The art of Coffee Cupping

According to Wiki Coffee Cupping can be described as “Coffee cupping, or  tasting, is the practice of observing the tastes and aromas of brewed coffee.It is a professional practice but can be done informally by anyone or by professionals known as “Master Tasters“.

The cupping process was conceived as a means for evaluating and comparing different coffees on a level playing field. Because the differences between great coffees can be very delicate, observations about the characteristics of those coffees (flavor, body, finish…) can be easily influenced by small variations that occur as part of most brewing methods. By eliminating some of these variables, a carefully prepared cupping allows the coffees being tasted to compete on the basis of their own intrinsic merits.

 

In a coffee cupping session, the table is usually set up with 6 to 10 cups per coffee.  These are fashioned in a triangular manner.  At the top of this triangle you should place a sample of the roasted coffee and a sample of the green coffee.  In the center of the table place a cup of room temperature water and an empty cup containing the cupping spoons. Cover both the green sample and roasted sample until the cupping session is over and the coffee aroma, fragrance, and flavor profile have been documented. After this time, the coffee samples could be uncovered and additional comments can be written based on appearance. This method will help reduce the common “eye cupping” technique.

Coffee Flavor Analysis

After the coffee has cooled sufficiently take some coffee into the spoon and slurp the coffee strongly to aspirate it over the entire tongue. It is important to aspirate strongly since you are trying to cover the entire tongue evenly. Aspirating strongly will also cause tiny droplets of coffee to be distributed into the throat and into the nasal passage. The nose can act as another powerful tasting tool. Most of the flavor observed in a coffee is a result of aromatic compounds present in the coffee. This effect can be demonstrated by plugging your nose while drinking coffee. While the nasal passage is blocked, the coffee will likely taste similar to instant coffee due to its lack of aroma. When the nasal passage is opened, a full rainbow of flavors will immediately become evident.

After each coffee taste test, write down your observations of coffee taste, acidity, aftertaste, and body. Move to the next cup and try to compare the different cups. As the coffee in each cup cools, it is often possible to detect new flavors. Therefore, it is important to cup a coffee when it is both warm and when it has cooled to just above room temperature. The best coffees will have positive characteristics at both ranges of temperature.

If you are cupping more than a couple cups of coffee, it is advisable to spit out the coffee after evaluation. When cupping several coffees it is possible to have too much caffeine, which can adversely alter your cupping ability.

 

Make the process more exciting by including some exclusive coffee’s like Ethiopia Sidamo, Indonesian Kopi Luwak and Jamaica Blue Mountain So there you have it, if you love coffee and want to try something new, invite some good friends, put away the wine and set yourself up a coffee cupping afternoon, great fun without the headache.

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