Cupping Coffee... The Real Taste of Coffee!
Posted by Cindy Hofmeister-Thomas on Wed, Jun 24, 2009 @ 02:50 PM
The best way to learn and understand the different characteristics(acidity, aroma, body and flavor) of coffee beans is to experience them. Thebest way to experience them is to participate in a coffee cupping, or coffeetasting with High Point Coffee.
High Point’s aim is to introduce you to what cupping is, why wecup, how we cup and some of the more commonly used terms and evaluationmethods.
People in the trade will have you believe that coffee cupping is ascience, an exact art requiring a lot of expertise. To some extent this can betrue, but this should not put off the enthusiast from enjoying it too. It canbe very simple (and enjoyable) and there are no right or wrong answers. Yourpalette may pick up hints of a taste that the most season cupper would not, aseach person can find different things in the cup.
What is cupping? Cupping is a method of evaluating differentcharacteristics of a particular coffee bean. Cupping allows us to compare andcontrast coffees against each other, and allows us to get a betterunderstanding of each coffee. Its importantthat you so use the same method each time as this can have an effect on theresults, so if cupping is being used as a comparison / evaluation tool thenuniformity is key.
Why cup? We cup coffees to understand their basic tastes.This can help us understand where different coffees could be slotted intoblends not only for this brewing method but all other methods too. It alsomakes us look at coffee in its basic form and appreciate some of its finerpoints. As already said it's a fantastic evaluation tool for something thatchanges from farm to farm, region to region, country to country and crop tocrop.
So what are you looking for…
Fragrance of dry grounds: Does it smell fresh? Does it smell stale? Overroasted? Under roasted?
Fragrance of wet grounds: Aroma: what's there? The water mixing with thecoffee and oxygen will produce a more intense smell than with the dry grounds
Acidity / Liveliness: Acidity in coffee can be a welcome attribute, orit can be a most unwelcome one. In one form it can give liveliness andfreshness to the flavor. In another form it can appear as sourness. Coffeewithout acidity is lifeless. Coffee with too much or the wrong sort ofacidity can be unpleasant, even sour. If the acidity is unpleasant, pleasant,fresh, sour, or whatever - make a note.
Body: Body is a description of the fullness and richness of the feel ofthe coffee in your mouth.
Flavour / Depth: What's there? This is the fun part. Is therechocolate? Fruit?
Finish: What does the coffee leave in your mouth whenyou have finished? Aftertaste is a very important part of the cup.
Do not be intimidated by people that try to impress you with someabstract description of a coffee. This is more of a romantic tribute to acoffee rather than a reality. Cupping coffee should be fun and interesting, butnot a contest of who is more articulate. On the other hand, your descriptionshould be more substantial than a reiteration of a textbook definition of acoffee.