Cupping is one of the tasting techniques used to evaluate the aroma and flavour profile of a coffee. We cup coffee to understand the subtle differences between coffee growing regions and it is important to taste different coffees side-by-side. It’s great fun too! If you would like to try cupping at home with your new coffee selections, follow the few steps below:
- Use cups of 150 ml capacity (that’s a small coffee cup) – one for each coffee you would like to cup
- For each cup grind 8 – 8.5g of beans (roughly a tablespoon of beans). You are looking for a coarse grind
- Tip the ground coffee into a cup and fill the cup to the brim with nearly boiling water (approximately 96°C)
- Let the coffee brew for 4 minutes
- After 4 minutes gently stir the grounds at the top of the cup into the water and leave to settle
- Scoop the remaining grounds and bloom from the top of the coffeeBegin by smelling each of the coffees and noticing the different aromas
- Once the coffee is cool enough you can begin slurping the coffees
- Take a spoon and slurp the coffee strongly so that the coffee spreads evenly over the tongue. This also allows tiny droplets to reach the throat and nasal passage.
- Note the coffee on its taste, acidity, aftertaste and body. It is helpful to write these down so that you can compare all 4 coffees.
- You may want to re-visit you’re coffees after a few minutes as it is often possible to detect new flavours once the coffee has cooled. The best coffees will have positive characteristics when hot and cold.
Happy ‘cupping’