How do faults affect the scoring of coffee on the SCA cupping form?

Faults in coffee significantly influence the scoring process on the SCA cupping form, particularly in terms of uniformity and the clean cup categories. When a coffee exhibits faults, it can lead to inconsistencies in flavor, aroma, and overall quality, which detracts from the uniformity that is crucial for high scoring. A clean cup reflects the absence of undesirable flavors, and faults typically introduce off-flavors that compromise this cleanliness.

For instance, if a coffee has ferment or moldy tastes, these defects detract from the quality perception and ultimately lower the score. Faults can also result in a lack of coherence across multiple cups, leading to varying impressions of flavor, which is detrimental to achieving a high uniformity score. Therefore, the presence of faults clearly leads to a negative impact on scoring in these specific areas of the SCA cupping form.