Cottle Coffee Academy Specialty Coffee Association
SCA Roasting Foundation curriculum · Cohorts of 4

The SCA Roasting Foundation Course. Taught With Your Hands, Not a Textbook

Two days at the roastery in Sunway Damansara teaching the complete Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) Roasting Foundation curriculum. You roast every batch yourself, you cup everything you roast, and you adjust until it sings -- then the SCA pathway is open all the way to Professional.

Book Your Seat -- RM2,290 WhatsApp a Question First
5,500+ students trained 27+ years roasting 4.84/5 Google rating Only Australian AST teaching roasting in Southeast Asia
10:00am -- 4:00pm, both days Minimum 10 hours hands-on One weekday + one weekend cohort monthly Optional SCA exam & certification -- +RM500
SCA Roasting Foundation Curriculum
2-Day Roaster Fundamentals
Petaling Jaya · max 4 students · every seat at a roaster
RM2,290 / person
+ RM500 -- sit the SCA Roasting Foundation exam and earn the certification while it's fresh
Book Now -- Pick Your Dates at Checkout
Weekday or weekend pairs · gift option: choose dates later
4students max per cohort
10h+hands-on roasting time
SCARoasting Foundation curriculum
2cohorts every month
1coach beside you throughout
100%of batches roasted by you
How We Teach
"You can read about what an orange tastes like all day -- you'll never know until you eat one."

Roasting is not taught by theory. Nobody ever learned to roast from a slide deck. You get a drum full of green coffee, a profile to follow, and a coach at your shoulder -- then you roast, you taste, you adjust, and you roast again. By the end of day two you've done the one thing that actually builds skill: repeated reps with real feedback, on real commercial machines.

You roastEvery batch on the machine yourself. No demos you just watch. Your hands, your roast.
You tasteCupping every roast the same day, SCA protocol. The palate is the scoreboard -- not the theory.
You adjustRead the curve, find what went wrong or right, change one variable at a time.
You roast againReps with feedback. That loop -- not lectures -- is where roasters are made.
Included With Your Seat

Your Coffee Companion: The Course App, Free.

Our teaching method is simple: we tell you what we're going to teach you, we teach you, then we tell you what we taught you. And you learn what an orange tastes like by eating an orange -- so we tell you what the orange tastes like first, you eat it, and then we compare notes. The Coffee Tools app is where the telling happens -- which means every minute at the academy is spent at the roaster, eating oranges.

Every student gets free access. Before class, short interactive lessons -- gamified, so you actually finish them -- build your roasting theory. During the course your class joins in-app, lessons unlock on schedule, and your trainer signs off each skill. Afterwards your named certificate lands in the app, and twelve free bench tools stay with you for life.

Open the Coffee Tools App
BEFORELearn the theoryInteractive, gamified lessons on green coffee, the roast cycle and cupping -- done before you arrive, at your own pace.
DURINGClass joins in-appLessons unlock on schedule, skills get trainer sign-offs, and nothing gets lost between the machine and the cupping table.
AFTERKeep the toolsYour named certificate, your saved work, and 12 free bench tools -- offline, nothing to install, free for life.
Your Instructor
Tristan Creswick, Academy Director and Founder

Tristan Creswick

Academy Director & Founder -- Your Coach for Both Days
  • 27+ years in the Australian and Southeast Asian coffee industry
  • SCA Authorized Trainer (AST) -- the only Australian AST teaching roasting in Southeast Asia
  • Has founded 3 roasteries, 4 cafes and 3 academies -- and trained 5,500+ students
  • Founder, World Espresso Championship
  • Founder, Specialty Coffee Community

Tristan started in coffee washing dishes in 1999 and has since worked nearly every job the industry has: barista, competition winner, head barista, roaster, roastery owner, cafe owner, trainer, academy owner, machine sales, and green coffee sales. On this course he is at your shoulder for every batch -- not at the front of a lecture room.

Inside the Course

Two Days, Hour by Hour.

Both days run 10:00am to 4:00pm with a minimum of five hours of practical, hands-on work -- and often more. No lecture marathons; every block ends back at the machine.

Day One

Green to First Crack

What the bean is, what the machine does -- and your first roasts the same morning.
10:00am
Green coffee, up close. Origin, processing, density, moisture and defects -- how green coffee decides what the roast can do.
10:45am
Meet the machine. Drum, burners, airflow, probes and safety -- every control you'll touch across the two days.
11:15am
The roast cycle, on screen. Drying, Maillard, first crack -- reading time-temperature curves before you light a burner.
11:45am
Your first roast. A guided batch with your hands on the controls and the coach at your shoulder.
1:00pm
Break.
2:00pm
Batches two and three. Change one variable at a time -- and predict the result before you taste it.
3:00pm
Cupping -- SCA protocol. Everything roasted today, tasted side by side. This is where the theory turns into taste you'll never un-taste.
3:45pm
Log the day. What you predicted, what the cup said, and what tomorrow changes.
Day Two

Profile, Repeat, Refine

Roast to a target, repeat it, and learn what to move when the cup tells you something's off.
10:00am
The debrief. Day one's cups, diagnosed together -- your palate is now the instrument.
10:30am
Roast profiles. What to hold constant, what to move, and why -- building a profile you can actually repeat.
11:00am
Roast to a target. Not a recipe -- a profile you build yourself, then chase.
1:00pm
Break.
2:00pm
The repeatability test. Run your profile again and measure how close you land. Consistency is the skill.
3:00pm
Final cupping. Day one versus day two, in the cups -- you'll taste your own progress.
3:45pm
You leave with your roasted coffee and your written profile -- plus a walkthrough of the SCA exam if you've added it.

