SCA Sensory Skills Intermediate
Course Overview: Strengthen your palate and decision-making with a structured, science-based approach to coffee tasting. SCA Sensory Skills Intermediate builds on foundational cupping experience and takes you deeper into how and why coffee tastes the way it does.
As part of the SCA Coffee Skills Program, this intermediate-level course expands your understanding of sensory science, from the physiology of taste and aroma to practical testing methods used in professional labs. You’ll move beyond “I like it” and learn to describe, compare, and evaluate coffees with clarity, consistency, and purpose.
What you’ll learn:
- Explain how taste, aroma, and mouthfeel work together to shape coffee flavor. Apply SCA cupping protocols to assess quality and capture consistent sensory data.
Use tools like the Coffee Taster’s Flavor Wheel and WCR Sensory Lexicon to build a precise flavor vocabulary. Design and participate in sensory tests (such as triangle and in/out tests) to answer real quality-control questions.
Recognize intensity, balance, and key attributes across a range of coffees, including the identification of common defects.
Interpret sensory results and communicate findings effectively to roasting, green buying, and café teams.
Understand the role of sensory evaluation across the coffee value chain and how it supports consistent, high-quality products.
Who should take this course?
Roasters, green coffee buyers, and quality control specialists who need to make decisions based on sensory data.
Baristas, trainers, and café managers who already cup coffee and want to deepen their sensory skills and language.
Coffee professionals involved in product development, blend design, or menu creation.
Students preparing for further SCA Sensory Skills study, Coffee Value Assessment, or future Q Grader pathways.
Recommended: SCA Sensory Skills Foundation or equivalent cupping experience, including familiarity with basic SCA cupping procedures.
Course Format:
Delivery: In-person, instructor-led training at the Firedancer Coffee Educators campus in Schaumburg, IL.
Learning style: A mix of classroom discussions, cupping labs, guided tastings, and structured sensory exercises.
Duration: Multi-day intensive course. Specific dates and daily schedules are listed on the Course Registration page and calendar.
Assessment: Includes practice aligned with the SCA Sensory Skills Intermediate online written and practical exams, helping you prepare to meet SCA certification requirements.
Why study at Firedancer
Firedancer Coffee Educators is “the center for all things coffee,” offering a full range of SCA Coffee Skills courses and Skill Building Workshops—from barista and brewing to roasting, sensory, and green coffee.
Our team includes Authorized SCA Trainers with professional-level credentials and decades of experience across the specialty coffee supply chain. We combine technical, science-based instruction with hands-on, small-group learning so you can immediately apply what you learn in your own roastery, lab, or café.
At Firedancer, sensory education is both rigorous and approachable. You’ll leave with sharpened tasting skills, practical tools for your workplace, and the confidence to contribute meaningfully to any cupping table or sensory panel.
Payment & Cancellation, if applicable:
Once registration and tuition have been received for a course, we consider this to be a firm commitment for attendance. Last-minute participant substitutions are difficult to arrange, although we understand emergencies may arise that can affect attendance at programs offered by Firedancer.
We have established the following policy in case of course cancellation:
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If cancellation is made more than 15 days before the program start date, 100% of the tuition, less a 10% cancellation fee, will be refunded, or 100% of the tuition is transferable to another program and/or date.
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If cancellation is made within less than 15 days before the program date, the entire tuition is non-refundable; however, you may transfer to a future date.
Firedancer reserves the right to cancel or reschedule events as necessary. In such a case, this will occur two weeks before the start of the event. Tuition may be refunded in full or transferred to a future seminar or course. In no event shall Firedancer Coffee Consultants be liable for any cancellation or change penalties assessed by an airline or hotel as a result of course date changes or cancellations.
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Tuition & Certificate Fees:
INCLUDED WITH TUITION: SCA certificate fees, if applicable, student handbook, class activity materials, certificate of completion, snacks, and lunch (for classes longer than 6 hours).
NOT INCLUDED WITH TUITION: Airfare, transportation, lodging, or other personal expenses.
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