Welcome to another edition of For the Love of Coffee! A weekly blog about all things coffee exclusively for the employees of Vienna Coffee. This week’s post will be about the all-important quality control that is “coffee cupping”.

Here at Vienna Coffee QUALITY is what we do! We start by sourcing the highest-rated green coffee beans we can find, then we custom-roast them to bring out the unique flavor characteristics of each origin, and finally, we cup each coffee to ensure taste and quality. But what exactly does “cupping” coffee mean? And what is its purpose? Let’s start by talking about exactly WHAT I mean by “cupping'“ coffee.

Cupping coffee is simply a method of precisely brewing and tasting coffee. Cupping involves very tight controls so that we can isolate any defects, determine flavor notes for a particular bean or blend, and ensure the quality and consistency of the coffee. This is done by grinding a very specific amount (11 grams) of coffee, placing it in small bowls, and pouring 200-degree water over the grinds. Four minutes after the water is applied to the grounds we start by “breaking the crust” that forms on top of the coffee. This releases a burst of aromatics and we get as close to the cup as possible to experience as much of the aroma as possible. This is the first indication of the tastes that will be experienced in the cup.

Step two is to taste the coffee. We use specially-shaped spoons when tasting the coffee which are basically soup spoons that are round in shape and make it easier to “slurp”. The slurping of the coffee helps to aerate the liquid and better distribute it across the palate. We then try to identify any negative flavors (hopefully there are none) and any unique flavor notes we perceive in the coffee such as fruit, chocolate, nuts, floral, spices, or any of the hundreds of tasting notes that can be found in coffee. The Specialty Coffee Association has developed a coffee tasters wheel that can help identify a large number of “notes” which are found in coffee. It is by no means a comprehensive table, but it will identify all of the most common flavors found in coffee. We record our perceptions and notes for each coffee.

For a great, free coffee flavor app available on Google Play click here

Coffee cupping sessions are open to all employees and are encouraged to help you develop your palate and a deeper knowledge of coffee. We schedule them regularly on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 10 am upstairs in the coffee lab, and anyone is welcome to attend. Just make sure to check with me first so I know you are coming in case the session is delayed or canceled.

It’s a GREAT day for Coffee!

~Matt~