
By Darren Oliver
When you enter the world of coffee for the first time, many things can seem difficult and overwhelming. For me, this type of issue was recognizing the flavor notes in the coffees I tried. For the first few months that I fell in love with specialty coffee, I couldn’t understand how some people could smell the aroma of apples, elderberries, nuts, or chocolate in coffee.
Eventually, however, I was able to possess this valuable skill for any coffee lover. Perhaps you, too, would like to learn how to distinguish flavor notes in coffee. Maybe you’d like to learn how different types of water affect the taste of coffee (to choose the best one). Maybe you’d like to learn to identify by aroma alone where a particular bean comes from. If you want to learn the ins and outs of the coffee world, you will have to try cupping at some point on your coffee path.
What Even Is Coffee Cupping?
For coffee novices who are not yet familiar with the idea of cupping, I am here to explain: cupping is nothing more than a professional “coffee tasting” – part of the routine of every coffee professional.
From a layman’s point of view, the whole process even looks a bit funny. There are usually several cuppers filled with coffee placed on a table. Those taking part in this type of event, using a special spoon (yes, there are special cupping spoons dedicated to that exact purpose) scoop a bit of the brew and then intensely “slurp” the coffee, distributing a small amount to their taste buds.
Why Do You Even Do Cupping?
There are many different reasons why cupping is conducted. Coffee roasters often conduct them to select coffee that they will then import in larger quantities to sell after roasting. Coffee shops, on the other hand, often hold them to train their baristas and increase their competence. At various coffee courses cupping is used as a method of introducing coffee laymen to the diversity and complexity of the coffee world (by directly comparing store-bought coffee with good specialty beans, they can be immediately convinced of the latter option).
Cupping is nothing more than comparing coffees with each other from different aspects. The most common type of cupping simply involves comparing several coffees that are different from each other. However, some cuppings involve comparing coffees that come from a single farm, while having undergone several different processing methods (in which case we can feel on our own taste buds the difference in aroma resulting from the use of different processing methods). I once participated in a cupping experiment that involved brewing the same coffee using eight different bottled waters from the store to discover which one was best for brewing coffee!
Evaluation is also an important part of cupping – it’s what the entire process serves. During professional cupping, participants are even provided with professional cupping charts that allow them to evaluate specific qualities of a particular coffee.
Typically, the qualities evaluated are aroma, acidity, sweetness, body (the way we “feel” the coffee, the body can be, for example, creamy, oily, like 1.5% milk), as well as the finish, which is the feeling that remains on the tongue after a sip of coffee. We can consider each of these categories in two aspects: quantitative (for example, whether there was a lot or a little acidity), and qualitative (whether it was positive or negative).

What You Need To Conduct a Coffee Cupping at Home
To conduct a cupping at home, you don’t need a lot of equipment. All you need is a cup of coffee (or preferably several coffees), a scale, a kettle, spoons, and cups (there are special cups made with cupping in mind, but if you’re just starting out, regular mugs will also work just fine).
It can also be a good idea to invite some friends! Cupping together is a great way to spend time together and discover the fascinating world of specialty coffee together!
How To Conduct Cupping at Home
Now that you know what is needed, all that’s left is to conduct cupping! Here’s how to do it: first, assign two cupping cups for each of the coffees (we do this because if there were a bean with a defect in one of them, we will know from the other that the taste of the coffee “with a defect” is not natural), put 8-10 grams of beans into each cup and grind them medium-fine (as for pour-over coffees), put the ground coffee back into the cups. Boil the water, then pour it into each of the cups (150 grams into each). Momentarily after pouring, we set the stopwatch and wait until four minutes have passed. You will notice that during this time the surface of the coffee will form what is called a “crust”. After four minutes have passed, we “break” all the crust by gently stirring it with a spoon (there are many videos on YouTube showing how to do this). Then wait another four minutes (otherwise the coffee would be too hot). With two spoons, remove the leftover grounds floating on the surface, and… done! It’s time to start the actual tasting part!
How do you “cup”? For the uninitiated, what we are about to describe may even seem a bit funny. This is because we take a little brew from the edge of the teapot with a spoon and then slurp hard! In this way, the brew is distributed over the taste buds and we feel its taste more intensively. Rinse the teaspoon with boiling water (so as not to transfer the rest of the coffee to another cup, as it could disturb the taste) and keep slurping! Repeat the whole process several times – after each “slurp,” it is worth noting down your observations on the taste of the coffee in question. It is also worth noting the change in the flavor profile of a given coffee as it cools – you will be surprised!

Your First Cupping – A Few Useful Tips
If you’re cupping with your friends and you’re just at the beginning of your coffee adventure, I have a tip for you: while cupping, try to stay quiet, and start exchanging comments on individual beans once you’re done cupping. The power of suggestion during cupping is immense. If one of you says you smell the aroma of strawberries in a particular coffee, you will all feel it.
Another tip is as follows: everyone’s taste/smell is slightly different. Even if, when cupping, everyone agrees that a particular coffee has a nutty aroma, and you smell only chocolate in it, this in no way means that anyone is wrong. There are no right or wrong answers in cupping – so don’t be afraid to express your honest opinions about specific coffees.
Finally, cupping is not a competition. Naturally, experienced coffee drinkers will be able to pinpoint flavor notes much more accurately than you. You are just beginning your coffee adventure and are constantly learning. So don’t stress if you have a little less knowledge than others – just try to have fun and discover new flavors. Certain coffee skills will come to you with time and experience.
What Have I Learned From Years of Cupping
It has been more than 7 years since my first cupping. During that time I have participated in many such events. I even had the pleasure of participating in The World’s Largest Coffee Tasting organized by James Hoffmann.
During this time I learned a lot, I learned about unparalleled processing methods, and I can accurately pinpoint flavor notes and aromas. However, the most important experience for me was getting to know the amazing people involved in the coffee industry. It is from the coffee professionals and enthusiasts I met during numerous cupping sessions that I learned the most valuable lessons. Because the best thing about coffee is the community that surrounds it.
So check to see if your local roaster is organizing a cupping in the near future. And if not, after reading this article you already know how to organize a cupping yourself! So gather your friends and go on a fascinating adventure together!
Darren Oliver has travelled all over the world on his coffee tasting adventures, including Germany, Poland, Greece and Vietnam. He’s always on the road looking for his next terrific cup of coffee.