What is coffee cupping?

Cupping is the standardised method the coffee industry uses to evaluate green and roasted coffee. It follows a defined protocol - most commonly the SCA Cupping Protocol - that creates consistent conditions so different coffees can be fairly compared, and so the same coffee can be tracked across pre-shipment sample, landed arrival, and production roast.

The process: coffee is ground medium and placed in standard cups, hot water at 93°C is poured directly over the grounds, a crust forms as the coffee steeps, you break it and evaluate the wet aroma, then taste by slurping the coffee vigorously from a cupping spoon. That slurp isn't bad manners - it aerosolises the liquid across the whole palate and draws aroma retronasally, which is where a lot of the interesting detail lives.

You're evaluating fragrance, aroma, flavour, aftertaste, acidity, body, balance, sweetness, uniformity, and overall impression - each scored to produce a final total out of 100. Any coffee scoring 80 or above is considered specialty grade. For buyers sourcing green coffee, cupping is the core evaluation tool. Everything else - spec sheets, altitude data, varietal information - is context that helps you understand what you're tasting.