# SCA-certified Home Brewer

Source: https://dailyextraction.com/methods/sca-certified-brewer/
Last updated: 2026-10-19

> An SCA-certified home brewer is a drip coffee maker that the Specialty Coffee Association has tested against its home brewer standard, SCA 310-2021. The water must stay at 90–96°C as it brews, the coffee must reach a target strength at 55 g per litre and extract evenly, and a heated jug must hold it at 80–85°C.

## At a glance

- Ratio: 55 g per litre (55 g coffee : 1000 g water)
- Grind: Medium (sand)
- Water temperature: 90–96 °C
- Brew time: about 6:00
- Category: Pour-over & Drip (Percolation)
- Difficulty: Beginner
- Origin: Global & Modern
- Also known as: SCA Certified Home Brewer, Golden Cup brewer, SCA-certified coffee maker, SCAA certified brewer

## Steps

1. **Weigh the coffee**: Weigh about 55 g of coffee per litre of water, the Golden Cup ratio, and grind it medium.
2. **Fill with fresh water**: Fill the reservoir with fresh, cold, filtered water.
3. **Load the basket**: Put the filter in the basket, rinse it if you can, add the coffee and level it.
4. **Brew**: Start the machine. A certified brewer is tested to keep the water at 90–96°C through the brew and to extract evenly.
5. **Stir and serve**: Stir the jug and serve.

An **SCA-certified home brewer** is an [automatic drip coffee maker](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/automatic-drip/) that the **Specialty Coffee Association** has tested and found can brew to its **Golden Cup standard**. The biggest problem with many cheap drip machines is that they don't get the water **hot enough**, or they brew too fast or unevenly. Certification is a way of telling which machines get those basics right. Here's what it means and how to use one.

## The short version

- **A drip machine tested by the SCA** to brew to the Golden Cup standard.
- **Water at 90–96°C** through the brew, measured in the coffee bed.
- **A target strength** at 55 g of coffee per litre, with an even extraction.
- **A hot jug held at 80–85°C** for the first 30 minutes.
- **Today's standard is SCA 310-2021**; the programme was "longstanding" by 2014.



## What does the SCA test?

The current standard for home brewers is **SCA Standard 310-2021**, which sets out how machines are tested, including temperature measured with thermocouples in the coffee bed and logged second by second. **Three units** of each model are tested, and its specifications cover:

- **Basket size**: big enough for a full jug at 55 g per litre without overflowing.
- **Brewing temperature**: the coffee bed must reach **90–96°C** by the time a third of the water has gone in, and stay there.
- **Resulting brew**: a strength of **1.15–1.55% total dissolved solids** at 55 g per litre, at full capacity.
- **Uniformity of performance**: the same results across three machines, five brews each.
- **Uniformity of extraction**: a rating of **60 or above** out of 100.
- **Holding temperature**: if the jug is heated, the coffee must stay at **80–85°C for the first 30 minutes**.
- **Instructions**: the manual must recommend a grind, the 55 g per litre ratio, a filter and how to clean the machine.

Older versions of the programme also tested **brew time**: Tom's Guide reported that machines had to brew a full reservoir in **4 to 8 minutes**. The 2021 standard doesn't set a brew time, and it excludes manual pour-overs and pod machines.

## What is the Golden Cup standard?

| | Golden Cup guideline |
| --- | --- |
| Ratio | 55 g of coffee per litre, plus or minus 10% |
| Water temperature | About 93°C, give or take 3°C, at the coffee |
| Contact time | About 4 to 8 minutes for most filter methods |

These are the commonly quoted Golden Cup guidelines, as summarised by Roastopedia. The certification standard itself uses 55 g per kg of water and the 90–96°C range.

## How do you use a certified brewer?

The machine takes care of the temperature and timing, so the rest is up to you:

1. **Weigh about 55 g of coffee per litre**, ground medium.
2. **Fill the reservoir** with fresh, filtered water.
3. **Load the basket**, rinsing the paper filter if you can, and level the coffee.
4. **Start the machine.**
5. **Stir and serve.**

![Chart of coffee grind sizes from extra fine to extra coarse, with medium highlighted for SCA-certified brewers](https://dailyextraction.com/diagrams/grind-size.svg#medium "Most certified drip brewers suit a medium grind.")

