Coffee scoring
When you hear a coffee described as “85 points” or “specialty,” that number comes from cupping — a standardized tasting where trained graders rate a coffee on a 100-point scale across attributes like aroma, flavor, acidity, body, and aftertaste.
The thresholds
- 80+ — the classic line for “specialty” coffee, per the Specialty Coffee Association framework.
- 87+ — the current standard a lot must clear to win Cup of Excellence.
- 90s — rare and exceptional; the record Best of Panama lots score here, and in 2025 five judges gave a Hacienda La Esmeralda washed Geisha a perfect 100 — a BoP first.
The higher the score, the higher the auction price tends to climb — which is how a 20 kg bag of coffee reached roughly $604,000 in 2025.
To verify
The Specialty Coffee Association is transitioning away from the classic 100-point form toward its Coffee Value Assessment. Confirm which system and thresholds are current before teaching them as fixed.