From left to right: Dave Lim (technical director, ASEAN Coffee Institute); Justin Metcalf (Chief Education Officer, ASEAN Coffee Institute); Victor Mah (President, ASEAN Coffee Federation and ASEAN Coffee Institute); and Steven Tan (Executive Director, ASEAN Coffee Federation and ASEAN Coffee Institute). ASEAN Coffee Federation news release photo.
The ASEAN Coffee Federation — a trade group composed of national coffee associations in 10 Southeast Asian countries — recently launched the ASEAN Coffee Appreciation Protocol (ACAP).
A framework for evaluating coffees regionally and globally, the ACAP stands as an alternative to the Coffee Value Assessment (CVA), the framework for coffee evaluation being promoted globally by the United States- and UK-based Specialty Coffee Association (SCA).
Through its education and training agency the ASEAN Coffee Institute (ACI), the ASEAN Coffee Federation announced the launch of the ACAP protocol on May 16, the same day the SCA announced it had signed a deal with the Specialty Coffee Association of Indonesia (SCAI) to promote the CVA throughout Indonesia.
In its launch announcement, the ASEAN Coffee Institute presented the ACAP as a regional alternative for coffee quality evaluation and education, designed by and for coffee professionals in Southeast Asia.
“Southeast Asia has long been a powerhouse in coffee production. With ACI and ACAP, we are now taking ownership of how our coffee is valued and understood on the global stage,” Victor Mah, president of the ASEAN Coffee Federation, said in the announcement. “This is a proud milestone in our journey to define coffee excellence through an ASEAN lens — and share it with the world.”
ASEAN Coffee Federation news photo.
The new ACAP protocol — and related education/training programming — involves six “Appreciation” modules, each resulting in a score or flavor profiles. The system is designed to cover coffee from seed to cup.
For example, the “technical appreciation” module addresses cultivation, processing, transport and storage, while the “descriptive appreciation” and “roasting appreciation” modules are used to evaluate green bean and roasted coffee quality, respectively. Additional modules are “brewing appreciation,” consumer “perceptive appreciation” and “skills appreciation,” which is applied to barista training.
“With ACAP, ACI sets a global benchmark for a new way of understanding coffee — one that respects context, celebrates culture, and elevates the ASEAN voice in the global coffee movement,” the group said upon the launch.
The group has also released a set of analytical and descriptive tools to support the ACAP, including the ASEAN Coffee Flavour Sphere, a cupping app called Cpin and an aroma kit.
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Nick Brown
Nick Brown is the editor of Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine.
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