Coffee Cupping: The Complete Beginners Guide

Have you ever heard of coffee cupping? It’s a pretty fancy process. You may think that tasting coffee is only for baristas who are experts, but this is not the case.

We’re not trying to say that you need to spend hundreds of dollars on a professional setup to start enjoying the benefits of cupping. Any coffee lover can get involved in this exciting process.

It allows coffee fanatics to express their fanaticism and passion in a way that increases their coffee knowledge and experience. It’s a fun opportunity to socialize with other coffee drinkers.

There are still a few rules you will want to follow even though I said you can be free with your creative work.

Without further ado, here is an introduction to cupping coffee.

Coffee tasting techniques terminology

When you cup coffee with others, you will probably notice some common flavors that everyone else does too. However, there are also those delicate flavors that are harder to detect and tend to stay in the background.

Make finding them part of your mission!

During the cupping, you’ll spend time smelling and tasting the coffee in several different ways. Here’s a quick list of the things you’re going to do:

Evaluate the dry aroma
Evaluate the wet aroma (twice – initially, and after breaking the “crust”)
Evaluate the taste itself, including:
- Body (is it full, rich?)
- Depth/Complexity (the various flavors themselves)
- Acidity (does it add liveliness or taste sour?)
- Finish (the residual taste afterward)

A coffee tasting notes template can help you keep focus and direction when you are tasting coffee. Intelligentsia’s cupping form is very detailed and can be downloaded in both Spanish and English! It may be useful to get a copy of a coffee notes chart before you start, as it can be very helpful to have one available.

Cupping coffee

Ok, so let’s go over how to cup coffee step by step. Place a cupping table in the center of the room and gather your supplies around it.

And remember, have fun with it!

The coffee cupping method

You should have fun while doing cupping, but there are parts of the process that need to be done in order and in a timely manner, or else you will ruin the coffee and make the cupping process harder.

Work through the process slowly and in the correct order. We have created a video guide that will show you how to complete the process.

1. Set up

You will need one bowl for each coffee you plan to cup. Place the bowls on the table in front of you. Label each bowl with a random number or symbol so you don’t know which bean is which.

Place your spoon(s) in the tall glass nearby.

Whether you’re going to be tasting coffee electronically or with pen and paper, make sure your station is ready.

2. Heat the water

Fill your kettle up with plenty of water. You will need 150 mL (.63 cups) of water per coffee. Try to keep your thermometer between 195-205 degrees Fahrenheit.

3. Prepare the coffee beans

Weigh out 4 grams of coffee beans into one bowl, and 8.25 grams into another bowl. After you finish cleaning the coffee beans, you should have two piles for each coffee bean you used.

4. Prime and grind your coffee samples

HDD capacity For each 4-gram pile of coffee, use it to prime your grinder. Save the 8.25-gram sample and put it through the machine.

Sample should be ground immediately prior to cupping, no more than 15 minutes before infusion with water. If this is not possible, samples should be covered and infused not more than 30 minutes after grinding.

Place the second batch of coffee beans in the bowl and put it back in its labeled spot.

For each coffee bean you will be cupping, repeat the process.

Pro Tip: Minimize waste! Save the coffee grounds that have been sprayed with water so you can make coffee with them later. You can experiment with different coffee beans to create your own unique blend. Use your notes as a guide to determine which beans will work well together.

5. Smell the grounds

The first real “cupping” part of the experience begins here.

Gently sniff each coffee sample, breathing through your mouth and nose. When smelling essential oils, it can be helpful to close your eyes to better focus on your sense of smell.

Get close enough so that you can completely immerse yourself in the smell. The dry aroma is what you’re trying to smell in this step.

Take notes of anything and everything you notice. Do you detect cinnamon, lavender, orange, or nuts? The author recommends using unconventional words to get the description you need.

The smell might be evocative of a particular memory or time long ago. Write it all down!

6. Add the hot water

Remember, hot water, not boiling! Once it’s ready, add 150 grams of water into the coffee grounds.

7. Smell it again

Sniff each coffee sample after adding water to all of the grounds. Bend over the bowl, open your mouth, and breathe in.

8. Break the “crust” and smell

After about 3-4 minutes of adding water, you should see a thick layer of floating coffee grounds and bubbles on the top of the bowl. This is called the “crust.”

Use two of the warmed cupping spoons to break the crust by pushing the floating grounds out of the middle of the bowl and to the sides.

Opening your mouth wide, take a deep breath in through your nose. The smell of coffee after breaking the crust is the best way to get an idea of the coffee’s flavor.

You should continue taking samples and making notes as you go.

Be sure to rinse off the spoon between each sample so they don’t contaminate each other.

