How to Evaluate Specialty Coffee? Using Coffee Cupping to Assess the Quality and Flavor of Specialty Coffee

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Coffee is one of the most complex beverages we drink. It has more aromatic compounds than wine, and there are hundreds of aromas and flavors found in coffee. The origin of the coffee, the type of coffee beans used, the processing and roasting of the beans, and even the brewing method all affect the flavors you can experience in a cup of coffee. These flavors all highlight different characteristics of coffee, making each cup taste different from the last.

Coffee experts use several different methods to evaluate the quality and flavor of specialty coffee, with the most common method being "cupping." Cupping is a sensory exercise that uses both the mouth and nose to compare different coffees simultaneously. During the cupping process, the same set of variables is used to brew multiple coffee beans, and then tasters evaluate the characteristics of each bean, including fragrance, aroma, flavor, texture, acidity, and aftertaste. The main tastes that can be felt on the tongue are sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and umami, but each person perceives them differently. As the taste buds accumulate more experience, you become increasingly capable of distinguishing more specific and subtle coffee characteristics. Coffee evaluation typically focuses on the first four tastes plus touch as the main measurement directions.

Cupping Method

Brief description of cupping steps:

1. Measure equal amounts of coffee powder for each cup, still following the golden cup ratio principle, using approximately a 1:15-16 powder-to-water ratio for immersion evaluation.

2. Smell the coffee powder and write down any notable characteristics of the coffee's dry fragrance. It is recommended to arrange the coffees in order when tasting, placing the most intense flavors last.

3. Pour equal amounts of 92-95°C water into each cup without stirring. After a few minutes, bring your nose close to the cup surface and smell the wet fragrance released as the coffee grounds absorb water.

4. Break the crust: use a cupping spoon to push aside the surface powder layer. Move the spoon surface appropriately along the liquid surface in three circles and press the surface coffee grounds into the liquid. Then bring the cup close again and inhale the coffee aroma at close range. You can flip the bottom of the spoon surface after circling, at which point the liquid flavor on the bottom of the spoon will be particularly pronounced.

5. Gently scoop away the surface coffee grounds with a cupping spoon (and dip the cupping spoon into the cleaning water cup to remove the coffee grounds from it).

6. Take a spoonful of coffee about seven-eighths full, bring it close to your lips, suck in a large amount of air to draw the coffee into your mouth, and slurp loudly. Try to let some coffee reach the back of your mouth, then spit it out directly. Experience the coffee flavor at this stage. Write down your thoughts for later comparison, clean the cupping spoon, and continue tasting the next cup.

Try to taste all coffees quickly at the same temperature. You can conduct round-robin testing at different temperature stages until reaching room temperature, and high-quality coffee will display different flavors at various temperatures.

Evaluation System Introduction 1 - COE Scoring Standards

COE stands for Cup of Excellence. The cupping form used in the COE cupping system was designed by flavor enthusiast George Howell, referencing the wine book "Wine Taster's Secret," and has had a profound influence on subsequent coffee cupping. There are 8 scoring items plus reference items for fragrance, which are not directly scored. The maximum score for each item is 8 points, and scores above 6 can be adjusted in 0.5-point increments. 8×8=64 points + 36 base points = 100 points total. The base points are designed for convenience to reach 100 points, but if other quality issues are found, points can also be deducted separately from the evaluation items.

The scoring items are as follows:

Clean Cup

Cleanliness refers to the texture of the coffee itself, giving the drinker a particularly clear flavor without any off-notes in terms of taste. The cleaner the coffee, the higher the clarity and variation of layers and flavors. The coffee in the cup must not have any defective flavors that interfere with the judge's evaluation: defective flavors include excessive fermentation, phenolic, and moldy tastes, and must also be free of grass, earth, rough, astringent, and other flavors. The microclimate of the coffee origin can bring more rich variations to achieve at least 6 points in the Clean Cup item. However, high scores are rarely seen in the cleanliness item. The basic high score situation is to get one extra point when supporting excellent flavors and acidity. Approximately only when all other items except cleanliness receive 7 points will cleanliness be given 7 points. In the COE evaluation system, many items are interconnected, and the core among them is cleanliness.

Sweetness

Sweet elements such as peach and vanilla flavors give people the feeling that "this cup of coffee is very sweet." This is also influenced by acidity: tartaric acid can give the sweetest sensation, followed by malic acid, and then citric acid. Therefore, the "sweetness" of coffee is not a single factor but the result of the combination of different factors.

On the other hand, coffee sweetness is also related to aftertaste performance, so these items are also related.

There are also many factors that negatively affect coffee sweetness:

Whether the coffee harvesting process only picked fully ripe red cherries of the same maturity level. If unripe beans are mixed in, they will present spicy green pepper and potato flavors. Conversely, if they are too ripe, you will taste rotten fruit and overripe banana flavors.

