Coffee Machine Guru

Coffee Cupping - The Ultimate Guide

Coffee Cupping - Ultimate Guide

For several coffee lovers, sipping coffee out of toasty mugs and savouring its aroma has become a ritual. And it feels great right?
So good that often it is the only way we would love to start our day!
But have you ever sipped a coffee cup and thought that it’d have tasted much better?

I think we’ve whole been there, at least one time.

Usually, we evaluate it according to the metric of our preferences. But the coffee cupping is a different technique of coffee tasting to judge just how good the coffee is.

built upon years of expertise, coffee cupping is the procedure through which process and customers check the quality of the coffee batch.
It is quite serious, there even are world championships for it.
There is a whole procedure for scoring the coffee, from checking its freshness to tasting its notes.

What is coffee cupping, exactly?

It is a quantifiable way of assessing a coffee sample including its overall quality, individual characteristics like acidity and body, and flavour notes. The procedure makes sure that all the facets of coffee are decently judged via precise movements and rations. It is usually used by coffee roasters and coffee buyers, but sometimes cafes also use it to pick the beans they would like to provide to customers.

How To Cup Coffee?

You might be thinking that it is just about giving the coffee a swirl and sipping on it to articulate its flavours, But that is not true.
There’s a lot that goes into it. To cup coffee that perfect way, there’s a full procedure in place. Simply put, it includes steps like scoring, sniffing the coffee grounds, breaking the crust, slurping, and assessing the flavour notes. Some commercial coffee machines can do this for you.

But if you are trying to level with the snobs and want to get the gist of it, here is the complete guide on cupping coffee the right way.
And if you are doing it at your home, ensure you stack up on one secret ingredient – enthusiasm! Yes, ensure you learn and have fun while at it.

Basic coffee cupping

  • Bean type – Always go for single-origin beans so you can spot major differences in beans grown in various areas, easily.
  • Roast type – As a general rule of law, it is recommended to stick to freshly and lightly roasted beans. The level of roast can interfere with the flavour and aroma of the coffee beans.

Official coffee cupping ratio

You will notice that several tutorials suggest different coffee cupping ratios. While the SCA (Specialty Coffee Association) recommends 8.25g for every 150ml water, don’t worry too much about the ratio.

Grind Size

For cupping coffee, you will want to grind coffee beans to a medium coarse grind.

Prime The Grinder

During this process, using your commercial coffee machines grinder you’ve to make sure no foreign flavour finds its way in. This means that there’d be no residual coffee grounds left in the chamber! For this, you’ve to prime the grinder. Just throw in a batch of the coffee beans that you plan on using, in a grinder and grind them up. It’ll now be lined with fresh leftovers and you’re good to go.

Use Third wave Water

A third wave or well-filtered water with perfectly balanced minerals will provide you with a fine cupping experience.

Tools and ingredients you need for Cupping Coffee

  • 2 or more coffees
  • Well-lit and clean table space
  • Grinder
  • Timer
  • Scale
  • Cupping bowls
  • Cupping spoons
  • Rinse cups filled with warm
  • Water
  • Hot water element
  • Vessel
  • Glass or mug
  • Paper or pencil

Once you have checked all of the equipment on this list, head to our step-by-step guide on coffee cupping.

How To Cup Coffee?

It is finally time to level with coffee snobs and learn how to cup coffee on your own. Some Automatic Coffee Machines can do all of the hard work for you.

Grind out 2g of the 1st coffee to prime the grinder, then follow with grinding the remaining 18g of coffee. Follow the step of every coffee, starting with 2g to make sure no other coffee inside the grinder will impede any flavours. Grind every coffee to a coarse setting, and it’d look the same as coarse sea salt.

Heat water up to 200 degrees F
Start the timer and start pouring 150g of water into every bowl
Assess the west aroma of your coffee
At 4 minutes, start breaking the crust. To do this, use the spoon to force the ground to the back of the bowl. Be certain to rinse the spoon after breaking the crust in every bowl.

Using 2 spoons, remove the remaining grounds of coffee and foam and dump them into the spent ground bowl!

Let the coffee cool and at 13 to 15 minutes, you can start tasting the coffee.

Slurp your coffee to let the coffee spread along your tongue to taste every flavour. As the coffee cools, you will be able to taste a wide range of flavours. Working in an office? Check to see if your office coffee machines up to doing some coffee cupping

Coffee tasting methods and techniques

  • You must have noticed some words being thrown around in cupping guides like aroma. Do not let the jargon of the coffee cupping procedure puzzle you, here is a quick debrief on the various methods and terms that are normally used.
    Fragrance and Aroma – The fragrance is of dry coffee while the aroma is wet coffee. It simply means, how did your coffee smell? Was there any major difference between the dry fragrance and wet aroma of every sample?
  • Flavour – Easy. This just refers to what your coffee tasted like. Did you pick up any fruitiness in notes, or nuttiness in the coffee flavour?
  • Aftertaste – What elements of flavour and aroma was your palette tingling with after tasting and smelling your coffee?
  • Acidity – It is simply the sourness and brightness of the taste. Was your coffee sharp and bright or was it dull and flat? Was it sour?
  • Body – This is the tactile or weight feeling of coffee that you feel or your taste buds. Was it heavy or light?
  • Balance – Balance is how levelled the coffee characters are. is there one coffee note that stands out or do any of them neutralize each other?
  • Cleanliness – You must hear from coffee consumers about how clean the coffee was. This refers to how rapidly the taste dissipates after you sip it. Does it linger or go away, just right after you sip it?

Frequently Ask Questions!

What does cupping mean in a coffee?

