SCA INTERMEDIATE BARISTA SKILLS
EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Which plant does coffee come from? - Correct Answers -The Coffea genus of the
Rubiaceae family of flowering plants - shrubs or small trees (4-7 foot tall)
Name 5 species of coffee - Correct Answers -Arabica (66%), Canephora/Robusta
(33%), Liberia, Racemora, Eugenioides
What is the origin myth for coffee? - Correct Answers -Discovered by a goat herder in
Ethiopia in the 1300s - discovered a change in his goats
What is Typica? - Correct Answers -The oldest variety of coffee - discovered in Ethiopia
What is Bourbon? - Correct Answers -Natural mutation of Typical - on the island of
Reunion (known as Bourbon)
What is the legal temperature range for a fridge? - Correct Answers -0-8 degrees
Celsius
How many cloths should there be on a worktop? - Correct Answers -3 - knock box, milk
and bench
How should complaints be handled? - Correct Answers -LATTE - listen, apologise, tell
them how you're going to fix it, take action, evaluate
How is water quality measured? - Correct Answers -GH (General Hardness), Alkalinity,
KH (Temporary Hardness)
What is GH? - Correct Answers -The sum of calcium and magnesium in the sample
What is Timor Hybrid? - Correct Answers -Natural hybrid of Arabica and Robusta -
discovered Timor
What are SL28/SL34/SL14? - Correct Answers -Bred by Scott Labs in Kenya in the
1930s - high-quality, resilient, fruity
What is Pacas? - Correct Answers -Found in 1949 in the Santa Ana region of El
Salvador
, What is Gesha/Geisha? - Correct Answers -Wild Ethiopian coffee - cultivated in Central
America
Flavour profile of African coffee - Correct Answers -Floral/fruity
Flavour profile of South American coffee - Correct Answers -Nutty/chocolatey
Flavour profile of Asian coffee - Correct Answers -Earthy/spicy
How are coffee cherries picked? - Correct Answers -Strip-picked (doesn't discriminate
between ripeness) or hand-picked (more likely for specialty coffee)
How are coffee cherries sorted? - Correct Answers -Floated on water channels - ripe
cherries sink so floaters can be removed
What does pulping involve? - Correct Answers -Removing the skin and fruit of a cherry
using a depulper
What does washing involve? - Correct Answers -Soaking the bean in tanks of water to
remove remaining fruit and then rinsing
What does drying involve? - Correct Answers -Laying out the bean or cherry in the sun
on raised beds, nets or patios
What does hulling involve? - Correct Answers -Removing dried fruit or parchment from
the green coffee bean
What does the natural process involve? - Correct Answers -Drying the whole unwashed
coffee cherry - as would happen in nature
What does the honey/pulp natural process involve? - Correct Answers -Pulping the
bean and then drying without washing
What does the washed process involve? - Correct Answers -Pulping and washing the
bean before drying
Taste profile of the natural process - Correct Answers -Low acidity, heavy body
Taste profile of the washed process - Correct Answers -Light flavours, light body
What is the Maillard reaction? - Correct Answers -A chemical reaction between the
amino acids and sugars in the bean that cause the browning of the bean
How does roasting affect the flavour of coffee? - Correct Answers -Soluble flavours are
created during roasting, so the darker the roast, the more soluble flavours are there
EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Which plant does coffee come from? - Correct Answers -The Coffea genus of the
Rubiaceae family of flowering plants - shrubs or small trees (4-7 foot tall)
Name 5 species of coffee - Correct Answers -Arabica (66%), Canephora/Robusta
(33%), Liberia, Racemora, Eugenioides
What is the origin myth for coffee? - Correct Answers -Discovered by a goat herder in
Ethiopia in the 1300s - discovered a change in his goats
What is Typica? - Correct Answers -The oldest variety of coffee - discovered in Ethiopia
What is Bourbon? - Correct Answers -Natural mutation of Typical - on the island of
Reunion (known as Bourbon)
What is the legal temperature range for a fridge? - Correct Answers -0-8 degrees
Celsius
How many cloths should there be on a worktop? - Correct Answers -3 - knock box, milk
and bench
How should complaints be handled? - Correct Answers -LATTE - listen, apologise, tell
them how you're going to fix it, take action, evaluate
How is water quality measured? - Correct Answers -GH (General Hardness), Alkalinity,
KH (Temporary Hardness)
What is GH? - Correct Answers -The sum of calcium and magnesium in the sample
What is Timor Hybrid? - Correct Answers -Natural hybrid of Arabica and Robusta -
discovered Timor
What are SL28/SL34/SL14? - Correct Answers -Bred by Scott Labs in Kenya in the
1930s - high-quality, resilient, fruity
What is Pacas? - Correct Answers -Found in 1949 in the Santa Ana region of El
Salvador
, What is Gesha/Geisha? - Correct Answers -Wild Ethiopian coffee - cultivated in Central
America
Flavour profile of African coffee - Correct Answers -Floral/fruity
Flavour profile of South American coffee - Correct Answers -Nutty/chocolatey
Flavour profile of Asian coffee - Correct Answers -Earthy/spicy
How are coffee cherries picked? - Correct Answers -Strip-picked (doesn't discriminate
between ripeness) or hand-picked (more likely for specialty coffee)
How are coffee cherries sorted? - Correct Answers -Floated on water channels - ripe
cherries sink so floaters can be removed
What does pulping involve? - Correct Answers -Removing the skin and fruit of a cherry
using a depulper
What does washing involve? - Correct Answers -Soaking the bean in tanks of water to
remove remaining fruit and then rinsing
What does drying involve? - Correct Answers -Laying out the bean or cherry in the sun
on raised beds, nets or patios
What does hulling involve? - Correct Answers -Removing dried fruit or parchment from
the green coffee bean
What does the natural process involve? - Correct Answers -Drying the whole unwashed
coffee cherry - as would happen in nature
What does the honey/pulp natural process involve? - Correct Answers -Pulping the
bean and then drying without washing
What does the washed process involve? - Correct Answers -Pulping and washing the
bean before drying
Taste profile of the natural process - Correct Answers -Low acidity, heavy body
Taste profile of the washed process - Correct Answers -Light flavours, light body
What is the Maillard reaction? - Correct Answers -A chemical reaction between the
amino acids and sugars in the bean that cause the browning of the bean
How does roasting affect the flavour of coffee? - Correct Answers -Soluble flavours are
created during roasting, so the darker the roast, the more soluble flavours are there
