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How We Select Our Green Coffees
and thoughts on "cupping" coffee...

How We Judge Our Coffees

We request many, many samples from the East Coast and West Coast distributors we use, to the point where I am embarassed and have to fax in a list to them. We are not only looking for the best tasting coffees, we want unique coffees and good values. We don't want to stand in the way of home roasting's great potential: it saves money and its exciting to try unusual varietals. Everyone caries Konas and Wallenford Estate Jamaica Blue Mountain, but they are not good values and they are not very exciting.

We test roast every coffee to a City (Medium) roast or about an Agtron 50, and some we cup at 2 degrees of roast to underscore roast tastes and distinguish them from origin tastes. It's important to observe the differences between acidity and bittersweet created by the roast as they combine to produce or reduce complexity. In some coffees, acidity seems to disappear quickly or become masked too easily behind the bittersweet.

Maria and I have different tastes in coffee, and our list of offerings reflect this. She likes coffees that roast well in the French stages. I like coffees that roast well in the City to Full City stages, and dislike the flatness of dark roasts. I also like wild coffees, something less predictable. I really like the Ugandan Bugisu we offer, although some might consider it gamey. We offer a couple coffees (i.e. Brazilian) more as "blenders" than as straight roasts.

I am Tom, and I make all the decisions and do all the cupping. God forbid, but you might disagree with me, and you might not like my taste in coffee! Your pallete is the one that truly counts!

Cupping in the Coffee Industry

The accepted method of tasting coffees is standardized and adheres to a specific set of guidelinnes so that empirical observations can be repeated from Budapest to Baltimore. The process is called "cupping," and involves rigorous attention to details; coffee grind, quantity, water temperature, etc. There are special spoons, cups, spitoons and other instruments used in the procedure. Roughly, 1/4 ounce (7.25 grams) of each coffee to be compared is ground and put in little cups, and 150 ml of 195 degree water is added. The grounds floating in the cup are pushed downward (called "breaking the crust") with the spoon while the cupper sniffs for aroma. In the second step the cupper raises the spoon to their mouth and takes in the coffee and a lot of air, essentially carbeurating the coffee all over their mouth. The cupper judges all the coffee's character at this time; acidity, body, flavor... then they spit it out and try to sense the aftertaste. When the coffee cools they repeat the second step.

Although I have endured the cupping procedure in a professional setting, I think it is mostly for those who are concerned with keeping Folgers tasting like Folgers from year to year as the crops vary, and to weed out nasty coffees. Many books on coffee (and all the ones we recommend) cover the cupping procedure in more detail, but I personally think its just a big ceremony to impress your friends.

Cuppers are trying to determine "cup quality," how good a coffee tastes. As most people who make good coffee on a daily basis know, you tend to have a consistent procedure without really trying too hard. I produce the same grind of the same amount of coffee, heat water in the same pan, let it cool and brew into the same jar with the same filter every day. I call this "cupping" on a practical level, and can tell immediately if one of my variables (bad grind, lukewarm water, etc) is off. We really can taste the differences between roasts, varietals, and blends in our own humble way.

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This page is authored by Tom Owen and Sweet Maria's Coffee, Inc. and is not to be copied or reproduced without permission.
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