Q-graders are coffee's version of sommeliers. They're trained to evaluate coffee quality with precision using a standardized scoring system recognized worldwide. Only about 500 certified Q-graders exist in the United States.
Sean Stewart, Folk's founder, is one of them.
When Sean cups a coffee and scores it 86 or above, he's identifying something specific: a coffee where clarity of flavor becomes so precise you don't just taste "fruit," you taste strawberry. Not just "chocolate," but dark chocolate. It's like the difference between saying a paint color is "blue" versus "cerulean." Suddenly you can actually see what you're experiencing.
That specificity matters. It's the difference between coffee that's good and coffee worth slowing down for on a busy Tuesday morning.
How do you become a Q-grader?
To become a Q-grader, you complete a six-day certification course administered by the Coffee Quality Institute (CQI). The program includes 22 different tests like blind tasting, where you identify specific flavor compounds and evaluate coffee across seven quality dimensions.
You'll need to distinguish whether that sweetness is maple syrup or brown sugar. Whether that floral note is jasmine or honeysuckle.
The certification creates a universal language for coffee quality. Whether you're evaluating beans in Indonesia, Brazil, or Africa, Q-graders worldwide use the same scoring system, vocabulary, and standards.
"I always knew that becoming a Q-grader was an opportunity, and I knew I was good at tasting coffee," Sean explains. "But it was my years of looking at coffee and approaching it with a farm-first mentality, how the factors of the farm impact flavor and quality, that really helped me validate that all my years of choosing and buying coffee were on the right track."
What Q-graders evaluate: The 7 qualities of coffee
When a Q-grader evaluates coffee, they're looking at seven qualities, each scored on a scale from 6 to 10:
1. Fragrance/Aroma: Your first impression, what you smell in the dry grounds and after adding water
2. Flavor: What you actually taste when the coffee hits your palate
3. Aftertaste: What lingers after you swallow
4. Acidity: The bright, lively sensations (think crisp apple vs. flat)
5. Body/Mouthfeel: The texture experience (light and tea-like vs. rich and syrupy)
6. Balance: How all the elements work together
7. Overall Perception: The evaluator's holistic impression
As Sean explains: "You're trying to associate it with something you've experienced. For me, it's associating it to the lexicon that I know I have. So for the coffee drinker wanting to learn more about what's in their cup, it's about their experience. What does it remind them of?"
If you're a kid of the '90s, maybe it's Fruit Stripe gum. It could be melted chocolate ice cream. The point isn't to taste what's "correct," it's to notice what's there.
Whatever association you have with it is the right association because taste and smell are very closely tied to memory.
Beyond the score: The human story
At Folk, we only share coffees that score 86 or above. But hat sets our approach apart is understanding that Q-grading isn't just about numbers. It's about recognizing and celebrating the people behind the coffee.
"My outlook on scoring coffees is not just the number," Sean explains. "It's that they represent a lot of really hard work and right choices by the producers."
Sean has visited many coffee farms over the years, but a trip to Costa Rica early in his career opened his eyes to what's truly possible when a farmer cares for their land. Jorge Vasquez Ureña's regenerative farming practices produced coffee unlike anything else Sean had tasted.
His coffee was so unique compared to everything else I had tasted. The soil was so lush and soft, and seeing how those regenerative farming practices end up producing quality in the cup... it was unmatched by anybody else I had met.
This personal connection to farmers shapes how Sean approaches the coffee Folk shares.
I'm not just assigning a dollar value to coffee or a point scale. It's about looking at all the factors that go into producing a coffee: the farmer, how ripe the coffee cherry is that they pick and harvest, how they take care of their land, sustainability practices, and how all of those aspects contribute to the final flavor.
The evolution of coffee excellence
The Q-grader program continues to evolve. As of 2024, the Specialty Coffee Association is transitioning to a new Coffee Value Assessment (CVA) system that promises even more nuanced evaluation. But the core mission remains unchanged: creating a universal standard for identifying truly exceptional coffee.
For you, this means continued access to coffees that have passed the most rigorous quality assessments in the industry, selected by professionals who understand that great coffee is about more than scores.
Focusing on quality range is exciting because we get to tell the story of humans and their effort that went into producing that coffee and share it in a way that means something to the coffee consumer and adds value to their daily life.
So the next time you brew your Folk coffee, remember: behind that 86+ score is a farmer who made countless right decisions, a Q-grader who spent years developing the ability to recognize excellence, and a moment in time when everything came together to create something genuinely special.
I choose each coffee in our Folk Volumes by looking at them holistically: the farming, the effort, the uniqueness, the rarity. I know there's a threshold of taste quality that somebody will recognize as premium and special. That's what Folk is about. It's not just the number, but the difference that someone can taste in their cup.
