Of Coffee Cuppings
Of coffee what? You may be wondering if I made a typo in my title – that is, if you have not heard of the new trend that is becoming popular in New York. The New York Times recently published an article on this activity (coffee cupping) which is supposed to be the alternative to wine tasting. Certainly, there are similarities – the tasting part. There is, however, no spitting allowed in coffee cuppings.
Joking aside, coffee cuppers take this activity seriously. The Times reports:
Time was when only coffee buyers, roasters and baristas cared to spend time sniffing grounds with patient dedication. But now cuppings at independent cafes like Joe attract connoisseurs who wouldn’t be caught dead sipping an overroasted blend and regularly travel to another borough for superior beans.
I love coffee – you know that – but isn’t this taking things a bit too seriously? Fellow blogger Emily Matchar expressed my sentiments well in her post about cuppings:
I mean, I’m willing to believe that other people have the ability to discern flavors I can’t sense. But is a bag of beans from a single farm lot discernibly different than beans from a handful of farms in the same region?
I have my favorite coffee – one that I get from this region in the south. I would really prefer to use this coffee every single time but when I do run out, I can live with other types of coffee that I get from the supermarket.
Am I being an ignorant coffee brute here or are there other people who think the same way?
“Cuppings” were bound to happen. See, now people are aware of new and very exotic origins popping everywhere and of course tasting coffee is a lot more advantageous than wine (cost, no DWI, availability, etc). Truly there is not much difference from coffees from Central America if you stay in high end of this origins. The same goes for coffees from African nations such as Ethiopia, were only very skilled and educated palates (and of course using scientific methods) can differentiate between Yirgacheffe and Harrar. Perhaps someone will describe one as having an apricot aftertaste and the other one as leaving a blueberry one. But this cupping opens a new can of worms that will take coffee awareness to a new high. Please go to your local roaster and get educated. Never settle for the same old thing and always question is this the best for me. It will get you surprised every now and them. And of course coffees have to be fresh roasted and fresh brewed in order to tell the difference.
Hello… cool blog!
I’m the guy that started that cupping club in NYC. First of all… I think you were joking, but for the record, people do spit when they cup coffees!
Second… yes there are very often discernible differences between coffees from the same region of the same country. There are all kinds of things that can happen between the soil and the roasting facility that will change the flavor of a coffee… some are accidents and some are on purpose. Some countries, like Brazil for instance, have great uniformity across distance. Others, like Ethiopia, have incredibly different tastes coming from farms just a few miles from each other.
Keep up the rad blog!
-Daniel
Coffee cupping sounds like fun only because I love coffee, but I do think it’s a bit much. I do not have to feel superior about the kind of coffee I drink; I just have to love how it tastes. I buy mine at the supermarket and have been thrilled with it since Folgers introduced Black Silk. In my opinion it is remarkable coffee for the price, which isn’t cheap but isn’t expensive either! It’s just right.
I think coffee cupping is a great idea! Why not expose the palate to a range of flavours and see whether you really CAN discern the difference? Perhaps they won’t be as subtle as first thought. I’m sure many people will thoroughly enjoy the experience and probably extend their flavour boundaries. I’m not saying it’s for everyone, but why not try it? If nothing else you’ll have a marvellous time with a small group of friends - and who can criticise that? So to all who decide to try it sometime, enjoy the experience and learn something new.
Thanks you all for the input. Anyone know about a coffee cupping coming up soon? And Daniel, wow, you actually found my blog!