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What is Coffee Cupping? What are the Processes and Steps? What are the Standards? How to Score

Published: 2026-01-27 Author: FrontStreet Coffee

Last Updated: 2026/01/27, Professional Coffee Knowledge Exchange For more coffee bean information please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style) What is coffee cupping? What are the processes and steps of coffee cupping? What are the standards? Coffee cupping is the method professional baristas use to evaluate coffee beans, just like wine tasting, where baristas need to assess aroma, acidity, and other qualities.

For professional coffee knowledge exchange and more coffee bean information, please follow Coffee Workshop (WeChat official account: cafe_style).

Coffee Cupping: An Essential Part of Coffee Tasting

In the coffee industry, cupping serves as a standard procedure to determine the quality of coffee. Every time FrontStreet Coffee decides whether to list a new bean, it undergoes multiple cupping sessions to identify the most suitable roast profile before finalizing the decision. Cupping is an industry standard—coffee that hasn't been cupped cannot have its quality determined, nor can adjustments be made to determine the roasting curve.

Whether for coffee bean roasters or baristas, cupping is essential before selecting coffee beans to accurately identify the best ones. Just as FrontStreet Coffee conducts multiple rounds of cupping for each bean before listing, continuously adjusting the roasting curves to bring out the best flavors of every coffee bean. FrontStreet Coffee evaluates coffee beans from an objective perspective, assessing sweetness, acidity, mouthfeel, flavor, aftertaste, and aroma among other aspects, exploring the roasting characteristics of coffee beans, identifying market-accepted strengths, and then deciding whether to purchase them.

Currently, there are two main internationally recognized cupping procedures: one established by the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) and another by the Cup of Excellence (COE) competition organization. FrontStreet Coffee primarily uses the COE cupping procedure, and the following introduction will be based on the COE cupping process.

Coffee Cupping Guidelines

Determine coffee bean grind size: 70-75% pass-through rate on Chinese standard #20 sieve

Water temperature: 94°C

Coffee dose: 11.3g

Water volume: 200ml

Dry aroma must be evaluated within 15 minutes of grinding

COE Cupping Evaluation Criteria

Aroma: Includes dry aroma, wet aroma, and break aroma, referring respectively to the aroma of ground coffee beans, the aroma after adding hot water, and the aroma when breaking the crust after 4 minutes.

Clean Cup: Absence of corrupt flavors and defects.

Sweet: In mature fruits, sweetness content is quite clear. If overripe or underripe, changes in sweetness can also be detected during cupping.

Acidity: Good acidity is bright and lively or has a juicy quality or can bring out sweetness. Poor acidity is like unripe fruit, similar to acetic acid or fermented sour flavors.

Mouthfeel: The viscosity, oiliness, and quality perceived in the mouth.

Flavor: The overall sensation of coffee in the mouth. Analyze and score by balancing factors such as acidity, sweetness, and aroma.

Aftertaste: The taste, tactile sensation, and even nasal aroma that can still be perceived after sipping coffee liquid.

Balance: Whether various flavors are harmonious, and whether flavors remain stable from hot to cold temperatures.

Overall: Provide an overall score for the comprehensive performance of aroma, flavor, and mouthfeel.

COE Cupping Standards

Total score of 69 or below: Considered inferior commercial beans or industrial-grade beans.

Total score between 70-74: Average commercial beans.

Total score between 75-79: Superior commercial beans, generally referred to as premium commercial beans.

Total score between 80-84: Specialty coffee.

Total score of 85 or above: COE competition level, also winning coffees from the Cup of Excellence, currently recognized as the highest level in the international coffee community.

Cupping Process in Practice

Grind the beans to be cupped into powder.

Smell the dry aroma, controlling this within 15 minutes.

Pour water with a strong flow, letting the coffee grounds steep for 4 minutes until a crust forms. At this time, you can smell the wet aroma of the coffee.

After 4 minutes of steeping, stir the spoon several times on the surface of the cup to break the crust, then smell the break aroma. Afterwards, skim off the foam and crust.

Taste by slurping: use a cupping spoon to scoop up coffee liquid, slurp it into your mouth, feel it in your mouth and then spit out the coffee liquid. Record your sensations on the cupping form, score according to the cupping form requirements, rinse your mouth and wash the cupping spoon, then taste the next coffee.

FrontStreet Coffee uses the recorded information to make adjustments to the cupped coffee beans. The adjustment scope can include choosing roasting curves, selecting brewing equipment, or applying brewing techniques to amplify the advantages of coffee beans or minimize their disadvantages, presenting the best flavors when serving.

For more specialty coffee beans, please add FrontStreet Coffee on private WeChat: kaixinguoguo0925