1982: The Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) is founded, setting industry standards for high quality.

As the number of specialty coffee businesses increased, the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) was founded in 1982.
Led by Donald Schoenholt of Gillies Coffee in Brooklyn, New York, and Ted Lingle of California roaster Lingle Bros, the association was founded by a core of members including Waldenhauffer of Coffee, Tea and Spice in San Francisco, Peter McLaughlin of Royal Coffee, and coffee importer John Randall.
Other members included Erna Knutsen, who proposed the concept of specialty coffee, and Jerry Baldwin, founder of Starbucks, which was just over 10 years old at the time.
Specialty coffee is high-quality coffee with a unique flavor that is the result of specific geographical conditions or a specific regional climate.
So what exactly constitutes high-quality?
Industry insiders who were beginning to get involved in this emerging genre of specialty coffee began a movement to define a common standard for high quality.