Cupping Coffee at Home

Supplies you will need:

1. A coffee grinder
2. A gram scale to weigh coffee
3. 4 cups or small bowls (should be large enough to hold 250mL or about 8 ounces)
4. A soup spoon for each person tasting
5. An empty dish or bowl for wet coffee grounds
6. 20 grams of coffee for each coffee you will be tasting
7. Water

 

Practical Guide to Cupping Coffee at Home

1. Heat the water:  You will use 50mL for each coffee that you are tasting.  So heat enough water.  Heat the water to 205F.  (Helpful trick: if you don’t have a thermometer or electric kettle bring water to a full boil, turn the heat off and wait 30 seconds.  This will result in water that is ABOUT 205F.)
2. Prime the coffee grinder: Grind 10 grams of coffee and then throw it away to prime the grinder and clear any residual coffee that you previously ran through the grinder.  (Helpful trick: 10 grams of coffee is roughly equal to 1.5 tablespoons of whole coffee beans.)
3. Grind the coffee:  Grind an additional 10 grams of coffee and place it in one of the bowls.
4. Repeat for other coffees:  Repeat steps 2 and 3 for each coffee you are cupping.  Remember to prime the grinder with the coffee you are using before grinding it.
5. Smell:  Before you add water smell the coffee grounds.
6. Add water: Add 50mL of water at 205F to each bowl.
7. Brew: Allow the water and coffee mixture to brew for 3 minutes.
8. Break the Crust:  After 3 minutes there will be a crust of coffee ground on the top of each bowl.  Use the bottom end of the spoon to lightly break the crust.  This will release gases trapped under the crust so be use to smell the amazing around each time you break the crust.  Rinse your spoon between each bowl.
9. Remove the Crust:  Scoop the remaining grounds off the top of the coffee.  Be careful to not disturb the grounds at the bottom.
10. Wait:  Allow the coffee to cool and ground to settle to the bottom by waiting 1-2 minutes.
11. Taste:  It’s finally time to taste or cup the coffee!  Use the soup spoon to take coffee from the top of the bowl.  Taste it by slurping it loudly and fast into your mouth (this allows the coffee to spray across your palate and helps you taste subtle flavors).  Write down what flavors you are tasting and your overall impression of the coffee.
12. Try each coffee:  Try each coffee you have cupped.  As you move from one coffee to another make sure to rinse your spoon in a cup of hot water.  After you and your friends have tasted each coffee compare notes.

 

Angels’ Cup:

In the episode I mentioned a coffee subscription service that let you try unknown coffee, Angels’ Cup.  Check them out at angelscup.com.