My Coffee Cupping Experience

 Discover the world of coffee cupping and enhance your coffee-tasting skills with this personal account of a coffee cupping experience. Learn about the process, techniques, and the art of appreciating different coffee flavors and aromas.

measuring cup with coffee grounds and water being used as a cupping bowl



measuring bowl with coffee grounds demonstrating the first step

adding water to the measuring bowl demonstrating step two

tasting a sample of the coffee using a spoon


Introduction to coffee cupping

    Have you ever heard of Coffee Cupping? It's a process of tasting different coffees and comparing them to evaluate their qualities. While it requires a sophisticated taste catalog to become a professional coffee taster, anyone can utilize this process at home and decide what they like. 

Instructions

    To start, you can get a few different types of coffee from the grocery store by purchasing small amounts from the bulk chutes. Alternatively, you can invite friends over, and each of them can bring their own bag of coffee. You'll also need some containers for the coffee, which can be small baking dishes or actual cupping bowls. Using containers with measuring marks can help you pour the right amount of water. You'll need to use the same strength across all samples, and a basic calculator on your cell phone can help you determine the amount of coffee to use. After grinding the beans and pouring water, you can observe any differences in the coffee's aroma and appearance. Let the samples sit for a few minutes, then spoon off the top and taste the coffee. Try each sample side by side and ask yourself questions about each one's distinct qualities.

Questions to ask

  •     What flavors did this remind me of?
  •     How is A different than B?
  •     Which ones do I like most and why?
  •     Can I notice different textures? (oily, thicker, etc...)
  •     Does one have a taste that lingers around longer?

Conclusions

This is an interesting experiment to try if you have never done this before.  One of the things that I really got out of this was kind of like looking at a picture today and then looking at another tomorrow and noticing that they are of different people is not the same as looking at the two pictures side by side and comparing and contrasting them.  Trying this yourself will help take you leaps ahead in enjoying coffee because there is nothing better than deciding for yourself which coffees you like and why.

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