CQI-Q Grader Coffee Quality Grader Certification Course (Arabica) (Q Arabica Grader Combo Exam & Training Course)

Sensory experience is a fundamental aspect of coffee, which is why the Coffee Quality Institute (CQI) established the Q Grader program to enhance individuals' coffee tasting abilities. This program aims to establish international standards for specialty coffee assessment and train related professionals. CQI also provides training and technical support to coffee producers and individuals or groups within the industry chain, promoting sustainable coffee practices and improving coffee quality and infrastructure in coffee-producing countries.

Unlike typical certificate courses, the Q Grader program employs the most rigorous sensory testing system to evaluate and assess coffee value and flavor, emphasizing cupping, green and roasted bean evaluation, and sensory analysis. This program prioritizes professional training, serving as a golden key to entering the highest echelons of the coffee world! Additionally, CQI welcomes both industry professionals and beginners, as the sensory skills training allows participants to better gauge their own abilities—many beginners can pass on their first try by following the instructor’s guidance!

The Q Grader certification is widely recognized internationally as a standard for coffee evaluation. Coffee producers, traders, coffee education and training institutions, and baristas use this standard to assess coffee quality, and students undergo rigorous professional training to enhance their ability to evaluate coffee quality and flavor.

🌈 Promotional Offer Now Available

The tuition for the Q Arabica Grader course includes an aroma kit set (Le Nez du Cafe 36 aroma kit) for each participant to use during class. Students who already possess an aroma kit can enjoy a $1,000 discount when registering for CQI; please contact us via WhatsApp to enroll.

🌈 Course Format

• Two-day preparatory course (7 + 5 hours) with dual certification: SCA Sensory Foundation certificate and CQI Q Grader training guide.
• Six days of formal training, including three days of classes and three days of exams.
• Courses are conducted in English, with English or Chinese notes and basic classroom translation available (simple Cantonese translation can be provided if needed).
• Location: Room E, 6th Floor, TLP132, 132-134 Dalianpai Road, Kwai Chung, New Territories.

🌈 CQI Preparatory Course + SCA Sensory Course Content (Dual Certification)

This is essential for 95% of students to understand the content and tests they will face over the next six days, helping to strengthen foundational practice and significantly increase the pass rate! It is especially helpful for those with less experience or confidence in cupping, allowing them to adapt to intensive training in advance.

• Overview of the Q Grader course, examination content, and criteria.
• Basic sensory knowledge.
• Foundational training based on CQI standards, including coffee cupping, triangle testing, roasting level testing, etc.
• Mastering cupping scoring techniques (there is only one opportunity for each cupping test during the exam, with no retakes!).
• Aroma kit scent identification training.
• Simultaneously teaches SCA Sensory Foundation content; after passing the written test, students will receive an SCA certificate.
• The fee includes all classroom learning materials, SCA administration fees, examination, and certificate costs; students must pay an additional SCA course registration fee of USD $50.

The course will be taught in Cantonese by Tasse Coffee’s chief AST and Q Grader, laying a solid foundation for successfully obtaining the Q Grader coffee certification!

🌈 CQI Q Arabica Grader Course Content

1. Cupping Skills Test

   • Evaluate four major coffee categories (washed, natural, Asian, African) through cupping, mastering regional characteristics, processing methods, and grading standards.

2. Triangulation Skills Test

   • Use sensory skills under controlled conditions to identify the different cup among three coffees.

3. Olfactory Skills Test

   • Based on aroma bottles, distinguish and group 36 aroma bottles, enhancing memory of different coffee aromas.

4. Sensory Skills Test

   • Based on water tests, taste different flavors and intensities to understand the differences and interactions between flavors.

5. Green Coffee Grading

   • In-depth learning on defect bean classification and grading systems.

6. Roasted Coffee Beans Grading

7. Organic Acids Identification Test

8. Roast ID Testing

9. General Knowledge Test

   • A written test on basic coffee knowledge (100 multiple-choice questions).

🌈 Instructor Profile

Paul Kim is one of the 20 globally recognized Arabica/Robusta instructors and a distinguished SCA AST/Inspector. He is one of only two individuals in the world with both Q Arabica and Q Robusta Grader qualifications for 2022-23. With over 16 years of teaching experience, his students hail from various countries, including Ethiopia, the USA, Indonesia, the Philippines, China, Japan, and Korea. In 2007, he established the Paul Kim Coffee Lab in Seoul, focusing on cupping, roasting, and training consulting. He has served as a judge in various world-class barista competitions and has actively participated in CQI’s coffee volunteer program, providing Q certification training to coffee producers in the Philippines and preparing to establish his own coffee farm in the region.

🌈 Instructor Publications

• Cupping Bible
• Roasting Bible

🌈 Instructor Qualifications

• CQI Arabica/Robusta Instructor
• CQI Distinguished Instructor 2022-2023
• SCA AST/Inspector
• Director of Paul Kim Coffee Lab since 2007
• Judge for the Korean Barista Championship (2011-2013)
• Consultant for the Lotte Angel-in Us World Award (2013)
• International Judge for Ethiopia’s Taste of Harvest (2014)
• Judge for the Korean Barista Championship (2014)
• Consultant for the Korean Barista Championship (2014)
• Consultant for the Cupping Masters Competition (2015-2017)
• Head Judge for the World Aeropress Championship (2016)
• Consultant for Lotte Angel-in Us (2017-2023)
• International Judge for Yunnan Coffee Exchange in China (2016-2020)
• Coach for the Cupping Masters champion (2018)
• Head Judge for the Philippine Coffee Quality Competition (2020-2023).