Cupping - The Art of Coffee Tasting
Cupping is the professional term for coffee tasting and you might be wondering how it is done and why all the fancy talk when professionals do it. Coffee tasting is considered as an art particularly by serious coffee drinkers and aficionados.
The need process of coffee tasting is simple, but it follows a specific standard in characterizing the flavor, aroma and overall attributes of the coffee. An expert cupper has the tongue and nose that help categorize and characterize the coffee in question.
Although it may take some time for an individual to develop the skill of characterizing and analyzing coffee, it is still good to practice once in a while to acquire the knowledge that experts have. You don’t need to have all the fancy coffee and stuff to begin learning the art of coffee tasting. All you need is the basic coffee preparation techniques and the keen sense of smell and taste.
You may search the internet for information about the standard coffee tasting specifications if you want an in depth experiment. But for the meantime, practice only with the basics.
Your Own Coffee Tasting Event at Home
Practicing with what you have at the moment can help you develop the sense of taste and smell for coffee. If you are already a coffee lover, more or less you know which coffee is good from the not. Your coffee experience from known coffee shops will help you for the meantime as the coffees sold in popular coffee houses are high grade.
First, you need to know the basis of analyzing coffee. Expert cuppers are after the flavor, aroma, acidity, body, finish, bitterness, sharpness, nuttiness and other subtle characteristics of their coffee subjects.
For better brews, prepare filtered water sufficient for several tasting cups. Filtered water is ideal for brewing coffee since it is free from impurities but has the quality that enhances the flavor of coffee. Boil the water and turn down the heat to about 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
Prepare a tray with 12 small bowls or glasses. Prepare spoons, scoopers and other tools of the trade.
Grind the coffee beans with a burr grinder. Use different settings for every batch and find out the difference between batches. Steep each batch for a few minutes and then filter the coffee as you pour into each bowl/glass.
Savor the aroma and taste by rolling the coffee in your mouth. Hold the liquid for a few seconds before spitting it out into a bucket.
Look for characteristic tastes and jot it down for every batch. Experiment with different types of coffee and compare your findings. Try coffees from different regions, different roasts and blends.
Coffee tasting is an experience you will enjoy at home. Who knows, you might become one of the best cuppers in the world someday.
