SCA-certified Home Brewer

An SCA-certified home brewer is an automatic drip coffee maker 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.

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: how to get the best from any drip machine.
• Melitta: the hand-poured filter behind the drip machine.
• V60: a manual pour-over with full control.
• Chemex: a big-batch manual pour-over.

Explore every pour-over method in the pour-over chapter.