After breaking the crust and smelling each coffee, stir the top of each coffee with a clean spoon. This makes the top less dense, allowing more of the grounds to sink to the bottom. Then, scoop the remaining crust away.

9. Taste the coffee

Finally, the true taste-testing has arrived!

Remove a clean spoon from the tall glass and use it to scoop coffee from the center of the bowl. Try to avoid getting any coffee grounds with it!

Swallow the coffee so that it hits the roof of your mouth and your tongue on the way down to the back of your throat. Place the medication in your mouth, hold it there for a short time, then either swallow it or spit it out.

Factors affecting coffee tasting notes

There are several factors that contribute to the differences in coffee. Before learning how to taste coffee, you should understand what these differences are.

The flavor of coffee is determined by four major factors: coffee varietal, processing method, roast level, and brewing method.

1. Coffee varietal

The coffee tasting notes will vary depending on the varietal of coffee bean and the region where it was farmed.

Coffee grown in different regions can taste different due to factors such as elevation, temperature, soil type, and the type of coffee plant.

Coffee beans from Kenya are prized for their impeccable fruity and vibrant flavors. Colombian coffee has a nutty caramel flavor with moderate acidity, making it a good choice for people who are new to drinking coffee.

2. Processing method

Coffee farmers have a few options available to them for processing their coffee. The three major processing methods are:

Natural Process
Washed Process
Honey Process

This blog post provides a summary of the differences between various coffee brewing processes. In short, the different processes used to roast coffee beans result in beans with different flavor profiles.

A washed processed coffee will taste brighter and crisper than a honey processed coffee, which will be syrupy.

3. Roast level

Roasting coffee beans helps to develop the coffee’s taste.

The roasting process simply adds heat to the coffee beans in the roasting drum. When coffee beans are roasted, sugars inside the beans are turned into caramel, which gives the coffee more depth and body.

By roasting coffee beans, some of the natural acids will be lost, resulting in less overall acidity. This means that if you want a coffee with bolder flavors, you should choose a coffee that has been roasted for a longer time. However, if you want a coffee with more natural flavors, you should choose a coffee that has been roasted for a shorter time.

4. Brewing method and recipe

The method used to brew the coffee is the final factor that determines the coffee’s taste.

The same coffee bean, when brewed as an espresso or a pour-over, produces a very different cup of coffee.

The flavors in espresso are more intense and overwhelming than pour-overs.

But being intense doesn’t mean that it’s easier to taste the coffee beans’ flavors. Different brewing methods can result in different intensities of certain flavors in the beer.

Ways to describe coffee

1. Describe the Acidity

Coffee contains acids that are similar to those found in various fruits. The only difference is the intensity of it.

Citrus fruits like oranges, grapefruits, lemons, and limes are high in Vitamin C.

2. Describe the Mouthfeel

As the coffee swirls around in your mouth. Now is the best time to evaluate the coffee’s texture and mouthfeel.

Words To Use: Crisp, Dry, Syrupy, Astringent

3. Describe the Aftertaste

You are describing the aftertaste after you have swallowed the coffee.

This wine has fruity notes like berries and floral notes. It also has nutty notes.

4. Describe the Aroma

The best time to judge and describe the aroma of coffee is when it is freshly brewed, as most of the aromatic compounds are still present.

The perfume has floral notes like rose and jasmine, and fruity notes like peach and blueberry.

5. Describe the Body

The body of the coffee is the part you can feel when it coats your tongue as you taste it.

Words To Use: Heavy, Medium, Thin

6. Describe the Fragrance

Easily confused with aroma. The fragrance of coffee is the smell of the ground coffee before it is extracted. The natural fragrance of ground coffee is usually from the coffee cherry.

This perfume has floral notes like rose and jasmine, as well as fruity notes like peach and blueberry.

7. Describe the Flavor

When describing coffee, you use adjectives to describe the flavor and characteristics of the coffee.

Words To Use: sweet, sour, tart, bitter, astringent.

8. Describe the Region

The region where coffee is grown often dictates its flavor profile. For example, Ethiopian coffees are well-known for their uniquely fruity taste.

Words To Use: Ethiopian, Columbian, Guatemala

9. Describe the Roast

How the coffee is roasted plays a big role in how it will taste.

Words To Use: Light, Medium, Medium-Dark and Dark Roast

Closing notes

Now that you know what to look for in coffee tasting notes, go to your favorite café and order a cup of coffee. I dare you to start distinguishing different flavors in coffee.

Feel free to ask your barista about the different flavors in the coffee and they will be happy to talk to you (if they’re not too busy).

You can make great coffee at home by using different types of beans. You could create your own blend that you prefer. In the end, it all comes down to what you prefer.