The honest version: two days gives you the complete SCA Roasting Foundation foundation -- and exactly what to practise to become a roaster. We will never tell you that anyone "masters" roasting in a weekend. What we promise is real reps, real feedback, and no theory-for-theory's-sake.

The SCA Pathway

This Course Is Step One of Three.

The 2-Day Roaster Fundamentals teaches the complete Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) Roasting Foundation curriculum. From here the SCA roasting pathway runs all the way to Professional -- one rung at a time.

Step 1 -- This Course You Are Here

2-Day Roaster Fundamentals

The complete SCA Roasting Foundation curriculum, taught hands-on over two days.

RM2,290 + RM500 optional SCA exam & certification
  • Cohorts of 4, every seat at a machine
  • Minimum 10 hours hands-on, 10am--4pm
  • Roast, cup, adjust, repeat -- both days
  • Take your roasted coffee + written profile home
  • Your gateway to SCA Intermediate
Book Your Seat
Step 2 Next Rung

SCA Roasting Intermediate

For certified Foundation graduates. Roast profile development, production roasting decisions, and the science behind them.

RM3,590 exam & certification included

Run as a dedicated course after you've completed Foundation with us.

Step 3 Top Credential

SCA Roasting Professional

The highest SCA roasting credential. Advanced profile control, blend construction and production management.

RM5,990 exams & certification included

For working roasters ready to certify at the top of the pathway.

Already hold SCA Roasting Foundation and want to book Intermediate or Professional directly? WhatsApp us on +60 12-750 1615 and we'll verify your prerequisite and arrange your seat.

After You Graduate

Keep Roasting With the Roasters Club.

Two days gives you the foundation -- skill comes from reps, and nobody's garage has a commercial drum roaster in it. The Roasters Club is how our graduates keep them going: ongoing access to the academy's machines and a coach, long after the course ends. Graduates only, always small, weekday and weekend club days.

Book a machine, not a courseClub days are practice days. Book a seat, take a roaster, and roast -- no curriculum, no waiting your turn behind a class.
A coach in the roomYou're roasting on your own, but never alone. A coach is on the floor while you work -- read your curves, taste your roasts, and flag what to fix before the next batch.
Your green or oursBring your own green coffee and experiment freely, or roast from ours. Build the profiles you'll need for SCA Roasting Intermediate -- and arrive there already practised.
The Venue

Real Roasters. Real Reps.

No.9, Jalan PJU 3/46, Sunway Damansara, 47810 Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Easy parking -- and the roastery smells like the inside of the course.

Tristan teaching at the coffee roaster
Coach guiding a student at the coffee roaster
The academy's coffee roaster and cooling tray
Students cupping the day's roasts
Questions, Answered Straight

Before You Book

The things people actually ask us on WhatsApp -- answered the way we'd answer you there.

Is this an SCA course?
Yes -- the 2-Day Roaster Fundamentals teaches the complete Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) Roasting Foundation curriculum over the two days. The SCA certificate itself is optional: add the exam for RM500 when you book, sit it while the knowledge is fresh, and you'll be certified by the SCA at Foundation level.
I've never roasted coffee. Is this course for me?
Yes -- it's built for you. The course assumes zero experience. You'll start with green coffee and a coach beside you, and you'll roast your first batch on day one morning.
What does the +RM500 SCA option involve?
The optional SCA Roasting Foundation exam and certification, taken as part of your course. It's the globally recognised entry credential -- done while the knowledge is fresh, at a fraction of the standalone price.
How many people are in a cohort?
Maximum four, and every student works at their own roaster. This is deliberate: roasting is a hands-on skill, and four is the most you can coach properly at once.
When does it run, and can I buy it as a gift?
One weekday pair and one weekend pair every month, 10:00am to 4:00pm both days. At checkout you pick your exact dates -- or choose the gift option and the recipient picks later.
What happens after the course?
You leave with your roasted coffee, your written profile, and a clear picture of what to practise. Graduates can keep roasting with us through the Roasters Club -- book a machine on club days with a coach in the room. And if you took the SCA exam, the pathway to Intermediate and Professional is open.
Where exactly are you?
No.9, Jalan PJU 3/46, Sunway Damansara, 47810 Petaling Jaya, Selangor. Easy parking, and the roastery smells like the inside of the course.
I'm not sure which option suits me. Can I ask first?
Please do -- WhatsApp us on +60 12-750 1615. Tell us where you're starting from and what you want to be able to do, and we'll point you at the right seat honestly, even if it's not our most expensive one.

Four Seats Per Cohort. Two Cohorts a Month.

Cohorts are capped at four so every student gets a machine and a coach. When the dates you want fill, the next seats are a month away. Book your seat in two minutes -- pick your dates at checkout.

Book the 2-Day Roaster Fundamentals -- RM2,290 or WhatsApp us on +60 12-750 1615 -- replies within 5 minutes
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