Cupping Coffee at home:

Cupping teaches you to appreciate the subtleties of coffee, and it can be an interesting and educational experience.

You will need:

• fresh roasted coffee beans
• near-boiling water
• a clean cup (or 8 oz. Glass - pyrex custard bowls work well)
• a soup spoon
• a bowl into which you can expel the coffee after you have tasted it.

Grind the coffee you wish to sample, and place two tablespoons of it into your cup. Then add approximately six ounces of near-boiling water. Let the coffee steep for three or four minutes. Now, you're ready to begin.

1.  There will be a crust on top of the coffee. Place your nose close to the crust, break through it with the spoon, and smell the aroma of the brew.

2.  Next, "clean" the cup by skimming the grounds from the surface of the coffee with the face of your spoon. (Rinse off the spoon!) Then, slurp some fresh coffee from the spoon while holding it close to you mouth. Inhale and slurp in vigorous fashion - You want coffee to spray and cover every surface of your mouth!

3.  Roll the coffee around in your mouth and over the sides of your tongue. When you have experienced the flavour, body, and acidity of the coffee, spit it out. Try this a couple of times so you can acquire a sense of the coffee.

The process of cupping is much more fun and instructive if you sample and compare two or more coffees at one sitting. Set up the required number of cups, grind the coffees - be sure to rinse you spoon between samples - and have fun!  Keep notes on what you find and how you grade each coffee or different roast levels for the same coffee. Over time you will learn lots about what makes up this nectar of the gods and perhaps even discover what constitutes your “perfect cup”.