Cupping is how we taste and evaluate coffee professionally – but it's not just for the trade. Done at home with a couple of bowls and a spoon, it's one of the best ways to properly understand what's in your cup. No special equipment required. No experience necessary.
Here's everything you need to know to get started.
What is cupping?
Cupping is a standardised method of brewing and tasting coffee that lets you compare different coffees side by side under the same conditions. Because the variables are controlled – grind size, water temperature, brew time – any differences you pick up in the cup are down to the coffee itself, not the method. That makes it an incredibly useful evaluation tool, whether you're a roaster assessing a new lot or a curious drinker trying to understand why one Ethiopian tastes so different from another.
Why bother?
Coffee changes dramatically from farm to farm, region to region, and crop to crop. Cupping helps you tune into those differences. It trains your palate to identify specific characteristics – acidity, body, sweetness, finish – and gives you a shared vocabulary to describe what you're tasting. And honestly? It's just a good excuse to drink a lot of coffee in one sitting.
How to cup
There's no single right way, but consistency matters. Whatever method you settle on, use it every time – otherwise you lose the ability to compare like with like. Here's the approach we'd recommend.
If you can, roast your samples light. A lighter roast lets the natural character of the coffee come through without roast-driven flavours muddying the water. Have your green, roasted, and ground coffee on the table if you want the full experience – it's not essential, but smelling the dry grounds before brewing tells you a lot about what's coming.
- Grind and brew. Rest your coffee for at least two days after roasting, then grind to a coarse setting – similar to what you'd use for a cafetière. Place the grounds in a small bowl and pour over water just off the boil (around 95°C). Leave to infuse for 3–4 minutes.
- Break the crust. A layer of grounds will float to the surface. Lean in close and break through it with a spoon – this releases a concentrated hit of aroma that gives you a strong early read on the coffee. Take your time here.
- Clear the surface. Stir gently to encourage the grounds to sink. Scoop away anything remaining on the surface with a spoon until the liquid is clear.
- Slurp. Fill a deep spoon with the infusion, bring it to your mouth, and inhale sharply as you sip – drawing the coffee across your whole palate and up towards the roof of your mouth. It should feel a bit theatrical. That's fine. The aeration is the point: it volatilises the aromatics and distributes the coffee evenly across your taste receptors.
- Taste and note. Roll the coffee around your mouth. What do you find? Don't second-guess yourself – if it reminds you of something specific, write it down. There are no wrong answers.
A word on spitting: if you're cupping more than a handful of coffees in one session, spit rather than swallow. Twelve to fifteen coffees is a lot of caffeine, and your palate will fatigue if you're swallowing throughout. It feels wasteful at first. You get used to it.
What to look for
Work through these attributes systematically – they'll give you a complete picture of the coffee.
Fragrance (dry grounds)
Before you add water, smell the grounds. Freshness (or lack of it) is immediately obvious here, as is roast level. Examples: sweet, spicy, roasty, nutty, malty, carbony, stale, fresh.
Aroma (wet grounds)
Once the water hits the coffee, the aroma intensifies – this is your first real preview of the cup. Examples: smooth, fresh, lively, creamy, sharp.
Acidity
Acidity is one of the most misunderstood attributes in coffee. In a good cup, it provides brightness and liveliness – think of the zing in a great Kenyan or the citrus lift of a light Ethiopian washed. In a poor cup, it tips into sourness. Neither extreme is a rule; just note what you find. Examples: nippy, neutral, soft, tangy, tart, rough, mild, delicate, smooth, winey.
Body
Body describes the physical weight and texture of the coffee in your mouth – how it feels rather than how it tastes. A Sumatran might feel thick and viscous; a light Yirgacheffe might feel more tea-like. Examples: full, rich, fat, thin.
Flavour
This is where it gets interesting. What can you actually taste? Draw on anything – fruit, confectionery, nuts, spices, whatever your brain reaches for. Examples: fruity, winey, buttery, caramel, chocolate, blackcurrant, woody, grassy, honey, liquorice, malty, nutty, spicy.
Finish
What lingers after you swallow? A great finish can be as expressive as the coffee itself – sweet, clean, and long is usually a good sign. Examples: sweet, sour, bitter, sharp, smooth, full, silky, burnt, dry.
Take notes
Write everything down as you go – impressions fade quickly once you move to the next cup. You don't need a formal scoring sheet; even a few scribbled words per coffee will help you compare and remember. Over time, your notes become a genuinely useful reference for your own palate.
The more you cup, the more you'll find. That's really the whole point.
Want something to cup? Browse our current coffees – our tasting packs are a great place to start if you want to taste a range side by side.