If you've developed your coffee hobby enough then you've probably heard the term "cupping" at some point. While it may sound like a mystical coffee rite of passage, it's really not that fantastical. Cupping is a way to prepare and taste coffee that roasters use to understand their roasts, improve upon them, and work out tasting notes and other elements of marketing the beans. While it may not be a way that you'll enjoy drinking coffee every day, it's a fun project to try and it could help you further develop your coffee tasting palate. The best part - it's easy to do at home!
In This Article
What We Cover in This Video
This video walks through what coffee cupping actually is, and covers the following topics:
- Why cupping is not nearly as intimidating as it sounds
- How it helps to develop an understanding of coffee for everyone involved in the production process
- How to use it for robust coffee tasting exercises
- How a professional roaster's cupping session might differ from yours
- The easiest way to do it at home
- Why regularly cupping coffee is a great way to develop your palate
So What Is Coffee Cupping, Exactly?
Coffee cupping is a standardized method for brewing coffee to develop a baseline for an individual roast's flavor profile and characteristics. Where you may modify variables in your standard brews in order to bring out the best flavors in your daily cup, this method of brewing removes the variables in favor of standard ratios, temps, and (if possible) grind sizes. It may not create the most delicious cup of coffee out of a given roast, but it does help to take subjective elements of the tasting process and minimize the variables that create them in order to make it easier to compare and isolate flavors and characteristics.
Related: Coffee Tasting 101 — Get a foundational overview of how to taste coffee and what to look for in every cup.
Why Do Coffee Professionals Cup?
For professionals, coffee cupping helps strengthen communication about a particular harvest or roast for farmers, processors, buyers, roasters, and retailers. Farmers and processors can use a standardized brewing and tasting framework to help them set pricing. While roasters often use cupping in order to help them understand how the roasting process affected the green coffee, as well as come up with tasting notes, brewing recommendations, and a variety of other consumer-facing elements. Each step in the chain also uses the process of cupping to help spot defects in the beans or roast, before they make it to the customer. Finally, retailers (like us!) use cupping to help us provide a structure around the aromas, flavors, and characteristics of a coffee to better recommend it for the end customer.
Related: Tasting Notes and Coffee Flavor — Dive deeper into how coffee flavor profiles and tasting notes are developed.
Professional Cupping vs. Home Cupping — What Actually Matters
The primary difference between professional cupping and what you do at home is that the process really just needs consistency for you. You don't need to communicate your cupping standards to suppliers or buyers, just ensure that what you do from session to session stays the same. This makes it much easier to fit a cupping session into your weekend, and will help you develop your palate in an enjoyable way, since you don't have to worry about prices or defects. You can just focus on nailing your process and exploring the tasting notes and body of the brew.
How to Cup Coffee at Home
What You'll Need
To get started, you'll need a few small bowls or wide cups, a deep bowled spoon (there are cupping spoons you can purchase specifically for this), freshly ground coffee (you can use a pour over setting for this, just note it so you can be consistent from session to session), water at around 200°F (again, pick your temp and stick with it), and a timer. A flavor wheel or tasting note sheet can help you to improve your cupping experience as well.
The Basic Protocol
All you need to do to cup coffee is add ground coffee to your bowl, then pour hot water directly onto the grounds. You should use a ratio of around 8.25g of coffee per 150ml of water. You don't need precision on the level of a professional, but consistency from session to session is important, so do your best to always use the same amounts. Set your timer for 4 minutes when you finish pouring. After that length of time you'll have a crust of grounds at the top of the cup, which you should break with a spoon. Take a deep breath of the resulting aroma and pay as much attention as you can to the smells, as this is a key part of the process. Next, skim the grounds off of the top of the coffee, then allow for the brew to cool a bit. Finally, take a spoonful of the coffee and slurp it to aerate it over your palate, similar to tasting wine. Consider the aroma, taste, aftertaste, acidity, body, and other characteristics of the brew. If tasting multiple coffees be sure to sip some water in between roasts to clear your palate!
What to Look (and Taste) For
Consider the fragrances of the dry and brewed coffees, both right after the pour and when you break the crust. These aromas can often factor into flavor a great deal, so be sure to describe what you smell in your coffee flavor notes. Take a stab at coming up with some tasting notes for the brew, using an SCA flavor wheel can really help here! It's also a good idea to describe the body, acidity, and sweetness of the cup. Coffee flavor notes are developed using this method of tasting, so it can be fun to brew before examining the notes on the bag to see how close you can get to what the pros listed!
Related: You've Got Great Taste: Coffee Flavor Profiles — Learn more about the different flavor profiles found in coffee and how to identify them.
Related: Brew Methods and Flavor Profiles — See how different brew methods bring out different characteristics in the same coffee.
Try It With Our Coffee Bean Subscription
The most effective way to cup and taste coffees is in a lineup of several different beans. This method of tasting can also help you find the notes you want to really work on in your regular brews. To make this all a little easier it's worth considering a coffee subscription like the one we offer at Seattle Coffee Gear. With options for a wide range of roasts, a discount for subscribing, and easy tools for swapping your subscription to different beans, we can help ensure that you always have your favorite roast at the ready.
Keep Fresh Beans Coming
A rotating lineup of coffees is the best way to build your cupping practice. Our subscription brings fresh roasts to your door with flexible options and a subscriber discount.
Explore Coffee Subscriptions Browse all coffee →Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need special equipment to cup coffee at home?
Not at all. A few small bowls or wide-mouthed cups, a deep-bowled spoon, freshly ground coffee, hot water around 200°F, and a timer are all you need. Professional cupping spoons exist, but any deep spoon from your kitchen will work just fine.
What grind size should I use for coffee cupping?
A medium grind similar to a pour over setting works well for cupping at home. The most important thing isn't hitting a specific number — it's using the same grind size every time so your sessions are consistent and comparable.
How is cupping different from just drinking coffee?
Cupping uses a standardized brewing method that removes variables like brew method, ratio adjustments, and filters. This creates a consistent baseline so you can compare different coffees on equal footing and focus on isolating flavors, aromas, body, and acidity.
How often should I cup coffee to develop my palate?
Even once or twice a month can make a noticeable difference over time. The key is consistency — cupping regularly with the same process helps you build a library of flavor references that carries over into your everyday brewing.
Ready to Start Cupping?
Watch the full video for a walkthrough of the cupping process from start to finish — including the exact setup we use and tips for tasting like a pro (without taking yourself too seriously).
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