How to Cup Coffee Like a Pro

Cupping is the standard way the coffee world tastes and scores coffee. Here is how it works and how to do it yourself.

Cupping is how the coffee industry tastes coffee, from farms and importers to roasters and competitions. It strips away the variables of a fancy brew method and lets you compare coffees on a level field. The beauty of it is that the setup is simple, so anyone can do it with a few cups and a spoon.

Why cupping works

Every brew method adds its own bias. Cupping removes most of them by using the same ratio, grind and water for every cup, so differences you taste come from the coffee, not the technique. It is the most honest, repeatable way to evaluate and compare beans, which is why it is the global standard for quality control.

The setup

  • Use identical cups or bowls, one or more per coffee.
  • Weigh the same dose in each, a common ratio is about 8.25 grams of coffee to 150 ml of water.
  • Grind slightly coarser than filter, and grind each coffee fresh right before cupping.
  • Use clean, good-tasting water heated to just off the boil, around 93 degrees Celsius.

The steps

1. Smell the dry grounds. Before adding water, sniff each cup and note the fragrance.

2. Add water and wait. Pour water over the grounds, saturating them evenly, and let them steep for about four minutes. A crust of grounds will form on top.

3. Break the crust. Lean in with a spoon, push the crust back, and smell the aroma that releases. This wet aroma is one of the most revealing moments.

4. Skim. Clear the floating grounds and foam off the top with two spoons.

5. Taste by slurping. Take a spoonful and slurp it hard so it sprays across your whole palate. Slurping sounds rude and works brilliantly, because it aerates the coffee and spreads it over every taste area.

6. Taste again as it cools. Coffee changes as the temperature drops, and many flaws and sweet notes only appear when it is warm rather than hot. Cup it across several temperatures.

What you are evaluating

Professionals score several attributes: fragrance and aroma, flavor, aftertaste, acidity, body, balance, sweetness, uniformity and cleanliness. You do not need a scoresheet to start. Just ask simple questions. Is it sweet or sharp? Light or heavy? Clean or muddy? What does the flavor remind you of? Writing short notes trains your palate faster than anything else.

Why it is worth doing

Cupping is how you decide which green to buy, check that a roast is doing the coffee justice, and catch defects before customers do. For a roaster it is quality control. For anyone who loves coffee, it is the fastest way to learn to taste. Set up three coffees side by side, cup them the same way, and the differences that were invisible in a normal cup suddenly become obvious.