Coffee TastingGuides
Coffee tasting and cupping guides
Practical, sourced guides to tasting coffee well. Each one starts with a short answer, then goes deep, and cites the Specialty Coffee Association, World Coffee Research and published research so you can check every claim.
- How to cup coffee: a step-by-step cupping guideCup coffee like a professional: the SCA ratio (8.25 g per 150 mL), grind, 93 °C water, breaking the crust, slurping and scoring, explained step by step.Read the guide →
- Coffee tasting vocabulary: every cupping attribute explainedWhat fragrance, aroma, flavor, aftertaste, acidity, body, balance, sweetness, clean cup and uniformity mean in coffee tasting, with definitions from the SCA.Read the guide →
- How to host a coffee cupping at home or in a caféPlan and run a home or café coffee cupping: choosing coffees, blind coding, equipment, table layout, hygiene, guiding first-timers and leading the discussion.Read the guide →
- How to use a coffee flavor wheelHow the SCA and World Coffee Research Coffee Taster's Flavor Wheel works, the research behind it, and how to use it to name what you taste: start broad, then narrow.Read the guide →
- How to taste espresso versus filter coffeeWhy espresso and filter coffee taste so different, how to taste each one properly, and how to describe acidity, body, sweetness and finish in a concentrated shot.Read the guide →
- Cupping scores explained: the 100-point scale and the CVAHow coffee cupping scores work: the classic SCA 100-point form, what 80+ really means, the 2024 Coffee Value Assessment's 9-point scale, and how to read a score.Read the guide →
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