Learn how to taste coffee

Coffee buyers perform ‘cuppings’ to evaluate coffees objectively, which is very in-depth and sometimes long process – but the fruits of these labours are definitely in the tasting when the beans finally reach your cup at home or in your local coffee bar The SCAA’s (Specialty Coffee Association of America) scoring system is most commonly used for this evaluation. Coffees are given a maximum overall score out of 100 for things like; aroma, flavour and mouthfeel (texture).  A coffee that achieves a score of 85 or higher is regarded as ‘specialty’ grade. These coffees have no defects and have a very distinctly pleasant flavour profile – at Modern Standard we pride ourselves on roasting speciality beans.

By scoring coffees on; aroma, flavour, aftertaste, acidity, body, sweetness, cleanliness, uniformity and balance, the cupping process helps industry professionals select which coffees to buy, and identify different attributes which can be useful for roasters when formulating blends (blends are made up of a combination of roasted beans that compliment each other).

A cupping sample, once the hot water is added to coarsely ground coffee a layer of crust will form on the top.

The cupping process follows quite a strict set procedure: 8.25g of coarsely ground coffee is measured into a shallow cup, specifically designed for cupping (I know right!). 150ml of water heated to 92˚C is added, and left for 4 minutes. Next, a spoon is used to break and remove the ‘crust’, which provides the first opportunity to sample the coffee’s aroma (get your nose right in there and give it three sharp sniffs… just don’t burn yourself!). After a further 6 minutes, the cupper begins to taste the coffee. Different attributes are evaluated at intervals as the coffee cools.