Coffee Tasting or Cupping

Cupping is a method coffee tasters use to evaluate a coffee's characteristics. If you really want to learn more about the traits of different coffees, this is a great way to do it.

Just the fact that you would be willing to try this means you’re well on your way to becoming a true coffee snob! So let’s get started.

First, you will need the following:

• A few kinds of fresh, whole bean coffee (if you want to compare)

• Grinder(preferably a burr grinder)

• Tea kettle for near boiling water

• Tablespoon

• Porcelain cups (8 oz.) for each coffee

• Silver spoon

• A cup (for spitting the coffee out)

Aroma is a major component of taste, try to do this where there are no strong, perfume-like smells in the air.

Here are the procedures for cupping:

1. Grind each coffee to a medium-course ground similar to course sand or raw sugar. Do not grind coffee too fine or it will become over-extracted and taste bitter.
2. Fill cup with 2 heaping tablespoons of the ground coffee.
3. Add 6 oz. of nearly boiling water (about 200 degrees)
4. Steep for 2-3 minutes. The coffee should form a crust or “cap” on top of the water. While steeping, check the coffee for any sour smells. Sour smells are bad and could indicate old or rancid coffee.
5. Gently break the crust with your spoon by pushing the grounds back exposing the water. You should notice a fine-celled foam. If there is no foam, the coffee may not be fresh. Again smell the coffee because much of the fragrance is trapped under this crust. Pay extra attention to the fragrance because it is so important to the taste. As you continue to break the crust, the grounds will sink to the bottom of the cup.
6. Fill your spoon with the brewed coffee avoiding the floating grounds.
7. Slurp the coffee into your mouth with some force. This will mix air with the coffee and disperse it evenly throughout your mouth.
8. Swirl the coffee around your mouth to get a good feel for the overall flavor.
9. Spit the coffee out and rinse mouth with water before tasting another.

While you are tasting the coffee, here are the major characteristics you should be paying attention to:

Acidity - The sensation of dryness in the back and under the edges of your mouth. This is a desirable quality and not to be confused with sour (which is considered a bad quality of coffee). Acidity creates a lively, bright taste which without it, the coffee would taste flat.

Aroma – Without aroma, we could only taste sweet, sour, bitter and salty. This is where we get the subtle differences such as floral, nutty or fruity.

Body – The way the coffee feels in your mouth, its viscosity or heaviness. The best way to describe it is the comparison to how whole milk feels in your mouth compared to water. If you are unsure as to the level of body in the different coffees, add an equal amount of milk to each one and the one with the heavier body will retain more of its flavor when diluted.

Flavor – This is the overall perception of the three characteristics above. Flavor can be rich (full bodied), complex (multi-flavored), or balanced (no one characteristic over powers the other.

Here are some terms used to describe DESIRABLE flavor qualities:

Bright or dry – highly acidic leaving a dry aftertaste
Caramelly – caramel like or syrupy
Chocolaty – aftertaste similar to unsweetened chocolate or vanilla
Earthy – a soily-like quality (sometimes unfavorable)
Fragrant – an aroma ranging from floral to nutty to spicy, etc.
Fruity – having a citrus or berry scent
Mellow – a smooth taste lacking acidity but not flat
Nutty – similar to roasted nuts
Spicy – an exotic aroma of various spices
Sweet – a lack of harshness
Wild – a gamey flavor rarely, but sometimes considered favorable
Winy – aftertaste resembling a mature wine

Here are some terms used to describe UNDESIRABLE flavor qualities:

Bitter – aftertaste perceived on the back of the tongue
Bland – neutral in flavor
Carbony – burnt charcoal flavors
Earthy – a musty, soily-like quality
Flat – lacking aroma, acidity, and aftertaste
Grassy – aroma and taste of grass
Harsh – a caustic, raspy quality
Muddy – thick and flat
Musty – slightly stuffy smell (sometimes desirable in aged coffees)
Rubbery – a smell of burnt rubber
Sour – a tart flavor such as unripe fruit
Turpeny – a flavor resembling turpentine
Watery – a lack of body
Wild – a gamey flavor

Tasting the Roasts

As coffee is roasted, it goes from a sharper, more acidic taste, to a smoother more full bodied taste, and finally to a full bodied, almost charred taste. Here is a breakdown of the typical roasts followed by the flavor characteristics.

• Cinnamon or Light Roast (Light brown and dry surface): a bright, acidic, toasted grain taste.

• Medium High or Regular Roast (Milk chocolate brown with a dry surface): acidic and bright but lacks the grain taste.

• Full City or High Roast (Darker brown with a satin appearance): Slight bittersweet tang with less acidity.

• French, Italian, or Espresso Roast (Dark chocolate with patches of oil): Very little acidity and noticeably bittersweet.

• Dark French or Heavy (Almost black and very oily): Almost no acidity and very bittersweet.