13.2 Extrinsic Assessment (SCA-105): Farming, Processing, Trading & Certifications
Key Takeaways
SCA-105 organizes extrinsic information into five categories: Farming, Processing, Trading, Certifications, and Other.
To reduce bias, SCA-105 requires extrinsic information to be kept wholly separate from sensory assessments until all assessments are complete.
SCA-105 describes process type by the last fruit layer left on the seed during drying: fruit-dried, mucilage-dried, parchment-dried, or seed-dried.
The Trading category records grades such as AA, Supremo, EP, SHG, and SHB, plus the ICO number, importer, exporter, farm gate price, and lot size.
The Certifications category lists 4C, Fairtrade, Organic, Rainforest Alliance, and food safety, with space for others such as Geographical Indications.
A coffee's value is not only in the cup. A buyer may pay a premium for a named producer, a rare variety, a documented fermentation, or a certification. The Extrinsic Assessment — SCA Standard 105, Coffee Value Assessment: Extrinsic Assessment — captures that information systematically. The SCA sample schedule teaches it on Day 5, and because the written exam focuses on the CVA, expect questions about it.
Purpose and scope
SCA-105 explains that evaluators assess intrinsic attributes in the physical, descriptive, and affective assessments. To build a holistic picture of value, they also record an objective profile of the coffee's informational or symbolic attributes. This is the extrinsic assessment, which is itself a descriptive activity. The guiding question is: "What information do I know about this coffee, beyond its intrinsic attributes?" The standard applies to green coffee.
Procedure
- Keep it separate. To reduce bias, extrinsic information must be kept wholly separate from the sensory assessments. Only after all assessments are complete are the results compiled into a single dossier.
- Roles may differ. A quality-control specialist might do the descriptive assessment, a buyer the affective assessment, and a sales representative — the "assessor" — the extrinsic assessment.
- Gather information from sample labels, offer sheets, and suppliers. A single coffee will rarely have every box checked.
- Check what you know. For each attribute you possess information about, check the box. For example, check "Farm gate price" under Trading if the price is known.
- Record what is relevant. Write the relevant details in each category's notes. A known but irrelevant attribute need not be written out.
The five categories
Farming
Checkbox attributes: country, region (state, province, municipality, village), name of farm or co-op, name of producer(s), species, variety or blend of varieties, harvest date or year, and other. Relevant notes can include altitude, latitude and longitude, a farm map, and practices such as pruning, fertilizing, shading, and the harvesting approach.
Processing
Checkbox attributes: name of processor(s) (wet mill or processing station, dry mill, other), process type (washed, natural, other), process description, and decaffeinated.
SCA-105 offers a basic way to describe process type by the last layer of fruit left on the seed by the end of drying:
| Last layer at end of drying | Common names |
|---|---|
| Fruit-dried | Dry process, natural |
| Mucilage-dried | Honey, semi-dry |
| Parchment-dried | Washed, wet process, semi-washed, demucilaged |
| Seed-dried | Wet hulled |
Further detail can include the processor's name for the process, fermentation duration, temperature or humidity records (or water activity), and any fermentation aids or flavoring aids. A short summary such as "ripe cherries pulped, fermented about 12 hours, dried mechanically" is enough to check "process description." For decaffeinated coffee, the method — water, CO2, methylene chloride, or ethyl acetate — can be noted.
A honey process is neither "washed" nor "natural," so the assessor checks Process Type and Other, then writes "Honey" in the relevant processing notes.
Trading
Checkbox attributes include any grade the coffee qualifies for — a size grade such as AA or Supremo, or another grade such as EP, SHG, or SHB — plus the ICO number, importer, exporter, farm gate price, lot size, and other. Relevant notes can include the trading model (for example, direct trade or spot purchase), FOB price, price premium, traceability, payment terms, and the length of the buyer–seller relationship.
Certifications
Checkbox attributes: 4C, Fair trade (including Fairtrade), Organic, Rainforest Alliance, food safety, and other. Relevant notes can include certificate numbers and dates, other third-party schemes (such as Smithsonian Bird Friendly or Regenerative Organic), second-party company schemes (such as Nespresso AAA or Starbucks C.A.F.E. Practices), and Geographical Indications such as Café de Colombia, Café Veracruz, or Café Genuino Antigua.
Other
Anything else that may add value, such as the farm story, the producer's gender or youth status, social or environmental impact, and awards — for example, a Cup of Excellence winning lot or a coffee used by a barista champion.
Checkboxes do not rank value
SCA-105 stresses that the checkbox list is not exhaustive, and that a listed attribute is not necessarily more valuable than an unlisted one. Attributes appear as checkboxes because they are widely recognized and value-generating across the coffee system.
Worked example
A hypothetical importer's offer sheet reads: "Colombia, Huila, Finca La Esperanza, producer María Pérez, Pink Bourbon, 2026 harvest, 1,850 m, washed with 36-hour dry fermentation, Excelso EP, FOB price stated, Fairtrade and Organic."
| Category | Boxes checked | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Farming | Country, Region, Farm, Producer, Variety, Harvest year | Altitude 1,850 m |
| Processing | Process Type (Washed), Process Description | 36-hour dry fermentation |
| Trading | Grade | Excelso EP; FOB price noted |
| Certifications | Fair trade, Organic | — |
| Other | — | Nothing stated |
The cuppers who assessed this coffee should not see this sheet until their sensory forms are complete.
Exam tips for the extrinsic material
- Learn the five category names and two or three checkbox items under each.
- Remember the process-by-last-layer scheme, which links processing knowledge from Chapter 11 to the form.
- Know that grades such as AA, Supremo, EP, SHG, and SHB belong under Trading, and Geographical Indications are noted under Certifications.
Which five categories organize the CVA Extrinsic Assessment under SCA-105?
Origin, Variety, Altitude, Price, and Story
Physical, Descriptive, Affective, Extrinsic, and Overall
Farming, Processing, Trading, Certifications, and Other
Producer, Importer, Roaster, Retailer, and Consumer
Under SCA-105, how should an assessor record a honey-processed coffee?
Check Process Type and Other, then write "Honey" in the processing notes
Check Washed, because honey coffees are pulped
Check Natural, because honey coffees dry with fruit material
Leave the Processing section blank, because honey is not a recognized process type
Why does SCA-105 require extrinsic information to be kept separate from sensory assessments until they are complete?
Because extrinsic information is confidential to the exporter
To reduce bias in the sensory assessments
Because only Q Graders may read offer sheets
Because extrinsic forms are completed at origin only
Sections you finish are checked off in the contents.