## Which machines are certified?

The SCA keeps the current list of certified machines on its website. It includes, for example, several **Technivorm Moccamaster** models, such as the KBGV Select, as well as brewers from Bonavita, Breville and Cosori. Machines are tested at the **European Coffee Brewing Centre**, and certification lasts for a three-year licence period. Models come and go, so check the SCA's list for the machine you're considering.

## Is it worth buying a certified brewer?

If you drink drip coffee every day, certification takes out the biggest weakness of cheap machines: **water that isn't hot enough**. It doesn't guarantee a great cup on its own. You still need **fresh coffee**, a **good grind** and the **right ratio**, and a regular **descale**.

*General guidance only. Unplug the machine before cleaning it, and follow the maker's instructions for use and descaling.*

## Certified brewers vs other methods

- **[Automatic drip coffee maker](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/automatic-drip/):** how to get the best from any drip machine.
- **[Melitta](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/melitta/):** the hand-poured filter behind the drip machine.
- **[V60](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/v60/):** a manual pour-over with full control.
- **[Chemex](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/chemex/):** a big-batch manual pour-over.

Explore every pour-over method in the [pour-over chapter](https://dailyextraction.com/methods/pour-over/).

## Words used in this guide

- [Specialty coffee](https://dailyextraction.com/glossary/specialty-coffee/): Specialty coffee is high-quality coffee graded at 80 points or more out of 100 by trained tasters using the Specialty Coffee Association's scoring system.
- [Total dissolved solids (TDS)](https://dailyextraction.com/glossary/tds/): Total dissolved solids (TDS) measures how much coffee is dissolved in the cup, shown as a percentage.
- [Extraction](https://dailyextraction.com/glossary/extraction/): Extraction is the process of water dissolving flavour compounds out of ground coffee.
- [Pour-over](https://dailyextraction.com/glossary/pour-over/): Pour-over is a way of making filter coffee by hand: you pour hot water over ground coffee in a filter cone and let it drip through into a cup or jug.
- [Steeping](https://dailyextraction.com/glossary/steeping/): Steeping is leaving ground coffee to sit in water so its flavour dissolves out, as in a French press or cold brew.

## FAQs

### What does SCA-certified mean?

That the Specialty Coffee Association has had the machine tested and found it meets its home brewer standard: hot enough, to the right strength, with an even extraction, every time.

### What is the Golden Cup standard?

The SCA's guidelines for brewed coffee, including 55 g of coffee per litre of water, plus or minus 10%, and water at about 93°C, give or take 3°C, when it reaches the coffee.

### What does the SCA test?

SCA Standard 310-2021 covers basket size, brewing temperature (90–96°C), the strength of the coffee at 55 g per litre, consistency across three machines and five brews each, evenness of extraction, and, for a heated jug, holding the coffee at 80–85°C for 30 minutes.

### When did SCA certification start?

The SCAA, one of the SCA's predecessors, already called its home brewer programme "longstanding" in 2014; some sources date it to 2012. The current home brewer standard is SCA Standard 310-2021.

### Are SCA-certified coffee makers worth it?

If you drink drip coffee every day, they take out the biggest weakness of cheap machines: water that isn't hot enough. You still need fresh coffee, the right grind and the right ratio.

## Sources

- [SCA Standard 310-2021: home coffee brewers](https://coffeegeek.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/SCAGoldCupStandard.pdf)
- [What are SCA certified coffee makers?](https://cosori.com/blogs/coffee/what-are-sca-certified-coffee-makers)
- [Achieving the Gold Cup standard](https://www.seattlecoffeegear.com/blogs/learning-center/achieving-the-gold-cup-standard-your-guide-to-brewing-excellence)
- [The Golden Cup standard](https://roastopedia.com/golden-cup-standard/)
- [Certified home equipment](https://sca.coffee/certified-home-brewer)
- [SCAA and European Coffee Brewing Centre renew home brewer program cooperation](https://dailycoffeenews.com/2014/01/27/scaa-and-european-coffee-brewing-centre-renew-home-brewer-program-cooperation)
- [The Ratio Six is the latest coffee maker to receive SCA seal of approval](https://www.tomsguide.com/news/the-ratio-six-is-the-latest-coffee-maker-to-receive-sca-seal-of-approval)