The Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) has announced dramatic changes to the pricing of its education programs in order to make learning more “accessible, affordable, and equitable” for coffee professionals across the world.
Education costs will now vary by country to reflect local economic realities. Nations have been organised into five groups based on data from the International Monetary Fund and the Purchasing Power Parity per Capita Index.
For example, an Authorised SCA Trainer (AST) in Group 5 will pay $975 per year, while a trainer in Group 1 will pay $115. What’s more, a learner in Group 5 will pay a $50 fee per course to SCA, while a learner in Group 1 will pay $8.
The announcement comes just weeks after it was revealed that an evolved SCA Q Grader program would be implemented from 1 October 2025 to more closely align with the new Coffee Value Assessment (CVA) standards.
SCA CEO Yannis Apostolopoulos says making education more accessible for all will only serve to strengthen the international coffee industry.
“Education serves as the foundation for careers, leadership, and innovation throughout the value chain. It plays a vital role in our mission to make coffee better, with our research and standards continuously shaping the evolution of our curriculum,” Apostolopoulos says.
“After years of dedicated work, we are proud to introduce a new model designed to make our education more accessible and widely available.”
The alteration of its education pricing structure is the SCA’s latest move to improve global community access to its services and follows the introduction of free SCA membership from 2024.
The full pricing structure is available on the SCA Education website and will be launched in the coming months. The model applies to all SCA certificate programs, including the new Q Program.
