What are the characteristics and functions of "cup test"? How to proceed?

Friends who will ask "Cup Cupping" should have a certain understanding of coffee, and will ask questions. Basically, we understand it as "industry standard".

The cup test is a standard that only fine coffee has, and it is almost obvious that the mature coffee cup test standard was formed after the 1990s. When it comes to cup testing, I have to mention coffee roasting again, because in the past European and American people drank coffee, especially in the 1960s, most of them only chose their roasting methods. There was no standard for roasting methods at that time, only habits, and each roaster was identified as deep and deep. It was not until 1996 that the Agtron Egstrong value table appeared that the baking was carried out to the basic standard. If you want to know more about it, you can check the Agtron value yourself. The cup test is very related to the production area of roasting and raw beans, because the cup test Cupping measures the roasted coffee beans, and the degree of roasting can show many flavors. The basic ones are:

Aroma is the intensity of the aroma when coffee is brewed;

Body is the weight of coffee in the mouth;

Flavor is the taste of coffee in the mouth when it enters the mouth, like tasting red wine;

Acidity The style of coffee acidity, e.g. mild or sharp;

Sweetness is the sweetness intensity of coffee liquid retained in the oral cavity;

Aftertaste is the flavor and smell of coffee after it is tasted in the mouth and spit out.

Authorities such as SCAA and COE have more standards and requirements for cup testing, such as "Fragrance","uniformity","clean cup","mouth feel","overall impression","stain" and "fault".

In addition to the evaluation criteria, the ratio of coffee beans to water during cup testing is also specified.

Water ratio: 8.25 grams of coffee beans with 150ml of water, the water temperature should be 92.2 - 94.4°C;

Cup measuring cup: tempered glass or ceramic materials should be used,

Cup capacity: between 207ml and 266ml,

Cup height: 3 to 3.5 inches

Cup diameter: 76 - 89 mm. All cups should be made of the same volume, size and material, with lids.

Spoon for cup testing: use antistatic metal material (mostly stainless steel), and the capacity of each spoon can be 4-5ml.

Of course, there are standards for roasting coffee beans, that is, to meet the Agtron #55-#60 mentioned above, including the thickness of the beans when the cup is measured, the beans are baked within 24 hours, even the size of the room when the cup is measured, the size of the cup table, the ventilation in the room, and the quality of the coffee are all standard. The controllable factors are set within a range to the maximum extent, so that the quality measured by the cup is objective as much as possible.

I think just like red wine, coffee is also divided into regions, estates, varieties…Of course, just like the EU has certification for red wine, all coffee beans participating in the "fine coffee" ranks will be Cupping, and the coffee grade will be determined through standard procedures and regulations. I think this is a good thing, let more people through this document to better understand the quality of coffee, everything depends on quality, quality also brings better income for coffee farmers, quality also makes coffee consumers have more assured quality.

For friends who are good at English and interested in further understanding, please refer to the following links:

SCAA Association coffee cup testing rules flow

http://scaa.org/PDF/PR%20-%20CUPPING%20PROTOCOLS%20V.20OCT2009A.pdf

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Author introduction: Egg IN Beijing

Author of Taiwan Free Travel Food Travel Books "Taste Taipei-True Taste" and "Taste Taipei-Heart Travel";

Founder of CafeDeSOFA