SET Course – Ouhao Specialty Coffee Academy

DESCRIPTION

Over the four-day course, you will participate in:

• In-depth lectures and discussions on CoE, specialty coffee, and what makes CoE coffee unique.
• Various sensory exercises are designed to help you grow in perceiving and understanding aroma and taste. These exercises will be the start of learning to calibrate with the group.
• Tastings are designed to demonstrate the importance of the correct cupping procedure and the effects of different variables on cup profiles.
• Understanding common defects in coffee.
• Learning about the CoE method for scoring coffee.
• Calibrating with a diverse group of cuppers over multiple cupping sessions.
• Introduction and discussion around CoE’s unique way of evaluating cuppers’ skills and confidence.
• A test designed after the program CoE uses to select National Jury members.

What you will receive:

• Priority consideration for 2026 CoE observer seats.
• A detailed report explaining the data gathered from you cupping test.
• Certificate of Completion.
• Limited edition CoE cupping spoon.

Classes will begin at 9:30 and finish around 5:30 pm with an hour break for lunch, which will be provided. Be prepared to experience the Cup of Excellence (CoE). Students will cup many different coffees, processes, and cultivars, practice the logistics and cupping protocol of a CoE cupping, and take an exam just like National Jury sensory professionals. This will show you how you are calibrated with the rest of the jury and your sensory confidence with representative scores samples.

In the first two days, we focus on CoE cupping, the protocol of identifying qualities, identifying common flavor attributes, scoring, and a common language. We then will advance to expose all participants to a technical approach to our quality variables, different varietals, and some common defects. Sessions include lab, lecture, and active discussions. We will also provide coffees from other countries for you to taste and learn about; processed naturals and honey/pulped naturals & varieties, etc. The third day will be filled with multiple cupping and calibration sessions. The fourth day of the class will be the “test” with three cuppings back-to-back.

We’ll be actively standing during cupping and seated for discussions, so please wear comfortable clothing and shoes. No use of perfume or cologne allowed. Please bring a notebook and, if you like, samples of your roasted beans. You’ll have the opportunity to see other coffees from other attendees.

You will receive a CoE cupping spoon, and other fun things at the beginning of the class. Upon completing the course, you will receive a certificate of completion signed by your instructor.  Within one week, you will receive your testing results. The information you receive will be in the same format as those who undergo a CoE national jury testing.

This experience is intended to share the Cup of Excellence program with you, improve your cupping and sensory evaluation skills, and share with others in a jury setting. This is the best way to learn and calibrate your sensory skills. Thank you for joining us.

INSTRUCTOR:  Paul Songer

Paul Songer has been in the specialty coffee business for over 30 years, beginning his career at Allegro Coffee Company, a medium-sized wholesale specialty roaster in Boulder, Colorado, as a repairer and installer of espresso machines and other coffee machinery. He gradually moved from equipment to cupping and training, writing technical manuals and conducting training with sales staff, customers, and internal sensory panels as manager of training and research. During this period, he was also a partner in a Boulder coffee house, a business that has been in continuous operation since 1996.

In 1998, Songer took the position of Director of Coffee Operations at Coffee Analysts, an independent lab specializing in the sensory, chemical, and physical analysis of coffee. This led to further independent research and a certificate of sensory analysis at the University of California at Davis. During this period he was a judge for one of the initial barista competitions held at the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) convention in 1998.

He served for over 10 years on the Technical Standards Committee of the SCAA and has given several technical presentations at their conferences. He has had numerous articles on coffee published and is the co-author of the SCAA Water Quality Manual, which deals with the chemistry of water and its effect on brewing coffee. He has also authored or co-authored chapters in the books, Specialty Coffee: Managing Quality and The Craft and Science of Coffee.

He began in CoE as a participant cupper in 2000 and has served as head judge for over 35 competitions. He currently works as an independent consultant specializing in application of sensory analysis techniques to the coffee business, product development, sensory panel training, quality control, and roasting. Offered seminars include cupper training, roasting, and brewing.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS 

This SET course requires 12 students to register for the class to run. Once you have registered for the course, we will send you updates on the status of the class and how registration is proceeding.

SET Courses are eligible for a 100% refund for 31 days before class starts. Between 30 and 16 days before the start of class, the courses are eligible for a 50% refund. From 15 days before the beginning of the system, it is nonrefundable unless CoE cancels the course. Refunds requested over 90 days after the initial date of purchase will only be issued in the form of credit for future purchases on the CoE and ACE website.

If students are late or do not show up for class, CoE cannot ensure their cupping data will be included in group discussions, calibrations, or post-class reports, nor to grant the student a Certificate of Completion.