Next is the impact of cleanliness. Negative flavors such as bitterness, grass, astringency, and astringent taste all affect coffee sweetness. This is also why it is said: "Cleanliness is the foundation and starting point of a good cup of coffee." If no serious negative flavors are tasted, this item can generally receive 6 points.

Acidity

In the acidity item, there is no direct relationship between the intensity of acidity and the score. What is required is the quality of acidity, which is very important. Unlike wine, all coffees have no need to emphasize or highlight acidity. Coffee acidity should naturally pursue quality. Whether it's coffee or wine, the main components of flavor are acidity and aroma. Especially the acid part is divided into citric acid, malic acid, tartaric acid, succinic acid, lactic acid, etc. Each acid and aroma gives coffee a different "impression." Improperly processed coffee with prominent acidity gives the impression of grassy (Green) flavor, accompanied by strong astringency and tannin astringency. In WBC (World Barista Championship), astringency = tannin = astringent feeling is classified in Mouthfeel, the texture category score, but COE cupping can be combined with flavor for free scoring.

This item emphasizes the quality of acidity rather than its intensity. Excellent coffee gives a pleasant feeling, and its acid quality also makes it smooth to drink.

Therefore, the Astringent item can be scored in three aspects: cleanliness, acidity, and texture. If there is no strong grassy flavor, irritation, or astringent feeling, 6 points can generally be obtained.

Mouthfeel

How coffee feels in the mouth. This item scores the coffee's viscosity, density, weight, and irritation. Like acidity, there is no direct relationship between the intensity and quality of mouthfeel. During cupping, judges first score the "intensity" as high, medium, or low (High Body, Medium Body, Low Body), and then evaluate the quality of the mouthfeel. The mouthfeel item can be divided into different parts, and the parts introduced below are just one type of classification.

Liquid weight (Body, Weight) refers to the feeling of liquid sticking to the tongue, viscosity. It can be described with words such as light, medium, heavy, thick, or thin.

The feeling of liquid staying in the mouth refers to the sensation when liquid remains in the mouth. How does the coffee liquid feel on the oral mucosa? It can be described with words such as sharp, round, creamy, etc. The feeling of holding coffee in the mouth can be described with words such as astringent, tannin, round, etc.

The feeling of liquid flow refers to the sensation when swallowing coffee liquid or when rinsing it in the mouth. It can be described with words such as syrupy, silky, smooth, etc.

Flavor

"Flavor" itself is a composite concept of taste and aroma. The basic components of flavor are "acidity" and "aroma," plus "sweetness" and "mouthfeel" together form the flavor experience.

Aftertaste

Aftertaste refers to the flavor remnant felt when drinking coffee and the feeling brought by other characteristics of the coffee. Whether the feeling of swallowing is smooth or obstructed, the speed at which sweetness disappears, etc. Generally, a long, elegant aftertaste can get better scores, but a clear, rich aftertaste is also very appealing.

Balance

Balance refers to checking whether the coffee flavors are harmonious:

Balance is really a very difficult item. First, let's talk about flavor: while having excellent flavors, does it also have good sweetness and cleanliness to bring out the flavors? The balance aspect does not examine whether the stronger the better, but whether the coffee is harmonious. This can also be evaluated from the coffee's own sour, sweet, bitter, as well as mouthfeel and aftertaste aspects, not leaning toward particularly sour or particularly sweet, not focusing on just one sensation.

Overall

As the name suggests, this is an item that reflects and describes personal preferences:

What impression does this coffee give you? Is it a coffee with high complexity or simple and straightforward? Do you personally like this coffee? A certain degree of personal preference will affect the score, but it won't differ too much from the scores of other items. It is also used to adjust the final score: 84 points can be recognized as Exemplary Coffee, 86 points is the COE recognition score, and 90 points is Presidential Award Coffee. Therefore, when reaching nodes like 89.5 points, flexible adjustments can be made.

Final Points

The biggest difference in flavor between coffee and red wine, craft beer is that coffee flavors change as the temperature drops. And besides the various conditions previously written, the biggest difference between specialty coffee and commercial coffee is that the variation layers of flavor are also very important considerations.

Coffee flavors become more prominent as the temperature drops because the temperature lowers to a range easily perceived by humans. Except for iced coffee, no one would want to drink coffee in one go because of the risk of scalding. Therefore, during the process of drinking coffee, the impression of coffee taste changes in the following three situations:

(Consistent)

Coffee flavor does not change over time, tasting good from hot to cold.

(Improve)

As it cools, the coffee tastes better and better. Coffee that doesn't have much flavor when hot, its flavor and sweetness become prominent when the temperature drops to the 50°C range.

(Decent)

The first sip gives an excellent impression, but as the temperature drops, flaws in cleanliness and mouthfeel also become prominent. Therefore, when judging a coffee, you must drink it until it's cold.

