The world of specialty coffee can feel complicated, especially when it comes to achieving the best results that encompass excellent tasting notes, acidity, sweetness, aftertaste, balance, and everything in between! You’re probably wondering how that morning pour-over prepared by your favorite barista tastes so darn good, or how your own brews from home can result in dynamic and exquisite flavors. Well, read on;
Connect coffee roasters hosted a coffee cupping session; for coffee lovers and everyone curious about coffee. Cupping simply means expanding one’s palate and getting familiarized with various origins. Our guests got to sample some of the best coffee in the world from countries like, Ethiopia-Limu and Yirgacheffe , Honduras, Costa Rica-Santa Columbia- Narino (Taminago geisha), Nicaragua- Finca libre and La esperanza(natural) Papua new guinea Kobuta, Guatemala – San Antonio chaguitte, Honduras – El parasio (nuela cruz).
Taste being a very individual experience to a person, here are some of the remarks that we received from our guest ; ‘ I liked the classic balance of Columbian coffee’, ‘The lingering sweetness of Nicaragua coffee was to die for’, ‘ The sweet flavour and aroma of Yirgacheffe coffee from Ethiopia was very impressive’, ‘ Coffee has more than 1000 complex flavours and aromas, and sometimes it takes a professional cupper to distinguish almost all of them.
Luckily, this method of cupping or tasting coffee doesn’t have to be limited to just coffee professionals. The setup used when conducting a cupping should consist of a table, cupping bowls, cupping spoons and scoring sheets. A cup of hot water to wash off the spoons between each slurp and a towel to dry the spoons need to be on the table is also needed.
How to slurp coffee during cupping.
Note: After each use of your cupping spoon used to taste coffee, be sure to rinse the spoon in the designated rinse cups. This prevents cross-contamination of coffee flavors, plus no one likes a double dipper!
Taking notes of aromatics, flavor, and other various components of the coffee is a great method to expand your palate, understand the different senses you experience in each coffee, and immerse yourself at the cupping table.
Not sure what coffees to cup? Do not worry….Let us send you some of the best coffees we’ve ever tried via our CONNECT COFFEE SUBSCRIPTION. The beans we’ve sourced from partner farms are diverse, vibrant, and excellent for tasting side-by-side.
If you’re learning to taste coffee like a pro, there’s nothing better you can do than set yourself up to receive a brand new, FRESHLY ROASTED COFFEE every other week.
Most importantly, have fun. This doesn’t have to be a stressful, rigorous event. As long as you’re open and enjoying the learning process, you’re doing it right.
For more cupping events, follow our event column on our website.
Happy Cupping!
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