Cupping
Cuppers analyze all of the basic coffee flavour characteristics/taste sensations including the coffee’s body, fragrance/aroma, acidity, bitterness, sweetness, and aftertaste/finish – in order to analyze the complete flavour profile of the coffee.
The Cupping Environment
A proper cupping is performed in an environment that is free of any strong smells such as perfumes because premium gourmet coffees have many subtle nuances in their flavours and aromas, which are evaluated by cuppers. Learning to talk about the character of a coffee from a particular origin requires that one have some frame of reference, and if the goal is to figure out what makes a coffee from Kenya great it is important to know what makes it different than other coffees. In other words, what does it mean to taste like a “Kenya”? What tastes distinguish a Guatemalan coffee from a Colombian?
Over time a cupper will begin to associate particular flavours with geographical regions and different botanical varieties of coffee. Eventually, a phrase like “this tastes like a bourbon from the Santa Ana region in El Salvador” can have some real meaning. It is important to remember, though, that dogma has no place in coffee tasting. Every time I think I’ve got a region figured out, a coffee comes along that shatters my expectations. Keeping an open mind and sense of curiosity is absolutely essential to becoming an accomplished taster.
Coffee is grown primarily in three regions in a band around the planet between the Tropics of Capricorn and Cancer. Coffee from the three main growing regions have distinctive characteristics, what a French wine-maker would call goût de terroir, the “taste of the place.”
Latin American coffees tend to be clean, familiar and friendly, with flavours reminiscent of nuts or cocoa.
Coffees from Africa/Arabia are extraordinary and enticing, with floral aromas and flavours of berries and citrus.
Coffees from Asia/Pacific tend to be bold and assertive, full-bodied with earthy and herbal flavours.