How do you measure coffee cups? Coffee cup test method tutorial that can be done at home

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Why is the coffee grindability standard measured by the cup so important? What is the grinding degree of the standard cup?

Who ordered the flavor of coffee on the market? If you like coffee, can you smell the origin of these coffee? Following the steps of the previous cup test, today we will introduce the scoring items of the cup test.

The history of cup testing

How did the cup test come about? in 1974, Ms. Erna Knutsen, the godmother of boutique coffee, coined the term boutique coffee. Her definition of boutique coffee is that beans have a unique flavor depending on the planting area, environment and climate. Then in 1982, the American Fine Coffee Association (SCAA) was established, but the cup testing system had not yet been established, which led to the controversy over the definition of fine coffee at that time, because everyone had different subjective perceptions of fine coffee.

Ms. Erna Kennusen.

Not until 2009, when SCAA created a systematic cup testing method, did boutique coffee have an objective and fair definition. Coffee evaluated according to the SCAA cup test criteria, more than 80 points are fine coffee, as shown in the table below.

Total Fine Coffee description level 90-100 Outstanding (Outstanding) Fine Coffee 85-89.99 excellent (Excellent) 80-84.99 good (Very Good) below 80 below Premium Coffee

The higher the score, the better the boutique coffee? The answer is not necessarily, because this has to return to people's subjectivity, everyone likes different flavor of coffee, of course, the definition of delicious is also different, but it can be affirmed in terms of quality. SCAA's cup testing system is not perfect, but it is already the most detailed and meticulous system.

With the establishment of cup testing system, high-quality coffee beans are no longer like ordinary bulk materials, with cost as all transaction conditions, but with high-quality terms, providing another trading channel for coffee farmers, which can better encourage coffee farmers to improve their coffee quality.

In 2009, Mr. Li Gaoming, a coffee farmer in Alishan, Taiwan, took part in SCAA's annual coffee cup test, scoring 83.5 points. When he entered the competition again in 2012, the score of coffee beans exceeded 85.67 points. Although the amount of coffee in Taiwan is small and the price is high, the high quality makes Taiwan's coffee comparable to world-class manor coffee.

The language of Mr. Li Gaoming Cup side teacher-- Flavor Wheel

Since its invention in 1995, the flavor wheel has been one of the important materials for the coffee industry, providing a scientific communication channel for the coffee industry.

SCAA coffee flavor wheel

The innermost circle of the flavor wheel is the nine categories of taste, and then extended according to the detailed classification, a total of 36 flavors, their colors according to the intuitive color of the taste. In Taiwan, some flavors are less likely to appear in life, or are not as good as those described in the flavor wheel, so reference information is attached to each flavor on the flavor wheel. In addition, in order to train the side division of the cup's sense of smell, some companies have launched scent bottles to increase their familiarity with the taste.

The item of testing and scoring of incense bottle cup

There are 11 scoring items in the cup test, the full scores of the 1st to 10th items are all 10 points, and the 11th item is inverted. The following picture shows the SCAA Cup score table.

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SCAA Cup score Table

1. Aroma (Fragrance, Aroma)

It contains dry and wet aromas, which are scored according to intensity and quality. the taste of aroma is mainly based on your sense of smell. Smell and taste have their own advantages. Trained cup testers can not only taste the taste, but also feel the aroma of coffee through the sense of smell. The feeling of this aroma is quite subtle, such as "flower", "fruit" or even "wine", which can be tasted by smell.

two。 Flavor (Flavor)

Flavor shows the main characteristics of a cup of coffee, through the sense of smell left in the upper jaw aroma, and through the taste of sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, sweet, to experience the feeling of coffee covering the taste buds. The scoring standard is to consider the intensity and quality of flavor and the combination of taste and aroma.

3. Yu Yun (Aftertaste)

Whether the pleasant flavor left in the throat after swallowing or spitting out the coffee is continued, enhanced or reduced. If the flavor is not good or the stay is not long, the score is on the low side.

4. Acidity (Acidity)

Acidity is judged by quality rather than strength, which is a different concept from Sour. Acidity represents a kind of natural refreshing acidity of food, such as lemon, willow and other fruits. Acid, on the other hand, refers to the sour taste after processing, such as vinegar, or even the sour taste of rotten and fermented food.

Why does coffee have acidity? This is a very normal phenomenon, because the coffee bean is derived from the coffee fruit, itself is a kind of fruit, so it naturally contains coffee acid. The acidity of good coffee should be refreshing and bright acidity, not irritating acidity. If the variety, process, roasting and brewing of coffee are properly regulated, you should be able to taste the natural acidity of the coffee.

5. Thickness (Body)

Thickness is the tactile feeling of coffee in the mouth. Whether a cup of coffee has a good thickness depends on the combination of alcohol thickness, viscosity, quality and other levels, the most important of which is the content of oil in the coffee. If there is too much oil, it will make the coffee too thick and thick; on the contrary, if there is too little oil, it makes people feel like they are drinking water.

If you still think it's too abstract, you can imagine the difference between drinking water and drinking milk. Water has almost no thickness, you can only feel the liquid flowing into your mouth, but when you drink milk, you will have a thick feeling, which is called thickness.

6. Degree of balance (Balance)

Balance is a comprehensive expression of aroma, flavor, acidity and thickness. the lack of a certain aroma or a strong flavor will affect the score.

7. Sweetness (Sweetness)

Sweetness refers to pleasant and full sweetness, or other special sweetness, the opposite of sweetness is not bitter, but sour (Sour), astringent (Astringency), "Green" flavor. Most people's impression of black coffee is only bitter, how can it be sweet? Because coffee beans contain carbohydrates, coffee releases sweetness. Of course, the sweetness of coffee cannot be compared with that of soda mixed with sugar.

8. Cleanliness (Clean Cup)

Cleanliness refers to the aftertaste from the beginning of inhaling coffee to the feeling after swallowing, which does not cause interference, that is, the transparency of a cup of coffee. As long as there is a taste and smell that non-coffee should have, it will lower the score.

9. Consistency (Uniformity)

Whether the characteristics of 5 cups of coffee brewed with the same beans in the same group are the same.

10. Overall evaluation (Overall)

The overall evaluation is the subjective score of the cup tester. If a cup of coffee performs well in some aspects, the overall evaluation score may be low because other items are not up to standard. On the contrary, if a cup of coffee performs average in each item, but meets the cup tester's expectations, you will get a high score.

11. Defect (Defects)

The defect is the smell of coffee, or unpleasant taste, divided into olfactory defects (Taint) and taste defects (Fault), deducting 2 points and 4 points respectively.

Sweetness, cleanliness and consistency belong to the basic score, with a total of 30 points, plus 10 points for each of the seven items except defects, out of 100 points.

The cup test must be carried out by people, of course, it is difficult to completely evade the will of people. Today's cup testing method may be questioned, but there is no doubt about the goal of pursuing good coffee. At home, you can also try a simple cup test, follow the cup test steps, brew 3 cups of coffee, compare the flavor wheel, and experience the new feeling that coffee brings to you.

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