Cupping at home
- Cupping treats every coffee identically, so the differences you taste come from the beans.
- 8.25 g to 150 ml (about 1:18), a little coarser than drip, water about 93°C.
- Break the crust at about four minutes, skim, then slurp from about 70°C as the cups cool.
How the trade tastes
Cupping is how roasters and buyers taste: grounds, hot water, a cup and a spoon. Every coffee gets identical treatment, so any difference you taste belongs to the beans. You met it with a mug; here it is with a straight face.
The recipe, decimals and all
The standard is 8.25 g of coffee to 150 ml of water — about 1:18, a touch lighter than your everyday brew. For a mug, 11 g to 200 ml matches it.
Before the water
Grind a little coarser than for drip, just before you start; heat the water to about 93°C; weigh every cup the same. Then smell the dry grounds — that’s the fragrance, and it counts.
- weigh every cup the same: Identical treatment is the whole point: any difference you taste then belongs to the beans.
- a little coarser than drip: Grind a little coarser than for paper drip, and grind it just before you start.
- water about 93°C: Heat the water to about 93°C and pour to the brim, wetting every ground.
- smell the dry grounds: Before the water, smell each cup of dry grounds. That’s the fragrance, and it counts.
The session, in order
Put a cupping session in order.
- Smell the dry grounds
- Pour to the brim
- Break the crust
- Skim the foam
- Slurp as it cools
Fragrance, pour, break, skim, slurp. The timer starts at the pour, and every cup on the table gets exactly the same treatment.
Four minutes, then the break
A crust of grounds rises and seals the top like a pie lid. Leave it alone for three to five minutes; four is the usual call. Then comes the break.
Nose over the bowl, you push the spoon through the crust. What arrives?
Answer: The biggest hit of aroma in coffee. The biggest hit of aroma there is. Keep your nose close, stir three times, then skim the foam and the floaters before anyone tastes.
Push it through
Your turn. Push the spoon through and stir three times: that burst of aroma is the best smell in coffee. Then skim, rinsing the spoon between cups.
The session as a clock
Fifteen minutes from the pour: what happens when, and why you wait to taste.
Slurp as it cools
Start slurping once the cups fall to about 70°C, some 8–10 minutes after the pour. Visit each cup two or three times as it cools, for it changes.
What gets judged last
As a cupping bowl cools, which of these gets judged last?
Answer: Sweetness, as the cup nears room temperature. Aroma is loudest while it’s hot, so flavor and finish go first; acidity and body come in between.
The spit cup
A spit cup isn’t bad manners, merely good sense: a dozen slurps from three coffees add up to real caffeine.
“Treat every cup alike and the beans have only themselves to answer for.”