Find the different types of coffee you want to taste. Boil some water, get out your cups, spoons and something to take notes with.
Place the cups one after the other along the edge of the table so that they are easily accessible. Start with the lightest coffee and finish with the darkest.
Brewing guide for cupping
Brewing guide per cup:
- Measure out 12 g of coffee (6 g of coffee per dl of water).
- Grind the coffee at the grinding level between the filter and press pot.
- Pour into an empty cup that holds 2 dl.
- Smell the ground coffee and make a note of the odours you find.
- Slowly fill the cup with boiled water (92-96 degrees) right up to the edge of the cup. Make sure that all the coffee gets wet.
- Wait for 4 minutes.
Brew your coffee at the same pace from cup to cup from the moment you start adding water. Start with the first cup and work your way up.
After 4 minutes, break the surface of the coffee crust with a spoon. There are special cupping spoons designed for cupping, but you can also use a tablespoon.
When you break the surface, gently stir with the spoon from the coffee crust down to the bottom of the cup before bringing the spoon up to the surface again. Do this three times. The coffee will then sink to the bottom and brewing will stop. Smell the aromas rising from the cup as you break the surface. Start with the first cup and work your way up at a steady pace.
Then use two spoons to remove the foam that remains on top. This is to prevent a bitter flavour. Rinse the foam off the spoons in a cup of hot water between each use.
Wait 8-10 minutes for the coffee to cool down and reach the right flavour temperature. If the coffee is too hot, you could burn yourself, and the flavours are easier to detect when it has cooled somewhat. Use these minutes to smell the coffee again and make a note of what flavours you find.
Ready, set, slurp!
Then you can start tasting. Make sure that the grounds at the bottom are not swirled up when you taste the coffee. Try to draw air into your mouth by slurping as you taste. This will bring out the flavours better, especially the volatile aromas.
Feel free to flavour each cup several times over time. Rinse the spoon in warm water between each flavour.
Use pen and paper and write down the flavours you find along the way. For example, is the coffee sweet, fruity or acidic? Does it feel full-bodied or light in the mouth? Are there any distinct flavours that stand out, such as orange, spice or cocoa? Is the odour reminiscent of flowers, or is it vanilla? Discuss and compare flavour notes. In this way, you'll get to know different coffee flavours and perhaps find new favourites.
Cupping of tea
For cupping tea, follow the instructions for each tea in terms of grams, dl, temperature and brewing time. Remember to wait until the tea has cooled down before tasting.
The actual smelling and tasting takes place in the same way. Make a note of the flavours you find along the way and slurp away.
Suggestions for cuppings
There are no limits to the types of cuppings you can put together. You can taste your way through all or part of a range, or you can select fewer types of tea or coffee to focus on. It's customary to taste new products as they come in, often alongside existing products.
Other suggestions for cupping coffee include tasting several types of coffee from the same continent or from the same country, coffee with different processing methods or tasting the continents' coffee flavours against each other.
Suggestions for cupping tea include different processing methods from white to black tea, several pure teas within the green tea category, for example, or different types of fruit teas that can be flavoured both hot and cold. The only limit is your imagination.
How we cup at Solberg & Hansen
At Solberg & Hansen, we carry out pre-purchase cuppings to evaluate quality, develop roast profiles and give the coffee a flavour description. We also test all of our daily roasts as part of our quality control.
In addition, we organise coffee courses where cupping plays the main role, and we organise cuppings with customers for those who want them. Flavour is constantly evolving and is a big part of our working day - in the quest for the world's best cup.
