CQI Cupping Corps for Verité Brewing Better Futures (1368)

COFFEE CORPS

Coffee Quality Institute

CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS 1368

CQI CUPPING CORPS for VERITÉ BREWING BETTER FUTURES

Post Date: 04/11/2026

Title and Assignment: CQI Cupping Corps for Verité Brewing Better Futures project

Location: remote

Start Date and End Date: TBD

Number of Volunteer Spots Available: TBD, depending on sample availability

Duration/Level of effort: 0.25-2 days per participant 

OPPORTUNITY SUMMARY

CQI has partnered with the independent nonprofit organization Verité to support its farm worker innovation project Brewing Better Futures: Boosting Income and Wellbeing for Coffee Farmers and Workers. The project is designed to evaluate new farm labor innovations in three countries: Brazil, Costa Rica, and Honduras. The innovations will be evaluated for their contributions to farm efficiency and profitability, working conditions, worker motivation and retention, coffee quality, and livelihoods.

CQI is collaborating with Verité and its project partners in each country to evaluate the impact of the project on coffee quality at two points in the supply stream: in the field, where volunteer Field Evaluators will assess the quality of freshly harvested fruit (see CQI Coffee Corps Calls for Volunteers 1370 and 1371) under the direction of a Field Evaluator Coordinator (see CQI Coffee Corps Call for Volunteers 1369); and in the lab, where members of the CQI Cupping Corps will perform physical analysis of green coffee and sensory evaluation of roasted samples. The two sets of quality data will complement one another and provide a more comprehensive assessment of the impact of project interventions on coffee quality than either one might alone.

This CQI Coffee Corps Call for Volunteers 1368 describes the expectations and establishes the terms of reference for volunteer members of the CQI Cupping Corps for the project, including objectives, key activities, deliverables, deadlines, communications, etc.

The individuals selected for this volunteer opportunity must meet the eligibility requirements below, recruit qualified colleagues to volunteer as cuppers, secure access to their employer’s cupping lab as a “host lab,” and generally take responsibility for the successful and timely completion of the activities describe here.

LAB-BASED EVALUATION

Each participating farm will receive separate deliveries of fresh coffee fruit from two cohorts of farm workers, one that participates in the project and one that does not (counterfactual), maintain strict separation of these coffees throughout the post-harvest process, and produce representative green samples from each cohort. CQI Cupping Corps volunteers will receive green coffee samples in matched sets, i.e., each set will feature one sample from the participant group and one from the counterfactual. Each farm will generate at least one (1) and no more than four (4) matched sets from each farm for a total of between six (6) and 24 samples and any increase in this amount will be subject to prior agreement with CQI Cupper Corps volunteers and host labs. Samples will be coded for blind evaluation and will be delivered directly to selected labs by project participants in each country. This means that CQI Cupper Corps volunteers in this project may receive three different sample shipments from three different farms at three different times corresponding to the post-harvest periods in Costa Rica and Honduras for the 2026/27 crop year, and Brazil for the 2027 harvest. Volunteers are expected to perform physical evaluation of each sample according to SCA standards and sensory evaluation under the direction of a certified Q Grader using the SCA Coffee Value Assessment (CVA). Results will be collated and submitted on a timely basis to CQI by the certified Q Grader designated as the CQI Cupper Corps lead at each participating lab.

KEY ACTIVITIES, DELIVERABLES, and DEADLINES

The CQI Cupping Corps for the Verité Brewing Better Futures project will:

• Evaluate between six (6) and 24 green coffee samples over the life of the project;
• Perform physical evaluation of green coffee samples according to SCA standards;
• Perform sensory evaluation of roasted coffee under the direction of a certified Q Grader, scoring the coffees on whatever form the company uses in its regular sensory evaluation of green coffee samples offered for purchase;
• Complete both physical and sensory evaluations and submit results within 10 business days to CQI in a format to be agreed upon between the parties;
• Perform the above-mentioned activities in a working green coffee lab at a coffee trading or coffee roasting company;
• Perform the above-mentioned activities on a volunteer basis with no remuneration from CQI, Verité, or other party.

ELIGIBILITY

APPLICANTS (1)

Individuals eligible to apply to serve in the CQI Cupping Corps for the Verité Brewing Better Futures project must:

• Have the explicit approval of their employers to complete the activities described here on a volunteer basis;
• Secure authorization for the use of their company’s name in CQI and Verité communications related to the project;
• Be actively engaged in green coffee evaluation for a coffee trading company or a coffee roasting company;
• Participate in decisions about the evaluation and/or purchase of green coffees, preferably in a leadership role;
• Be a Certified Q Grader – evidence of valid certification must be submitted with the application to be considered;
• Lead and participate in the sensory evaluation of project coffees;
• Ensure that remaining activities, including physical evaluation of project coffees as well as consolidation and submission of results, are completed in a timely manner even if performed by colleagues;
• Commit to ensure timely completion of all the activities stipulated in this call for volunteers as well as timely submission of deliverables; and
• Agree to serve as a CQI Cupper Corps Lead within their company as well as a point person and liaison between CQI, project staff, and colleagues (see below), assuming responsibility for communications with and submission of deliverables to CQI.

ADDITIONAL VOLUNTEERS (> 3)

Applicants must commit to recruit at least three qualified colleagues to participate in the sensory evaluation of project coffees. These colleagues must also meet basic eligibility requirements, including:

• Have the explicit approval of their employers to complete the activities described here on a volunteer basis;
• Be actively engaged in green coffee evaluation for the same company as the applicant, regularly cupping coffee together with the applicant;
• Be a cupper in good standing within the company whose sensory evaluation results are included in company decisions regarding the purchase of green coffees; and
• Commit to ensure timely completion of all the activities stipulated in this call for volunteers as well as timely submission of deliverables.

NON-DISCLOSURE AGREEMENT

The applicant selected for this volunteer role will be expected to sign a standard non-disclosure agreement to protect against unauthorized disclosure of the identities and confidential or proprietary information from project funders and partners.

COMMUNICATIONS

By submitting an application for this volunteer opportunity, you are authorizing CQI and Verité to identify you and your project role in their public communications. Neither CQI nor Verité will attribute any specific evaluation or work product to you publicly without prior disclosure and consent.