SCA Roasting Intermediate

Course date: (COMPLETED)
Course Host: 5758 Coffee Lab
Locale: Bandung, Indonesia
SCA Calendar: ID-CSPR2-7AUG19-EP
My Testing Policies

  Hold your horses there...

This course has come-and-gone and is now just a fond memory.

You can find the archived course content here.

I don't have any courses currently scheduled but I'm working on that!

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Update June 7, 2019: The SCA will not have online tests officially rolled-out and translated into the Indonesian language in time for this class. The written test for this class will be as usual; old fashioned pencil and paper.

Update May 26, 2019 The SCA has scheduled the next webinar regarding online testing for June 4th. More updates after that webinar. Stay tuned…

Update May 15, 2019: The SCA is changing the way the written portion of the test is administered. However, it is now clear they won’t have the new process implemented in time for my June classes. Therefore both of my June classes will operate as normal; with a written test. For more details and the latest updates, see SCA Online Testing.


This Intermediate course is designed for roaster operators who are already working in the coffee industry and already have some experience roasting coffee.

This class builds on information from the Foundation level course, which covers basic terminology, the roast process, and introduces new roaster operators to the skill of differentiating roasts of different color or roast degree, such as light and dark roasts. This course builds on that knowledge to expand the operators understanding of roast color and how to control the machine to consistently achieve a desired roast.

Roasting Foundation, Sensory Foundation and Green Coffee Foundation are all strongly recommended pre-requisites but are not mandatory.

Half of the class time will be spent in hands-on activities, to include the following:

  • Learn to visually identify the stages of a roast
  • Performing at least five different roasts (goal: match a color using varying profile strategies)
  • Conduct multiple cupping triangulations
  • Use a color meter to guage roast degree

There are also considerable testing requirements to receive certification in SCA Roasting Intermediate:

  • Written test
  • Practical tests
    1. Perform 3 roasts: one as a color reference and the other two must match it in color
    2. Perform 2 triangulations: differentiate between different roast degrees and different roast development times
    3. Visually ID roast stages
    4. Correctly and completely fill in a roast profile log sheet

This course will be taught in English.

Key focuses:

  • Controlling the roast to achieve color consistency batch after batch
  • Using science to improve the craft

Student’s objectives

After attending this course, the student will have a deeper understanding of the roasting process and how to control the roast to achieve a given, end roast color. This will improve the operator’s consistency.

Course contents include

  • Using various devices to measure and quantify the roast profile
  • Perform various calculations to define the roast process
  • Gaining insight into some of the physics involved in roasting
  • Gaining insight into the Maillard reaction and some of its products
  • Gaining insight into various acids in coffee throughout the roasting process

Dates: August 7 - 9

Schedule: 8:00 am - 6:00 pm

Instructor: Michael Wright

Registration: Register with the host via WhatsApp messenger: 0822-5533-5758 (Mon-Fri, 9AM-5PM UTC/GMT +7)

Location: 5758 Coffee Lab, Rusa Pinus Raya No. E-1D, Jl. Pinus Raya Barat, Komplek Pondok Hijau Indah, Gegerkalong, 50153 Bandung


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