Cupping coffee is the procedure used to taste, evaluate, assess and compare the flavour and quality of a given coffee. The purpose is to sample different coffee and examine their flavour notes and highlights. While it is usually used by experts, individuals can also use it.

Do I need a coffee cupping spoon?

Getting a special coffee cupping spoon is not essential if you’ve spoons that are deep and wide. But getting a coffee cupping spoon can serve multiple purposes. Cupping spoons have deep bowls which let you get an adequate amount of coffee during the coffee cupping experience.

Can you carry out coffee cupping at home?

Yes, you can do coffee cupping at home. Though, cupping is generally used by coffee experts to assess the quality of a batch of coffee. Cupping at home is one of the finest ways to learn more about the aroma and flavour of the coffee.

Is coffee cupping scientifically proven?

No. But coffee experts generally consider the cupping procedure, different coffee samples are evaluated followed by the eventual comparison. The examines its flavours notes and highlights.

End words...

I’m pretty sure that finding out all about the coffee cupping procedure must give you a newfound appreciation for a fine mug of coffee. While you can begin your coffee connoisseur journey with the experience, it takes time to become an expert.

Sampling the several subtleties of coffee during the procedure can expand your knowledge and palette. Probably the right part about cupping is an immersive experience in the world of coffee aromas and flavours notes.

Also, the interesting bit is that the coffee cupping procedure is different for all. You may pick up on different characteristics that the person next to you has! In the end enough, that’ll help brew a cup of a perfect and rich cup of coffee at home. If you are running a business,  your commercial coffee machines might be able to do all of this work for you

Why Eversys Though?

Consistent Coffee Quality

The Extraction Time Control (ETC) is a software-based Quality Control System that gives the customer the ability to manage and control brand standards, through its intelligent algorithm, ensuring the highest Quality, Consistency and Reliability of each product. With multiple sites and regular turnover in staff, the consistency of the product can vary greatly. The ETC provides you with the ability to not only monitor but also to control and influence all of your key parameters remotely, providing a familiar customer experience.

In-Cup quality

Type in the dose of coffee you need, how much water to pass through, and a desired brewing time, hit calibrate, and the equipment will adjust the grinder to achieve this target. Also, the machine guides your operator on his daily routine by forcing recalibration every morning with the push of a single button. The self-calibration will tailor your coffee products to fit the bespoke nature of your business and ensure consistency of your in-cup quality time and again.

Technology

Eversys equipment is built in modules, ensuring rapid access for technical intervention with minimal downtime and reduced maintenance costs.

Eversys machines are equipped with two grinders allowing for two parallel recipes to be set up at a time, and you can even choose to dose some powder from each grinder and produce it through a singular extraction. The ventilation, which is set below the bean hoppers, drives out unwanted heat and moisture. Electronic control maintains consistency of product throughout the day.

The brewing chamber holds up to a significant 24 g of coffee, allowing for a wide range of brewing recipes. The Reverse extraction brewing system optimises powder efficiency as the espresso is produced.

The steam / water unit provides temperature consistency and unsurpassed productivity.

Milk is frothed with steam – like a traditional barista – through a set of reactors, ensuring optimal texture and taste.

The hydraulic module is dedicated to the sole production of coffee, 1.6 litres of water guarantee unfettered productivity.

E'levelling System

Automatic levelling is the ability to initiate a movement to the brew chamber, creates a vibration which enables the powder in the chamber to spread more evenly, which leads to a better, more consistent extraction. This movement is a replica of what the barista does- taps the portafilter, after grinding up fresh beans in order to render the powder more compact.

1.5-Step Programme

The Eversys 1.5 Step is a new milk option that allows you to create perfect milk-based products without having much training. The system automatically dispenses the frothed milk through the wand at the same time as the espresso is being poured into the cup. With the help of a perfectly textured milk, staff are then able to create latte art designs. Due to its proficient technology, the machine dispenses the correct quantity of milk each time, reducing wastage.

The Eversys e'API

Our API can synchronise automatically, read your ERP system and provide you with real time synchronised data. Furthermore, it can provide vendors access to P2P encryption used for mobile payments.

More Features...

1. Grinding

Eversys designed ceramic blades driven by a powerful yet quiet motor, whose heat is cleverly channelled away from the coffee beans, to maintain their quality, via a set of fans. Electronic control maintains consistency of product throughout the day, ensuring optimal extraction at all times.

2. e'Levelling & Tamping

Automatic Levelling is the ability to initiate a movement to the brewing chamber, create a vibration which enable the powder in the chamber to spread more evenly, which leads to a better, more consistent extraction. The 24 -gram brewing chamber to facilitate single cycle large beverages is controlled by electronic tamping to guarantee consistent quality.

3. Temperature control

Dedicated coffee boilers, separate from the water/ steam boiler, provide productivity and temperature stability, essential parts of in-cup quality.

4. Brewing

Reverse gravity extraction vertical infusion optimises powder efficiency as the espresso is produced.

 

5. Milk Frothing

Milk is frothed with steam in the one-step system, promoting flavour as well as texture, mirroring the barista experience.

 

6. Creating

All products are pre-programmed to be dispensed in a consistent and efficient manner, placing seamless productivity and quality at the forefront of the customer experience.

Coffee Machines to Match any style.

Eversys espresso machines are trusted by the world’s finest coffee roasters, cafès, and restaurants for their reliability, durability, and timeless aesthetics.

Having in-house coffee from an automatic coffee machine is one of the most productivity-enhancing investments any business can make.

The Cappuccinos and Lattes you make can be a key profit driver for your business, which means that your coffee machine is perhaps one of the most important piece of equipment for your business.

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