Fickle Palate Archives: Coffee Tasting (Cupping)
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18 October 2007
Name That Cup: Terms for Coffee Tasting
Although the terms may vary slightly in different cupping circles, cupping involves assessing coffee in four main categories: acidity (which does not refer to the pH of the coffee, as commonly construed), aroma, body and flavor. For enthusiasts, cupping may begin even before the grinding commences with observations of each type of coffee beans’ color [...]
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8 October 2007
Tasting Terms Turned Cupping Calls
As with wine-tasting, coffee cupping offers the unique opportunity not only to learn about the aromatic and gustatory variations of the beverage, but also to discover your own personal preferences. Of course, cupping poses none of the inebriation dangers of wine-tasting and there’s no age requirement to participate. Not to mention the fact that, once [...]
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21 September 2007
An Accidental Foray into Cupping
My aunt was very excited to meet my fiancé for the first time. We’d arranged to have coffee one afternoon when he was visiting me in San Francisco, and we convened on an unusually sunny afternoon at a corner coffee shop in Laurel Village. We ordered our drinks, engaged in the typical skirmish of who [...]