The Wonderful World of Cupping

Cupping, not to be confused with the Chinese therapy technique of placing hot cups on your body to create suction. Coffee Cupping, is the practice of tasting and comparing characteristics of coffee such as body (texture), flavor (taste), and aroma (smell).

This technique holds all variables, with the exception of one, constant. In most cases, the beans will be the factor that is changed, and compared. Although this is traditionally used by coffee professionals and buyers to evaluate coffee beans from different origins and compare batches, it is becoming increasingly popular amongst coffee enthusiasts.

Why?

The purpose of Cupping is to use a technique that is as objective as possible to compare coffee. This is not so important if you are trying to taste which coffee is your favorite (although quite an effective way I must say). It is much more important when you are a professional coffee buyer purchasing tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of coffee beans. In addition to comparing and identifying the differences between coffee of different origins, coffee cupping is also used as a quality control process.

Many different variables can affect the outcome of a cup of coffee. The weather, altitude and soil determine the quality of a raw coffee bean but the processing, transportation, roasting and grinding of the beans can all contribute to the characteristic of each cup.

What do I need?

Below are a few things you will need before you begin cupping. Most are readily available; your sensory abilities though, will take time to train, as it does with other foods and drinks such as wine.

Spittoon (or a larger cup for you to spit into)

• Spoon
• Table
• Cup(s)
• Coffee Beans
• Hot Water
• Thermometer (optional)
• Roaster
• Grinder

Of course, if you already have pre-roasted and/or grounded coffee beans, you don’t need the last 2 items.

Instructions:

1. Place all your cups on a table (number will be based on how many types of beans you are comparing)
2. Have an extra cup of warm water to rinse your spoon between tasting
3. Roast/Grind your beans. Bean to coffee ratio can be based on your favorite recipe (common would be 350ml of water for 22 grams of beans)
4. Boil hot water. Optimal temperature is between 195F (91C) and 205F (96C)
5. Place coffee grounds in cup
6. Smell each type of coffee. Common flavor descriptions include of floral, nuttiness, cocoa, earthy, malty, burnt, and many more
7. Pour water into each cup filled with coffee grounds
8. Let rest for 2-4 minutes
9. Skim off excess grounds from the top
10. Consider smelling the coffee again at this point as wet grounds can uncover a different flavour profile
11. Dip spoon just below the surface of the coffee, nice big spoonful
12. Bring spoon towards your mouth. Slurp in coffee quickly (loud slurps are encouraged!)
13. Try to coat the entirety of your tongue with coffee. Think spray bottle meets taste buds. Taste characteristics can include acidic, sweetness, saltiness, bitterness, and sourness.
14. Rinse spoon in warm water between cups
15. Depending on how many cups of coffee you plan to sample, it may be a good idea to spit out your mouthful to avoid being over caffeinated
16. If you are really keen, make sure to take notes of the characteristics of each cup before moving onto the next

Some would ask, “wouldn’t the coffee be over-extracted after being in the water for so long?” Yes and No. Eventually the coffee grounds will get over-extracted, but the entire cupping process is very quick, and most of the coffee grounds are at the bottom of the cup, undisturbed (thus taking samples from the top of the cup with a spoon).

There is no definitive right or wrong way for coffee cupping. Even professionals can practice slightly different protocols from each other. Also remember that what you smell and taste can be different from the person next to you. As a novice coffee lover, the main purpose of cupping is to increase your appreciation for the intricacies of coffee and to help develop your palette over time. Hope you enjoyed your intro to Coffee Cupping 101. There’rea lot of local coffee shops doing free cupping demonstrations. I highly recommend you visit one to see a pro in action. The more you try, the more you are able to develop a more sophisticated palette.

What to learn more about the different characteristics and flavor descriptions of coffee? Stay tuned for our next blog post!