What's a Cupping?
A cupping is the practice of experiencing different coffees via the senses, particularly by taste and smell. During our cuppings, we compare single-origin coffees from various regions and reflect on our perceptions of them:
· What does this coffee smell like?
· What flavor notes can we identify?
· How does it feel on the palate?
· Is it characteristic of a coffee from a particular origin, or a particular processing technique?
· Have we tasted a coffee like this in the past?
· Which one(s) do you like?
By tasting these various coffees comparatively, we are better able to distinguish the traits of coffees by origin and even sometimes variety. Cuppings are a great way to develop one’s palate. Fun fact- did you know you have taste buds in the back of your throat? Forget what Grandma told you about how rude slurping is. At our cuppings, we quickly slurp a spoonful of coffee so it ideally reaches said taste buds (and cools a little in the process) in order to experience every aspect of the coffee’s flavor profile.
Over at our 31st street location, we hold cuppings in our training center about once or twice a week. Check out our Facebook for the weekly schedule, and feel free to ask our baristas more about the cuppings!
Soyoung K.