Coffee Cupping with glass of water on the table top

Coffee Cupping with our Roasting Manager, Robbie Melton

Join us as we explore the science and sensations behind cupping coffee with our Roasting Manager, Robbie Melton. 

So what is cupping?

"Cupping is the formal way that coffee is tasted and evaluated throughout the entire Coffee Supply Chain. From producers, importers, green buyers, roasters, baristas, and even the at-home enthusiast, it's a meditative method of shutting off and concentrating wholly on the characteristics of a coffee.⁠"

Coffee Cupping - Two cups on the counter

What is the purpose / importance of cupping?

"Cupping is the formal way that coffee is tasted and evaluated throughout the entire coffee chain, from producers, importers, green buyers, roasters, baristas, and even the home enthusiast. It's a method of brewing the coffee which eliminates as many of the brewing variables as possible as well as allows us to brew several different coffees at the same time so that we can comparatively taste and evaluate."

Two Coffee Cups with water pouring into them

Why do you love the cupping process?

"I love cupping coffee because it's always my first experience with any given coffee we're considering purchasing and it's the first opportunity to taste the finished product after we've purchased and roasted it. It's always rewarding to see how our work has paid off. It's also a focused time so to me it's almost meditative to shut myself in the lab and concentrate on everything I'm smelling and tasting in our coffees. Perhaps the main reason I enjoy cupping coffee is precisely because cupping is used throughout the entire coffee supply chain. I get to experience an individual coffee by taking it through the exact same cupping process that everyone before me has taken it through. In that way, cupping connects me to people all over the world who came before me in the supply chain as well as to the people who will come after."

Man sniffing coffee during cupping process

To get started, we suggest trying cupping our single origin coffee, Finca Cedral Alto. We have purchased this farm's coffee every year and year-over-year, we've been able to taste and experience its qualities. You can be on the lookout for these scent notes below with the three different processing methods of this specialty coffee. 

Notes: Key Lime, Honeycomb, Crisp
 
Notes: Tropical Fruits, Dark Chocolate, Dynamic
 
Notes: Semi-Sweet Chocolate, Confectionary, Clean

Beyond the Brew is a place for all things education, inspiration, and transparency for biodiverse farming and sustainable coffee consumption through Good Citizen. If you have any questions or requests, please reach out to hello@goodcitizen.com

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