the coffee industry — he brings the technical foundation that ensures our scores are meaningful and consistent.
Constant calibration
The panel cups reference coffees regularly to stay aligned. Drift is natural — catching it is what matters.
Blind evaluation
Panel members never know the origin, process, or price before scoring. The cup speaks for itself.
Consensus, not average
We don’t average divergent scores. If the panel disagrees significantly, we cup again until we reach genuine agreement.
Full transparency
Every product page shows the Geen Score alongside the SCA score from the standard protocol. You always have both reference points.
What the Geen Score is not
It is not an objective truth. It is not universal. It is not directly comparable to scores from other roasters or importers. It’s our team’s honest, calibrated assessment of each coffee’s quality.
What we can promise: every coffee we score has been through the same rigorous process, by the same calibrated panel, using the same methodology. When you see Geen 84 on one bag and Geen 89 on another, the difference is real and meaningful — within our system.
Use it as a guide. Trust your own palate as the final judge.
See the scores in action
Every coffee in our catalogue shows its Geen Score alongside full cupping data.
EXPLORE ORIGINS