Discover Coffee

If you’re trying to delve deep into what makes a certain blend special, there’s no better path to insight than a good “conversation” with your coffee.

That’s what “cupping” is all about, really: getting to know your coffee.
Just like wine “tasting,” cupping involves carefully evaluating a cup of coffee—the process that helps buyers decide whether to purchase a batch of beans, for example, and judges at Cup of Excellence (COE) competitions score entries.

Cupping can be pretty complicated, but there are some basic criteria that inform the scores.
The Specialty Coffee Association of Japan uses the COE method, which rates coffees against eight benchmarks: flavor, aftertaste, acidity, mouth-feel, clean cup, sweetness, balance, and overall quality.

That’s how the professionals do it, but you don’t have to be that discerning to enjoy the cupping experience.
Start with the basic elements, like flavor and sweetness, and try to score your cup on a point scale or put your impressions of the coffee into words.
As you get more familiar with the cupping process, you’ll be able to converse with your cup at a deeper level, develop a more refined taste, find beans that suit your personal preferences, and relish the coffee experience at a whole new level.

If you’re interested, you can head to a Maruyama Coffee location to try cupping for yourself!
Visit http://www.maruyamacoffee.com/seminar/freecupping/ for details.