Cupping: How to Compare Coffees Under the Same Conditions

Cupping is the standard method green coffee buyers, roasters and baristas use to evaluate and compare coffees. To remove the influence of brewing skill and isolate differences in the coffee itself, every sample is steeped at the same ratio in the same way.

1. Why identical conditions matter

In pour-over or espresso, pouring, grind and pressure change the same coffee dramatically. Cupping is a simple immersion — hot water over coarse grounds, left to steep — so results are similar whoever does it, and samples are easy to compare.

2. SCA cupping guidelines

Item	Guideline
Ratio	8.25 g coffee per 150 mL water (about 1:18)
Water temperature	About 93°C
Grind	Slightly coarser than pour-over, ground just before
Cups	Several cups per sample (to check cup-to-cup consistency)
Break	About 4 minutes after pouring

The SCA has codified these steps in its cupping protocols and has more recently introduced a new system, the Coffee Value Assessment, that separates describing a coffee's attributes from judging its quality.

3. The cupping sequence

1. Fragrance: smell the dry grounds.
2. Aroma: pouring water forms a crust of grounds on top. At 4 minutes, push through the crust three times with a spoon and smell the aroma released.
3. Skimming: remove the foam and floating grounds with two spoons.
4. Tasting: once slightly cooled, slurp from the spoon so the coffee sprays across the mouth; drawing in air carries aroma to the back of the nose.
5. Repeat as it cools: acidity and defects show more as temperature falls, so taste several times.

4. What to record

Note fragrance and aroma, flavor, acidity, sweetness, body, aftertaste, balance and any defects. Using a shared vocabulary such as World Coffee Research's Sensory Lexicon makes notes comparable between people. Specialty coffee is also often scored this way (usually 80+ points), separately from national grades.

Putting it into practice

• A simple home cupping: put 12 g of each coffee in same-size cups, add 200 g of 93°C water, break and smell at 4 minutes, skim, then taste with a spoon.
• Compare: tasting two or three coffees of different origin or process side by side reveals differences far better than tasting one alone.
• Hygiene: with several people, rinse spoons between cups and never dip a spoon that's been in your mouth into a shared cup.

References

• Specialty Coffee Association. Cupping Protocols; Coffee Value Assessment (SCA-102).
• World Coffee Research (2017). Sensory Lexicon (2nd ed.).
• Lingle, T. R. (2011). The Coffee Brewing Handbook (2nd ed.). Specialty Coffee Association of America.