Coffee Quality Institute
Coffee Quality Institute (CQI) is a non-profit organization working internationally to improve the quality of coffee and the lives of people who produce it.
Since 1996, we have worked to improve the quality of coffee and the lives of people who produce it. Quality is one of the most important variables that influence a coffee’s value. However, many producers do not have access to the tools and support they need to evaluate the quality of their coffee, improve that quality, access markets that reward that quality, ultimately enabling them to make more informed business choices. That’s where we come in.
At CQI we bring diverse stakeholders together to solve local challenges. Our customized solutions, shaped by coffee experts and decades of experience, result in long-term solutions that emphasize self-sufficiency. With deep roots in the coffee trade, we aim to facilitate market connections that build healthier supply chains and thriving coffee communities.
Coffee Q VENUE PROGRAM
What is a Q Venue?
Coffee Quality Institute’s mission, to improve the quality of coffee and the lives of people who produce it, is achieved through our education programs and training initiatives. The Q Venue Program creates a global, verified network of quality facilities for cupping, sensory and processing education designed to meet the specific instructional needs of all CQI courses.
CQI Q Venues can be used in many ways; from instructors hosting courses, to development project trainings, and as a lab for coffee quality assessment. CQI will work with you to assess which Q Venue certification is the right fit for your needs.
CQI provides three types of certification for Q Venues: Q Venue, Q Venue Processing and Q Venue Professional.
What are the benefits of becoming a Q Venue?
Q Venue certification provides a verified space so that instructors and students recognize the facility as safe, accessible, and hygienic while also operating in accordance with industry standards and protocols. The infrastructure of Q Venues meets the needs of our market with specific professional equipment, supplies, and environment. CQI requires venues to obtain Q Venue approval and certification to host CQI courses.
Benefits include the ability to host CQI courses, the right to use the Q Venue Program logo, official certificate issued by CQI, promotion of certified Q Venues on our global website and to our instructors, and international recognition.
How does a lab or facility become a Q Venue?
If you are interested, and have questions about the requirements and different certification levels, please contact Kim Ta at kta@coffeeinstitute.org
