Deep Knowledge - Mudhouse Blog

An Introduction to Coffee Cupping

A coffee’s quality is based on its flavors, aromas, its body, acidity, finish, and balance (To get the low-down on these factors check out “Describing a Cup of Coffee” in our “Deep Knowledge” section.)  The purpose of cupping is to give each one of these factors the same opportunity to prove themselves (hence the super consistent variables) so that the intensity of each factor can be evaluated.  The scores of all of a coffee’s individual factors determine its overall score, or cup quality. 

Cupping provides a standardized method for evaluating coffees that is used throughout the coffee industry – by farmers, roasters, baristas, and consumers —the purposes may be different, but the methods are always the same! 

Similar to wine tasting, cupping is the ritual the coffee professionals use in order to evaluate the quality of a certain coffee.  Farmers can use cupping to evaluate and improve the quality of their crop – certain flavors, aromas, aftertastes, and textures  can indicate a problem with the coffee’s processing, soil quality, harvest, or a number of other agricultural conditions that negatively affect the quality of a crop.

Roasters and Importers use cupping to pick out imperfections in a particular crop and to evaluate the overall quality of a coffee by analyzing and numerically rating the intensity of pleasurable attributes and negative attributes.  This information is can be extremely useful when determining which coffees to purchase. (At Mudhouse, cup quality is just the first step in choosing our coffees – after determining a coffee meets our quality standards, it must then also meet our standards regarding environmental sustainability and equitable labor conditions.)

Cupping for Baristas and Consumers alike is important for gaining insight into your personal likes and dislikes when it comes to your favorite kinds of coffee and let just face it: you sound so intellectual and romantic when you describe the poetic experience of the cup!  As you begin to cup different coffees from around the world, it opens a whole new world of cheap, elegant, sensual enjoyment.  It doesn’t cost but a dollar and change to be transported to the highest peaks on the Island of Sumatra; to appreciate the chocolaty smooth texture in your mouth, and feel the tingly spicy citrus dance on the tip of your tongue, as the imaginary mountain breeze sends scents of earthy cinnamon and cedar through your nose. 

Most professional cuppings are done with a light roast of the coffee under evaluation, as the lighter roast allows for more of the coffee’s individual characteristics and imperfections stand out.  As coffee is roasted darker, more of the coffee’s distinct characteristics and flavors are ‘burned off’ and replaced with a smoky taste.  However, cupping can still be done at any roast degree—because we are cupping to appreciate the integrity and genius of the roasters and the sheer magic of the barista, it is fine to cup our coffee just the way it comes from our Roaster-Partner, Lexington Coffee Roasting Company. 

Our Roaster-Partners in Lexington and the Baristas at Mudhouse cup our coffees daily so that we can ensure that integrity is maintained from crop to crop, roast to roast, and brew to brew.  As we repeatedly cup the same coffee, we can watch for dips in its quality.  When a coffee begins to receive declining scores, our roasters will cease to purchase it for roasting.  This ensures that only coffees of the highest integrity and perfection make it to our Coffeehouse and into your cup, and that estates that are producing exclusive coffees are supported and maintained (overall, the most sustainable methods for production, also produce the most flavorful, and elegant cup attributes) 

Cupping is a beautiful way to appreciate the chemistry, agriculture, and dedication that are all part of making a cup of specialty coffee truly special.  Cup quality starts in the soil, in the seed, and in the hands of a humble Farmer, who labors in love to produce a beautiful, and unique harvest, which is then passed into the hands of the Roaster, who “reads” a coffee’s potential and brings it to life by expertly and artistically drawing its personality out with the perfect degree of roast.  The Roaster then entrusts their masterpiece to the skill of the Barista, who understands the brewing process and protects the complexly delicate coffee from the threat of improper storage, and old age and brews according to the correct levels of grind, water temperature and extraction time. The Barista must also carefully texture the milk to expertly complement the sweetness of the perfect shot of espresso in order to complete the cycle.  The top of your latte marked with a satin heart - the heart of the farmer, the roaster, and the barista. 

Enjoy your cup, and rock on!