Coffee cup testing steps explain how to calculate the grinding degree of the cup measured by the formula of the ratio of water powder to water powder

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Coffee Cupping is a way for professional coffee makers to taste coffee beans. Just like tasting red wine, baristas need to judge the taste of coffee from many aspects, such as Aroma, Acidity, Aftertaste and so on. It is a necessary process to make fine coffee.

Liao Weifen, founder of The Coffee Academics, said: "in the world of boutique coffee, every coffee bean carries the history of that place and the painstaking efforts of farmers, so the process of testing coffee is sacred and fine. Just like the formal tea party in Japan, they all complete the whole process with reverence. "

Now that technology is becoming more and more advanced, Liao Weifen has different choices. "when I first started the industry, I had to rely on fixed suppliers, but with the rapid development of Internet technology, we have access to more and more coffee suppliers," she says. and trade directly with farmers. "

Before establishing a cooperative relationship, Liao Weifen needs to have a deep understanding of farmers' farming habits and living space, so she often goes to the local area to visit: "We live with farmers, live in their homes, and learn about their lives. A special one was when we went to Banda Aceh, Indonesia (Banda Aceh) to learn how they recovered from the tsunami. For me, coffee is not only coffee, but also needs to have social significance. "

Liao Weifen shares with us a few simple steps to test a cup of coffee.

Coffee cup testing guide

Start the preparatory work before

Usually the cup test is conducted in the morning, Liao Weifen said: "because we know that after noon, our taste buds will overheat, affecting the judgment of coffee tasting." And four hours before the cup test starts, we don't eat spicy or heavy food to keep our taste buds clean. "

She also shared that some professional baristas, especially those who won international awards, usually have stricter rules of life, such as not eating spicy food at all, exercising regularly, etc., in order to maintain a keen sense of taste.

Each tasting is usually 6 people, everyone does not speak in the tasting process, alone experience the interaction with the coffee. After that, we discussed the score and the taste and quality of the coffee.

Step one: make coffee

First of all, boil the water. The Coffee Academics also has certain requirements for water quality. Liao Weifen chooses to use German BWT Beshi purified water, which is a kind of pure water with magnesium (Magnesium), which can increase the aroma of coffee.

Ground coffee beans are particularly reserved and fragile, so they should be poured into hot water in a circle instead of directly injecting a large amount of water. "only in this way can the air get into the coffee and the taste is more uniform," she said. "

Step 2: remove coffee grease

After pouring hot water, let the coffee settle for about 10 minutes, so that the sediment of the coffee will stay directly at the bottom, and the Crema will float on the surface. Use two tablespoons to remove the grease layer of the coffee and leave the coffee clean and clear.

Step 3: smell

Then, first smell the coffee and feel the aroma of the coffee. Liao Weifen said: "the first step to getting to know good coffee is through your nose."

Step 4: sip

After smelling it, you need to sip the coffee. It takes some skill. Liao Weifen said: "the air collides with the coffee during the sipping process, and the taste is the strongest. At this time, you need to pay attention to the purest taste of coffee and the interaction between this taste and your sense of taste and smell." And whether it has clean taste and balanced properties. "

After tasting all kinds of coffee, Liao Weifen and the team will also provide different services according to different types of coffee: "We can use Chemex hand filter pot to brew coffee or use coffee machine to make latte coffee, milk coffee (cappuccino), and so on."

For Liao Weifen, everyone has his own definition of a good cup of coffee: "in the past, people of the older generation preferred heavy coffee to over-sour coffee, but now people like clean taste." Different regions also have different coffee cultures, such as Vietnamese like to add condensed milk and so on. So there is no fixed definition of a good cup of coffee. "