How to do coffee cupping at home?

What is coffee cupping? What is the significance of coffee cupping?

Cupping is one of the objective methods of evaluating coffee. In the past, the mainstream was to use a negative evaluation method to find the "defects" of coffee beans (called Brazilian evaluation). However, specialty coffee is originally high-quality coffee, so later the focus of evaluation shifted to finding "advantages" rather than "defects", and the negative evaluation method was no longer used, but the positive evaluation method was used.

This evaluation method is mainly divided into two categories. One is the cupping regulations promoted by the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) worldwide; the other is the standards set by the Cup of Excellence (COE).

The SCA cupping method evaluates coffee beans in containers (about 250 60 kg sacks). This method is suitable for evaluating large quantities of coffee beans and is intended to distinguish between specialty coffee and commercial coffee. The COE cupping method selects the top coffees and is used to carefully evaluate small batches of coffee.

Ordinary cupping of coffee generally needs to measure the following characteristics: moist aroma (the intensity of the smell of brewed coffee), body (the weight of the coffee liquid in the mouth), flavor (the taste of the coffee when it enters the mouth), acidity (whether the sourness of the coffee is bright, lively, sharp, or dull), sweetness (the intensity of the sweetness left when the coffee liquid rotates in the mouth), and aftertaste (the flavor and smell left after the coffee liquid is tasted in the mouth and spit out).

Cupping by professional organizations is more detailed. In addition to the above points, they also evaluate and score items such as dry aroma, consistency, cleanliness, taste, overall impression, stains, defects, etc.

The purpose of cupping is to make a comprehensive and fair evaluation of a certain type or batch of coffee. For ordinary coffee lovers, it is enough to have a proper understanding and give their own opinions on a cup of coffee when tasting it.

How to do cupping at home?

According to SCA standards, coffee cupping has a strict process, which is not only about tasting a cup of coffee, but also includes processes such as roasting and extraction. When we do cupping at home, we don’t have to follow all those cumbersome processes, and we can simplify the operation appropriately. In your spare time on weekends, it is also a very interesting thing to invite three or five coffee lovers to do cupping together and then talk about coffee flavors together. Let’s go!

When doing cupping at home, you just need to pay attention to the following aspects.

Sample bean selection

Do your own cupping at home. You can cup any beans you are interested in and you can get them. Pay attention to the roasting time of the beans and try to do it 24 hours after the beans are roasted. Premium beans purchased through online shopping channels usually arrive two days after roasting, so it is just the right time to cup them. When cupping, you can choose the same bean, or you can choose 2-5 beans to cup at the same time. Cupping different beans at the same time can also distinguish the subtle differences in flavor.

Coffee Extraction

1. You need 3-5 thick glass or ceramic cups with a capacity of 150~180 ml, which are clean, odorless, and of uniform size and material. The cup measuring spoon is round and deep-bottomed, with a capacity of 8~10 ml, which is convenient for sucking.

2. The coarseness of the coffee powder must be uniform.

3. The ratio of coffee bean weight (g) to water volume (ml) is 1:18.

4. The extraction water temperature for each cup should be 93℃.

5. Soak the coffee powder in the cup for 4 minutes without stirring, then break the grounds, smell the moist aroma, and make a comprehensive evaluation after removing the grounds.

Coffee Evaluation

The evaluation can be divided into six steps.

Step 1: Grind and smell the dry fragrance

Grind 10 grams of coffee beans, put them in 3-5 sample cups, and then smell the gas released by the coffee powder. The aroma reflects the essence of the taste of the coffee beans, and the strength of the aroma reflects the freshness of the coffee, that is, the time the coffee beans are left from roasting to grinding into powder. The aroma comes from those volatile aromatic compounds.

Step 2: Break the slag and smell the wet fragrance

Pour 180 ml of hot water into 10g of freshly ground coffee powder and soak for 4 minutes. At this time, a cap-shaped shell will form on the water surface. Use a coffee spoon to break up the shell, inhale the released smell through your nose, and feel the rich aroma from fruity, grassy to nutty. The intensity of the aroma is related to the origin and the freshness of the coffee.

Step 3: Sip and savor

Use a cupping spoon to take out 6-8 ml of coffee liquid and quickly suck it into your mouth to evenly distribute it on the surface of your tongue. Feel the sweet, salty, sour and bitter tastes that appear at the end of the sensory nerves. Paying attention to the reactions of different sensitive areas on the tongue can help us grasp different characteristics. Hold the coffee liquid in your mouth for 3-5 seconds, focusing on the type and intensity of the taste.

Step 4: Sip and savor the aroma

The smell and taste of coffee are experienced simultaneously. When coffee is inhaled through the surface of the tongue, the change in water vapor pressure causes some of the organic matter in the water to change from liquid to gas. The action of inhaling coffee vigorously causes the gas to enter the nasal cavity, allowing the cup taster to analyze the smell of the coffee. At the same time, evaluating the taste and smell of coffee can feel the unique taste characteristics of coffee.

Step 5: Savor the taste slowly

Hold the coffee liquid in your mouth for a few seconds, then swallow a small portion. Quickly suck your throat to send the water vapor left on the back of the palate into the nasal cavity. Using the retronasal sense of smell, you can detect the smell of the heavier molecules left on the back of the palate. The aroma of various compounds felt in the aftertaste stage is sweet, similar to chocolate; or campfire smoke, or cigar smoke; sometimes there is a stimulating spice smell, such as cloves; sometimes it is like resin, similar to rosin; sometimes all of these smells.

Step 6: Feel the Thickness

After swallowing the coffee, gently slide your tongue across the roof of your mouth to feel the texture of the coffee. The oiliness and smoothness can reflect the fat content of the coffee, while the heaviness, thickness and viscosity can reflect the fiber and protein content of the coffee. These together constitute the mellowness of the coffee.