How to Properly Taste Pour-Over Coffee: Cupping, Slurping Technique, and Its Purpose

How to Drink Coffee Professionally: The Art of Coffee Cupping

Some friends might ask FrontStreet Coffee, "How can I drink coffee professionally?" The best way to learn is by observing coffee cuppers. If you're fortunate enough to attend a cupping session, you'll hear continuous sharp "slurp~ slurp~" sounds for the first half hour.

Those who don't know might think it's a ramen eating competition! In fact, making these "slurp~ slurp~" sounds is a coffee tasting method known as "slurping."

Why do professionals choose such a "crude" way of drinking? FrontStreet Coffee mentioned this when sharing knowledge about coffee flavors—the flavors we perceive when drinking coffee aren't just the tastes detected by our tongues, but also the aromatic flavors perceived by our olfactory nerves. The combination of these two creates our complete perception of coffee flavor.

Slurping maximizes the perception of coffee flavors. The basic method involves keeping your lips closed tightly with your tongue pressed against your teeth. Open your lips slightly to form a thin slit, then use the suction power from your diaphragm to quickly draw the coffee liquid into your mouth. This process produces a sharp "slurp~" sound.

When coffee is rapidly drawn in, it becomes atomized—similar to how a single liquid divides into countless tiny water droplets. While the volume remains unchanged, the surface area increases dramatically, making the volatile aromatic compounds in the coffee liquid easier to release. This allows our taste buds and olfactory nerves to more easily capture the coffee bean flavors.

Therefore, in coffee cupping, baristas use slurping to evaluate coffee. Generally, the faster the slurp, the better the atomization effect, and of course, the louder the sound. Pay attention to the causal relationship here—it's not that louder sounds create better slurping effects.

Is Slurping Necessary for Regular Coffee Drinking?

Using the slurping method can indeed reveal richer flavors than regular drinking. If you're not disturbing others, this method is worth trying. However, in public settings, the noise might affect those around you, so you'll need to use your judgment.

Honestly, drinking coffee this way is actually quite tiring. Moreover, when we normally drink coffee, we don't necessarily need to pursue the ultimate flavor experience—coffee's mouthfeel is also an important part of the experience. Using regular drinking methods allows you to better appreciate the coffee's texture (smoothness, fullness, richness).

Final Tips for Coffee Tasting

If friends want to learn this tasting method, remember: "Don't think about how to drink professionally—drink professionally." When tasting with slurping, you can alternate with regular drinking to see if slurping provides more obvious flavor perceptions. If not, it's possible your slurping technique needs improvement.

Finally, the slurping tasting method only helps you perceive more coffee flavors—it doesn't help you identify them. Identifying flavors still requires drinking more, understanding more, and remembering more.

Important Notice :

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