Only professionals should no longer have fun. There are cuppers too who taste coffee as a corollary to professional purchase, contest judging, scripting reviews and many more. However the sheer pleasure of knowing that you have now to taste six cups of Monsoon Mysore, Tanzanian Peaberry and what not is a delight no one should be kept away from.



The cupper tastes as well as smells for body, flavor, acidity, finish, aroma and a huge range of such subtle qualities. To again produce the professional ambience at home you can begin with these easy arrangements.

Keep handy a good supply of filtered and fresh water. Sometimes the best beans are marred by unclean water. Water becomes stale by sponging smells from the air, by too much pungent minerals like sulfur or even through the mildew that grows in pipes. Dont use softened or distilled water since it absorbs a lot of the softening salts.

It is wise to keep a tray that can carry not less than dozen small glasses or cupping bowls. A paraphernalia of measuring spoons, scoops etc means you have all the essential equipment. But make sure you have the coffee too!

Boil the water and crush the beans using a burr grinder locked to a variety of settings in relation to the different trials wanted. You will be happily surprised to see this makes to the difference of the crushed beans in terms of fineness.

, letting any granules to steep for some minutes. The coffee now needs to be filtered. Allow it to cool and spoon out a sample. Smell it. Inhale slowly the aroma letting it swim through the nose and concentrate hard. Now taste, gurgling the beverage in the mouth. Stay that way for a few seconds then throw it out into a pan.

Try out with coffees of different countries a floral Columbian is way different from a rougher, darker Kenyan AA, which has gain no similarity with the winey Yemen Mocha.

Experiment with a variety of roasts too from light to very dark, Vietnamese to Viennese. Substitute the grind from very fine to a little rough. Changing the roast and grind can make a world of difference even if the bean is the same.

Remember some of the many qualities of the profile:

Aroma: the feeling that the steam produces which can be fruity or like a herb. Kona(s) are famous for the floral sensation.

Bitter: Because of caffeine and other compounds, a robusta will usually be bitterer than an Arabica. Feel it by holding on the back of the tongue.

Acid: a tart sensation that feels like a bit dry, usual in the Mexican, somewhat in a Sumatra preparation. Both the roast as well as the aging can bring in a difference here.

Sharpness a feeling from the mix of salts and acids. Very much noticeable in the cheap robusta.

Body: this means how thick the brew is. A light American will be sharply in contrast with a dark French, as an instance.

Nuttiness this is due to aldehydes and ketones which creates a sensation like roasted nuts. This however indicates a poor quality of beans.

Try out the broad spectrum of brews and blends and you will land up being a real coffee snob!