SCA Launches 2021 Certified Commercial Equipment Program

SCA promotional photo.

Building off its certification and sponsorship scheme for World Coffee Championship events, the Specialty Coffee Association has launched the SCA Certified Commercial Equipment Program.

“The program reviews commercial coffee brewers, coffee grinders, espresso grinders, and espresso machines to validate that they have been designed and engineered to give baristas quality and precision control, whether they’re on the competition stage or behind the bar serving customers,” the coffee industry membership organization said in announcement of the program launch today.

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Certification specifications for each product type, along with the application, can be found here.

A major component of the new scheme is the continued validation of equipment for use and sponsorship claims in SCA-sanctioned coffee events. Certified coffee equipment for World Coffee Championships dates back to 2004.

2017 World Barista Champion Dale Harris of the UK competing in Seoul. World Coffee Events 2017 press photo.

“Submitted equipment will undergo performance testing using a set of standards and evaluation developed by industry experts, and the program is the prerequisite to qualified category sponsorships for the World Coffee Championships,” the group said.

The SCA maintains a list of certified home brewers, which has become a useful reference for coffee consumers and equipment marketers. In the commercial category, equipment makers will be able to lay claim to meeting the SCA’s rigorous standards, while certification is a requirement for brands to bid for product category sponsorships in the 2022-24 World Coffee Championships.