Total score of 69 or below: belongs to slightly inferior commercial beans or industrial beans.

Total score between 70-74: belongs to general commercial beans.

Total score between 75-79: belongs to superior commercial beans, generally called high-end commercial beans.

Total score between 80-84: belongs to specialty coffee and can also enter the COE evaluation competition.

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

Evaluation System Introduction 2 - SCA Scoring Standards

SCA, short for Specialty Coffee Association, was formed by the merger of the European Specialty Coffee Association (SCAE) and the American Specialty Coffee Association (SCAA). Scores of 80 or above are rated as specialty coffee grade.

Fragrance(Dry)/Aroma(Wet)

First, identify from major categories, such as floral, fruit, nut, woody distillation types, etc., and then give scores based on the richness and intensity of the aroma. Note that the aroma section has a vertical scale for intensity that needs to be marked.

Mainly judged by the dry fragrance before adding water and the wet aroma after adding water, while the aroma after breaking the coffee crust can also be recorded here.

Acidity

The acid evaluation part should judge whether the acid is good or bad based on the stimulation the coffee gives you (layering, aftertaste degree). The intensity of acidity does not represent the quality of acidity; some coffees have obvious acid stimulation after entering the mouth, like grapefruit, plum sweet and sour feeling. After swallowing the coffee, acid sensation still remains on both sides of the tongue, then this acidity is very excellent; some coffees may not have strong acidity, but the combined acidity is very smooth, like the sweet and sour feeling of ripe fruit, which is also excellent acidity;

Flavor

The flavor experience brought by coffee, including aroma and taste (considering complexity and layering). During the entire slurping process, you can record the flavor experiences brought by each stage, and you can also adjust the defined scores segment by segment.

Body

The smoothness, viscosity, and thickness of coffee liquid. This feeling is provided by the water-insoluble oils in the coffee liquid, the woody structure of coffee beans (extremely fine particles after grinding), and proteins; we can feel the difference in body thickness by comparing different coffee samples. In daily life, you can try comparing different mineral waters with pure water, skim milk, low-fat milk, whole milk, and juices with pulp particles to feel the weight and smoothness brought by insoluble substances in different liquids to the mouth.

Aftertaste

The feeling of taste remaining in the mouth after swallowing, including aroma, taste, and mouthfeel; it can be the aftertaste of creamy aroma, persistent acidity, smooth texture, or even relatively dry texture. Usually, the scoring concepts of sweetness and aftertaste direction in the COE system can be placed in this item for adjustment and scoring.

Sweetness

In the current form, sweetness is scored per cup based on 5 samples, with 5 small grids representing 5 coffee samples, 2 points per cup. The judgment standard is whether there is sweetness in the coffee. The sweetness of coffee here is judged by the sweetness of adding 15g of sugar to 2 liters of water.

Balance

The balance of aroma, taste, and mouthfeel.

Clean Cup

Similar to sweetness, scored according to 5 cups, 2 points per cup; points are deducted based on whether there are impurities caused by external pollution. This is equivalent to the cleanliness in the COE system.

Uniformity

Also scored according to 5 cups, 2 points per cup; the purpose is to compare multiple cup samples for inconsistent flavor performance. If one or more cups have inconsistencies, points are deducted according to the number of cups. It is specifically noted here that for uniformity, we mainly look for inconsistent bad flavors. If one cup among 5 tastes better than the other 4 cups, no points will be deducted.

Overall

Also an item that reflects and describes personal preferences:

Personal preferences will affect the score, but同样 will not differ too much from the scores of other items.

Defect Definition and Scoring

The current SCA cupping form records defects in two types: minor level (Taint) and severe level (Fault). The difference between minor and severe lies in the degree of stimulation to you. If it's very uncomfortable after entering the mouth and cannot be swallowed, it's calculated as a severe defect level. If the discomfort is not so strong, then it's calculated as a minor level.

Usually, if coffee is infected by external factors causing chemical changes in the coffee beans, such as mold or changes in internal organic acid substances, it will bring out excessive sourness, bitterness, and even chemical medicinal smells. Such coffee will be very uncomfortable to drink, even nauseating and wanting to spit it out, and will be confirmed and given a defect definition.

Minor level: calculated at 2 points/cup

Severe level: calculated at 4 points/cup.

Specifically, for defect scoring examples are as follows:

If two cups of coffee have uncomfortable tastes, one minor and one severe, then the total defect score is calculated according to the severe level, that is, 2*4=8, for a total of 8 defect points.

Professional coffee tasting is not only used to determine whether a cup of coffee is good or bad, but more importantly, through it to more objectively analyze a cup of coffee, allowing the coffee flavor map to be clearly displayed before us, and then through this map to find ways to improve coffee quality. Next time when buying coffee, the coffee evaluation grade can also be used as a reference for judging specialty coffee.

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