Introduction:Cupping is a key step in evaluating coffee quality and flavor, and it's also an essential skill for industry professionals. This article delves into three major cupping methods—the Brazilian-style cupping, SCAA standard cupping, and the pour over-style cupping recommended by a certain brand—offering a comprehensive comparison from roast levels, operational procedures to evaluation criteria. Whether you're a roaster, café owner, or enthusiast, understanding these differences can help you develop more precise coffee tasting abilities and apply them to daily roasting and product decisions.
Cupping is the core method for assessing coffee quality and flavor in the professional coffee field, and also a vital part of training for industry practitioners. By comparing and evaluating multiple coffees under consistent conditions, it effectively distinguishes a coffee’s potential and flaws, further optimizing roasting and brewing strategies. This article will explore three common cupping methods in depth, including Brazilian-style cupping, SCAA standard cupping, and the pour over-style cupping promoted by a certain brand, analyzing everything from operational procedures and roast parameters to flavor evaluation criteria to help readers grasp the unique features and applicable scenarios of each method.
The primary goal of cupping is to make objective comparisons between multiple coffees under the same conditions. This is not only a crucial element in international coffee competitions but also an indispensable part of specialty coffee education. For roasters, baristas, or coffee enthusiasts alike, mastering proper cupping techniques allows for a more accurate understanding of coffee characteristics, thereby optimizing the entire process from green bean selection to final product.
Traditionally, Brazilian-style cupping is one of the most well-known cupping methods, with its core focus on “defect detection,” making it a method that leans toward “negative evaluation.” In practice, medium-ground roasted beans (about 10 grams) are placed in a cup, and 150 milliliters of hot water are poured in. The roast level is generally controlled to an Agtron value of around 65, close to a cinnamon roast. This roast stage retains enough volatile compounds, which helps in assessing potential defects and flavor directions. During tasting, the coffee grounds are stirred, their aroma is sniffed, and then the coffee liquid is scooped with a spoon and sucked into the palate to atomize it, helping to detect off-flavors. The final grading is based on three criteria: “Soft,” “Hard,” and “Iodine-like,” primarily used for screening export quality.
In contrast to the Brazilian method, the cupping method established by the SCAA (Specialty Coffee Association of America) is a typical “positive evaluation” approach, focusing on assessing positive attributes such as aroma and flavor. In practice, about 8 grams of medium-ground coffee is used, with 150 milliliters of hot water poured in. After letting it sit for 3 minutes, the crust is broken, and then both the dry fragrance (Fragrance) and wet aroma (Aroma) are sniffed. Next, the coffee liquid is sipped with a spoon to evaluate its performance at hot, warm, and cold stages. Key evaluation points include sweetness, acidity, flavor, and aftertaste. It’s a complete and widely used international standard procedure, especially suitable for evaluating specialty coffee.
A certain brand has proposed a cupping method that more closely resembles actual extraction scenarios, mainly used for evaluating pour over coffee and widely applied in internal training and quality control. This method also uses about 10 grams of medium-ground coffee and 150 milliliters of water at approximately 85°C, but instead employs paper filter drip extraction, with a preference for post-second-crack roast levels, more aligned with actual serving conditions. During evaluation, the coffee liquid is directly sipped, focusing on flavor balance, acidity and sweetness performance, bitterness control, and overall concentration. Defect evaluation items are omitted, making the operation threshold low and more suitable for daily in-store cupping. The advantage of this method is that it directly reflects the experience customers have when actually drinking the coffee, aiding in adjusting roasting and formulation strategies.
One of the biggest differences among these three cupping methods lies in whether “professional extraction equipment is used.” The Brazilian and SCAA methods typically involve only soaking the coffee grounds directly in hot water, without filtering or using pour over tools. While they can inspect the original characteristics of the coffee beans, they fail to present the balance of actual brewing. In contrast, the drip-style cupping used by a certain brand is closer to the daily brewing form consumed by customers, making it more valuable for café operators as a reference.
Additionally, the choice of roast level also significantly impacts cupping results. The Brazilian style favors a cinnamon roast (light to medium), which helps identify potential flaws, while SCAA usually adopts a roast close to City level (Agtron around 50), emphasizing the expression of aroma and flavor. A certain brand prefers a deep roast after the second crack, aligning with the actual flavor presentation of coffee sold, especially for adjusting to the preferences of specific markets or consumer groups.
For readers who are new to cupping, it is recommended to start with a simplified version of the drip-style cupping, using common pour over tools and filters, controlling water temperature and grind size, and gradually practicing the ability to discern acidity, sweetness, bitterness, astringency, body, and flavor. Remember, cupping is not simply “drinking coffee,” but rather systematically analyzing each sensory indicator. Only through repeated training can one gradually establish stable and accurate judgment standards.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
