Cupping

Learn from scratch how you can cup and evaluate your coffee beans.

coffee beans in spoon

In short...

  1. Get all the equipment and accesories for coffee cupping.
  2. Set-up the cupping table.
  3. Prepare the coffee samples.
  4. Cup the coffee(s).
  5. If you want to cup at home, you can follow the SCA cupping protocol, but without scoring the different flavors. Focus on tastes and aromas and put your impressions and descriptions down on a blank sheet. That's how you will train your palate and become more confident during the process.

Fruit basket

In short...

  • Coffee gets its flavors in each step along the value chain, from origin to the brewing process.
  • Humans perceive tastes through the taste buds located on the tongue.
  • Different areas on the tongue perceive the 5 main tastes: sweetness, saltiness, acidity, bitterness and umami.
  • In order to cup or taste appropiately coffee, focus on just one taste at a time and on the corresponding area on the tongue. Especially beginners should follow this technique to get uses to the process.

Coffee cup on table

In short...

  • Coffee cupping is a standardized evaluation system, which is used to assess green coffee quality and the quality of a roast.
  • During the cupping process only roasted coffee and water is used, no filter.
  • Coffee tasting refers to the evaluation of flavors after coffee was prepared in a brewing method. It is used to assess the quality of the brew and detect potential errors which might occur during extraction.
  • Coffee cupping and tasting should be used together to get a broad view on coffee`s sensory properties.