#1 Sensory Sunday.
How to cup coffee.
almost 5 years ago I became a licensed Q Arabica grader. For those of you reading this that don’t know what that is, I will briefly explain. I do plan on publishing my thoughts and experiences of the Q program in the future but for now, I will leave you with the CQI’s (Coffee Quality Institutes) definition.
CQI Q Graders are globally recognized and work across all aspects of the value chain
The Q Grader course is broken into two parts, review and exams. The course covers job-relevant skills including cupping protocols, olfactory senses, gustatory sensory skills, green and roasted grading, organic acid identification, triangulation skills, roasted sample identification, coffee processing evaluation, and general coffee value chain knowledge.
Although this post has nothing to do with becoming a Q grader it is worth mentioning. Cupping coffee at this level has allowed me to develop my sensory analysis skills and was the start of my journey to a better understanding of what I was tasting in the end cup.
My philosophy has always been that (you are only as good as your green) and I deeply want to understand all the intrinsic elements that make for a quality coffee. Making the choice to cup coffee under protocol each day has allowed me to build a sensory frame of reference and a common vocabulary to communicate coffee quality very well. This is why I believe that no matter what level you are within the coffee industry, everyone who is serious and wants to understand more about coffee should be doing exactly the same thing.
A few basic rules:
Try to find the best equipment available to you.
Use Clean and filtered water.
Be as precise with the weights and measures as possible, try to use a set of digital scales that work to - .1g.
Get your hands on as much diverse coffee as possible.
Equipment and setting out.
Cupping bowls - anything that will allow you to brew between 200ml - 250ml of liquid.
Spoons - deep bowl spoons are preferable.
Digital scales.
Timer.
Rinsing cups.
Grinder.
Coffee beans.
Kettle
Clean and filtered water.
To start I would suggest weighing out how much water can fit in each cup. Try to use cups of the same size and uniformity but don’t worry too much if they are different.
The calculation to start you off is pretty basic. Whatever your cup holds in liquid just divide the amount by 18.18 and this will give you the amount of coffee needed. So if your cup holds 250g of water use this formula.
250 ÷18.18 = 13.75g
Next, you want to weigh out your coffee into your cups using the formula above and leave a few beans to the side of the cup once you have your set amount. These extra few beans will be used to flush through the grinder before you grind your set amount. This will stop any cross-contamination as you grind from one coffee to the next. A few grams will do the trick.
Get the kettle on and start grinding your coffee. Once you have ground all the coffee do not leave for longer than 15 minutes before you start your evaluation. Remember this is a crucial stage and you do not want all of them volatile aromatics to just disappear into the atmosphere.
Assess the dry coffee grounds. Stick your nose in the bowl and take a few deep sniffs of the grounds and move on to the next. I would recommend moving from one cup to the next in relatively quick succession to get an initial idea of the table. From there I would go back to the beginning and start building up a picture of what it is I am smelling in each individual bowl. I sometimes find if I use cup one as my reference I can work my way down the table almost always heading back to cup one after each bowl. This lets me start to compare any subtle similarities from cup to cup coming back to cup one as my reset. Also, give the inside of your elbow a sniff for a hard olfactory reset.
Once you have assessed the dry aroma it is now time to pour on your water. If your cupping bowls are all uniform then I would suggest just filling these up to the top. If your bowls are of a different size then I would use the scales to accurately measure out the water using the formula above.
Once you have poured the water start your timer. Let the coffee settle for 30 seconds then start smelling the crust that has formed on the top of the bowl. This isn’t a necessary step as you will soon break the crust and smell but I like to get an initial idea of how the aroma and fragrance have changed with the addition of water.
Next, break the crust after 4 minutes. This is done using the back of your spoon in a back-and-forth motion making sure to disturb all of the grounds releasing the aroma from underneath. Make sure to get your nose as close to the bowl as possible while you are performing this motion and also use the rinsing cups provided to rinse your spoon after each break. Once you have analysed all the cups start to remove all of the foam that has gathered on the top of the liquid.
Leave the coffee to sit for another 8 minutes to cool then you are ready to slurp away. I recommend tasting whilst still hot, be careful not to go in too hot but another 8 minutes should be adequate enough time. I would then take my time and pass from from cup to cup over the next 15 minutes taking notes of your experience.
If you are just starting out on your cupping journey my best piece of advice would be to not overthink things. Start with your basic tastes (Sweet, Sour, Bitter, Salty, Umami) Don’t go in trying to name the precise thing you are tasting. In my experience, this never ends well, it is always on the tip of your tongue but it will never materialise. Also, if you are cupping in a group, just be as relaxed as possible. You know your palate, you might not be able to articulate it yet but I can guarantee that the rest of the group is feeling the same.
The last thing I want to add is if you work in coffee do this as regularly as possible. There is no excuse for not knowing everything about the coffee you are selling. Start with different Origins then start delving deeper into processing and varieties. Ask anyone and everyone you know for help and guidnece and get in touch with your local roaster, I am positive they will love to hear from you.
Leave me a comment if you have any further questions.
Happy Sunday.
Burts.