Coffee cup tester gatekeeper for coffee beans

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The third wave of coffee focuses on local flavor, so roasting is dominant, with coffee roasters stir-frying tasteless raw beans into fragrant and complex ripe beans. But who decides whether the fried coffee beans are qualified or not? In the coffee industry, there is a specialty called cupping, which is used to identify the quality of raw and cooked beans.

"it is agreed in foreign countries that there must be cup testers, but the Hong Kong market is so small that no one can afford a full-time cup tester for the time being, so many bakers have to take care of this position and even rely on coffee shops to help them try it." Chen Tianle, who is also a baker, cup tester and barista, won this year's World Coffee Cup Test Competition.

Both the exit and entrance of coffee beans rely on the results and scores of the cup test before going to the baristas and guests. Cup test must be accurately calculated, not a simple taste test, coffee content, soaking time and even steps are stipulated to ensure fairness. The most basic thing is to try three to five cups of each kind of coffee beans before you can determine whether the quality of the whole batch of coffee beans is stable. Then according to the aroma, sour taste, taste, aftertaste and so on to score, by the cup tester to give more than 80 points can be regarded as boutique coffee. Roasters can also give data such as cooking time parameters and gold extraction parameters to facilitate baristas to brew.

"at the beginning, there will be a lot of complex flavors in my mind, and I don't know how to describe them." At this time, you can refer to the coffee flavor wheel (flavour wheel) to help the cup tester describe various flavors and distinguish the taste of defective beans. "by now, I can find out which beans are 80 points higher without the help of grading paper." Coffee beans that have been guarded by Champions League testers can be said to be a guarantee of confidence.

Coffee cup testing procedure

① first smells the "dry aroma" of coffee powder in the cup (Fragrance)

② after adding coffee powder to hot water, you can smell the wet fragrance (Aroma) produced in the cup.

③ begins to break the slag (break) about four minutes after injecting hot water. Remove the top powder layer and smell the incense near the broken slag.

④ removes coffee grounds and oil (ground & lipids) so as not to affect the taste of the cup.

⑤ scoops up the coffee liquid on the surface with a cup spoon because the temperature is low and avoid stirring the coffee powder. Sip the coffee into your mouth to atomize the coffee and feel more aroma and taste.

Craft Coffee Roaster

Shop no. 29, tai Kok Tsui road, tai Kok Tsui

2395 1888