Evaluating Coffee: A Professional Cupping

At a professional coffee cupping, experts evaluate brewed coffee with all the sniffing, slurping and spitting typical of a wine tasting. And the language can be just as arcane, the descriptors just as far-reaching as those used to differentiate wines. Blueberry, black currant, cedar, earth…in coffee?

The best way to become a more enlightened coffee consumer is to pay close attention to what's in the cup. Putting words to what you are smelling and tasting will help you become more discriminating.

It's easy to set up a cupping, on your own or with friends or colleagues, to practice your skills. Here's how:

Ask a merchant for help in choosing three types of beans that are noticeably different in style.

Using freshly ground beans, make your three tasting samples. In each of three identical cups, put 2 level tablespoons of coffee. Bring filtered or spring water to a boil, then let stand for a minute or two until it cools to 195°F-205°F. Pour 5 ounces of the hot water into each cup and let steep for about 3 minutes. A crust of grounds will form on the surface.

Put your nose right over one of the cups and use a spoon to break the crust. Inhale immediately and fully. This moment is the peak aroma experience, so pay attention. Find words for what you are smelling and write them down. Repeat with the other two samples.

Most of the grounds will fall to the bottom of the cup after you break the crust. Spoon off any remaining grounds on the surface. Using a spoon, taste the first sample, slurping it vigorously so that the liquid coats your palate and the aromas reach your nasal passages. Evaluate the body, acidity, flavor and finish, making notes. Don't worry about using the "right" descriptors; use the words that come to mind. You can spit the sample, or swallow it. (Professionals spit.) Then repeat with the other two samples, rinsing the spoon between each one.



Watch Major Cohen of Starbucks Coffee demonstrate the methods of the professional coffee cupper.

Aroma: Coffees exhibit a wide range of aromas, reflecting the beans' origins and how they were processed and roasted. Among the scents you might find: floral notes like jasmine or rose; fruity smells, such as cherry or blueberry; hints of nuts, vanilla, chocolate, spice, wood, tobacco, smoke, mushrooms or earth. Poorly processed coffees may have musty, moldy or medicinal smells that most experts would consider taints.

Body and Mouthfeel: Is the coffee thin and light, or rich and full? Body and mouthfeel refer to the textural impression a coffee makes. Full-bodied coffees—like wines—seem to have a lot of "stuffing." Note how the coffee feels on your tongue. Is it smooth, buttery, oily, lush, watery or rough? A full-bodied coffee is like Port wine: it almost feels thick on the tongue.

Acidity: All coffee needs acidity to give it life. Coffee that lacks acid seems dull and flabby. But some coffees, especially high-grown ones, have an elevated acidity that may not appeal to you. A coffee with plentiful acidity will seem brisk, vibrant, alive. You may perceive a high-acid coffee as winy or fruity, a low-acid one as mellow. Both can be high-quality coffees, but watch out for extremes: coffees so acidic that they seem sharp and sour or so low in acid that they seem flat.

Flavor: Our palates can only identify five flavors: sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami (the savory taste). Only three—sweet, sour and bitter—have relevance to coffee. Even without sugar, coffee may convey a sweet impression from the caramelized sugars in the beans. Acidity in coffee is desirable, but biting sourness is not. An appealing bitterness is common to dark-roasted coffees (think espresso) as long as it's not overdone. Also note whether the flavors seem complex, layered and harmonious, or not compelling enough to hold your interest.

Finish: What happens after you swallow or spit the coffee? Does the flavor linger or change? Make note of these final impressions. Just as with wine, good coffee has a long and pleasurable finish.



Learn what makes a great latte.



The Latte Challenge.

Recipe links:
Coffee Crackers with Port Aged Cheddar Spread