Specialty Coffee Association

Before joining an SCA class, we recommend learning a little bit about SCA’s value proposition, which, although popularised, is rudimentary (at best).

Cottle Coffee (Australia, circa 1970) and our Academy Director (Tristan Michael Creswick, who started in 1999 and also happens to be the founder of the World Espresso Championship) have been designing courses, training, and assessing coffee skills long before the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) had begun operations. SCA has helped make international recognition (especially for barista) more standardised, but their syllabus is based on subjective measurements, it is not a complete educational system.

In fact, SCA has not actually created any courses, their syllabus only contains the modules, course levels, and the course exams, which they charge everyone a premium to access. SCA then rely’s on Authorised SCA Trainer’s (called an AST) to create and facilitate the courses for them, but an AST license can practically be purchased, so there is no certainty that the AST can deliver a quality course that develops practical, real world skills.

Unfortunately, if you don’t get a well-experienced AST that has learned outside of SCA’s limited framework - a trainer that has learned to develop a comprehensive syllabus -  there is no guarantee you will learn or actually develop skills by joining an SCA class. We advise caution in choosing any academy that is selling SCA classes without providing their own customised syllabus to support the SCA exam requirements. Not all SCA classes are created equal!

Instead of teaching you how to make everyone a great coffee, many AST’s try to tell you how to drink coffee, with an “I know what’s good, you must drink coffee like me” kind of attitude. This is sadly the worst representation of industry standards and is the complete opposite of how the industry actually operates. Quality is subjective, a personal preference, and as an industry professional we need to be able to embrace and teach that (even though it is very difficult to teach).

At the Coffee Coffee Academy, we have trainers and courses that provide you with more comprehensive content and more hands-on activities than the SCA courses listed below will. So instead of choosing the courses listed below, we encourage you to consider starting with our BARISTA or ROASTER courses which we guarantee you will build practical skills in. Choosing our courses will set you up for lasting success in the industry and there are no downsides, since our pricing is competitive and you can always opt-in and receive an SCA certificate, in addition to our certification, in each of our courses if you want one. 

We’re here to help you develop your passion and sharpen your skills!

See more at the Specialty Coffee Association website HERE

SCA Course Modules

BARISTA

ROASTER

BREWING (coming soon)

SENSORY (coming soon)

GREEN (coming soon)

FOUNDATION

sca barista

Beginner Level

Introduces essential practical skills needed behind the espresso bar with focus on core techniques.

- Make basic espresso drinks correctly
- Learn proper cleaning methods
- Practice basic service skills

Cost: MYR 1390 (including SCA fee’s, no hidden charges)

Course Time: 7 hours (1 day)

Pre-requisites: None / Perfect for beginners

*save by booking Foundation & Intermediate together HERE

INTERMEDIATE

sca barista

Middle Level

Advances barista knowledge with deeper focus on coffee science and quality.

- Analyze espresso extraction variables
- Create consistent milk texture
- Master efficient workflow management

Cost: MYR 2890 (including SCA fee’s, no hidden charges)

Course time: 14 hours (2 days)

Pre-requisites: you must be able to freepour 2 latte art patterns before you can join this course (Learn how to do that here: LATTE ART COURSES)

*save by booking Foundation & Intermediate together HERE

PROFESSIONAL

sca barista

Top Level

Masters advanced barista skills and management techniques for leading coffee operations.

- Lead bar quality programs
- Design custom drink recipes
- Perfect advanced latte art

Cost: MYR 4490 (including SCA fee’s, no hidden charges)

Course time: 21 hours (3 days)

Pre-requisites: you must hold the SCA Barista Intermediate Certificate before you can join this course.

EXPERT / TRAINER

COTTLE ACADEMY

Above & Beyond SCA

Learn how to trainer the trainer, master the art of teaching barista skills to others. This level includes all the SCA Barista courses listed above, as well as;

- Creating courses (session plans, costing & profit, activities etc)
- Training & assessment (different ways of learning & assessing what’s learned)
- Advanced coffee knowledge (beyond SCA’s basic content)

Cost: MYR 12,990 (including SCA fee’s, no hidden charges)

Course time: 50 hours (7 days)

Pre-requisites: you must have at least 3 years experience working as a Barista.