What is SCA Coffee Cupping? The Professional Benchmark

• Quality Control: Ensuring consistency in roasting and green coffee.
• Buying Decisions: Assessing green coffee samples before purchasing large lots.
• Profile Development: Understanding and describing a coffee's unique flavor attributes coffee.
• Training: Calibrating palates among coffee professionals. The core idea is to minimize variables (like brewing method) so the focus remains purely on the coffee's intrinsic qualities, assessed through a structured process and a common vocabulary.

Inside the Lab: The Official SCA Cupping Protocol Steps

The Setup: Precision is Paramount

• Ratio: A specific coffee-to-water ratio, typically 8.25 grams of coffee (± 0.25g) to 150ml of water.
• Grind Size: Coarser than espresso, similar to filter coffee, ground immediately before cupping. Uniformity is key.
• Water: Clean, filtered water heated to 200°F ± 2°F (93°C ± 1°C).
• Vessels: Tempered glass or ceramic bowls holding 7-9 fl oz (207-266 ml). Multiple bowls per sample ensure uniformity checks.
• Tools: Rounded cupping spoons (for tasting and breaking crust), timers, hot water kettle, spittoons (optional but common), and the official SCA cupping form for scoring.

Step 1: Evaluate Fragrance (Dry Grounds)

Step 2: Pour & Evaluate Aroma (Wet Crust)

Step 3: Breaking the Crust

Step 4: Skimming the Surface

Step 5: Tasting (The Slurp!)

The Evaluation: Using the SCA Cupping Form

• Fragrance/Aroma: Smell of dry grounds / wet grounds after crust break.
• Flavor: The combined impression of taste and retronasal aroma, assessed via slurping. Notes might range from fruity to chocolatey.
• Aftertaste: The lingering flavor perception after swallowing or spitting. Is it pleasant and clean, or harsh?
• Acidity: Often perceived as brightness or liveliness ("good" acidity) vs. sharpness or sourness ("bad" - potentially indicating sour coffee due to defects or under-extraction). Evaluated for quality.
• Body: The perceived weight, texture, or viscosity of the coffee on the tongue (e.g., light, heavy, syrupy, thin). Evaluated for quality.
• Balance: How well do Flavor, Aftertaste, Acidity, and Body fit together? Are they harmonious?
• Uniformity: Do all cups of the same sample taste identical? (Requires multiple bowls per sample).
• Clean Cup: Is the coffee free from distracting off-flavors or taints?
• Sweetness: Is there a pleasant, natural sweet coffee perception?
• Overall: A summary score reflecting the cupper's holistic impression.
• Defects: Specific negative flavors are noted and penalize the score. Understanding the difference between intended bitterness (as in some dark roasts or bitter coffee varieties) and defect bitterness, or clarifying the bitter vs sour confusion, is part of a cupper's skill. They use precise words to describe coffee for defects too (e.g., phenolic, rubbery, fermented).

From Lab to Living Room: Adapting Coffee Tasting Techniques at Home

Your Simplified Home Cupping Toolkit

• Vessels: 2-3 standard mugs or heatproof bowls per coffee sample (allows comparison). Make sure they're the same size.
• Spoons: Regular soup spoons work fine. Have one per cup, plus one for skimming if you like.
• Kettle: To heat your water (just off the boil is usually fine for home use, approx 200-205°F or 93-96°C).
• Grinder: A burr grinder is best for consistency.
• Coffee: Your favorite whole beans! Try comparing two different ones.
• Scale (Optional but Recommended): Helps with consistency. Aim for a common ratio like 1:16 (e.g., 15g coffee to 250g water). If no scale, use consistent scoops (e.g., 2 level tbsp coffee per 6oz water).
• Timer: Your phone works perfectly.
• Notepad & Pen (Optional): To jot down impressions.

Walking Through Your Home Coffee Tasting Session

1. Dry Fragrance: Grind your coffee (medium-coarse). Divide evenly between your cups (if comparing multiple coffees, use separate cups for each). Lean in and smell the dry grounds deeply. What do you notice?
2. Pour & Wet Aroma: Start your timer. Pour hot water over the grounds, ensuring they're fully saturated. Fill near the brim. Let it steep for about 4 minutes. Gently lean over the cup (don't disturb the crust yet) and smell the aroma rising.
3. Break & Skim: At 4 minutes, gently push the crust back with the back of your spoon, putting your nose close to catch the burst of aroma. Do this 2-3 times. Then, use your spoon(s) to carefully skim off the floating grounds and any oily film.
4. Taste & Slurp: Wait a few minutes for it to cool to a comfortable temperature (avoid burning your tongue!). Take a spoonful and slurp it purposefully – don't be shy! Let it coat your entire mouth. Notice the initial flavors. Spit or swallow. Repeat as it cools further (e.g., taste again after 8-10 minutes total time). Note how flavors change. This is a key how to taste coffee technique.

What to Focus On (Your Sensory Checklist)

• Aroma: What did you smell dry? What about during the crust break? Was it intense, faint, sweet, roasty, fruity?
• Flavor: What are the main coffee flavors you perceive? Fruity, nutty, chocolatey, spicy? Does it taste like it smelled?
• Aftertaste: What lingers after you swallow/spit? Is it pleasant, long, short, drying, bitter?
• Acidity: Does it have a pleasant brightness or tang (like citrus or berry)? Or is it sharp, vinegary, or absent?
• Body: How does it feel in your mouth? Heavy like cream, light like tea, smooth, rough, watery?
• Sweetness/Bitterness: Do you detect any natural sweetness? Is there bitterness? Is it a balanced bitter coffee note or overwhelming? Is it truly bitter, or maybe sour (bitter vs sour check)?
• Overall Impression: Did you like it? What stood out? Try using specific words to describe coffee – check out a flavor wheel for ideas!

Sharpen Your Palate: Tips for Better Home Coffee Tasting

• Compare & Contrast: Tasting coffees side-by-side is the fastest way to improve coffee tasting skills. Differences in origin, process, or roast become much more apparent.
• Use a Flavor Wheel: Print one out or keep one handy on your phone. It provides vocabulary when you're stuck.
• Take Notes: Even simple notes ("Coffee A: smells like nuts, tastes chocolatey, smooth body / Coffee B: smells fruity, tastes bright, light body") help you remember and learn.
• Taste Blind: Cover the bags/labels. You might surprise yourself!
• Vary Your Coffees: Don't just stick to one type. Explore!
• Be Patient & Persistent: Your palate trains over time. The more you taste mindfully, the more you'll perceive.

Conclusion