Do Coffee Cups Influence Flavor? Choosing the Right Cup for Pour-Over Coffee

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Recently, out of boredom, I watched some wine tasting videos, where over 10 minutes were dedicated to introducing wine glasses. Everything from shape, material, and craftsmanship to details like thickness, transparency, and sound—all revealing how they can create different sensory experiences for wine.

The coffee tasting system developed relatively later compared to wine, which allowed it to incorporate some testing items and aromatic flavor profiles from the wine tasting system. With the trend of coffee specialization, everything from cultivation and processing at origin, roasting by bean merchants, to coffee brewing has achieved qualitative improvements. As everything has been enhanced, the impact of cups on flavor during the tasting stage has become a focus of attention.

The selection of coffee cups generally doesn't receive much attention, but when truly tasting coffee, cups do indeed affect the sensory performance of the coffee. There are many types of coffee cups—in terms of materials, there are ceramic, glass, wooden, and metallic ones; thickness ranges from thick to thin; cup shapes include tulip-type (narrow-mouthed), egg-type (wide-mouthed), open-mouthed, narrow-mouthed, and mug-type. Cup sizes range from as small as 60ml to as large as 400ml.

With such a wide variety of cups, FrontStreet Coffee believes there's no inherently "bad" type of coffee cup—as long as a cup can highlight the characteristics of the current coffee, it's a good cup. Below, FrontStreet Coffee will discuss how to choose suitable coffee cups.

Materials

Currently, the mainstream coffee cup materials are ceramic and glass, with wood (lacquerware) and metal being more niche. Ceramic is the most common coffee cup material (without exception), and its greatest feature is its heat preservation function. Typically, hot coffee doesn't taste as good when it cools down, so using ceramic cups allows coffee to cool more slowly. However, glass coffee cups have gained popularity in recent years because the transparent material allows for better observation of the coffee liquid's color and transparency through light. For example, dark roasted black coffee appears black in a ceramic cup but shows a wine-red color when viewed through light in a glass cup. Light roasted black coffee appears dark brown in a ceramic cup but shows an orange-red color through light in a glass cup. Coffee that appears lighter and more transparent visually doesn't seem as bitter.

Therefore, using glass cups to drink single-origin black coffee provides a different sensory experience compared to ceramic cups. However, since glass doesn't insulate as well as ceramic, FrontStreet Coffee recommends choosing smaller capacity glass cups (under 100ml).

Cup Thickness

The thicker the cup, the better its insulation performance, which is why early coffee cups were designed to be very heavy. However, it was later discovered that coffee tasted more refined in cups with thinner walls, as the thinner walls allow coffee liquid to flow more easily into the mouth, creating a smoother drinking experience.

Therefore, coffee cups with thick walls are used for milk coffee service, partly because when making milk coffees like lattes and cappuccinos, they often need to be filled to 11 parts full, meaning the foam must be higher than the cup's rim. Thick walls better support the foam without overflowing.

Coffee cups with thin walls are used for black coffee service to enhance the mouthfeel. However, because thin walls don't insulate as well, FrontStreet Coffee recommends controlling cup size to under 200ml, ensuring the coffee can be finished before it completely cools down.

Coffee Cup Shapes

Coffee cup shapes significantly impact the sensory experience of coffee. For example, a narrow-mouthed opening like that of red wine glasses helps perceive aromas better. However, it also makes it more difficult for the coffee to flow into the mouth, resulting in a relatively weaker mouthfeel. This type of cup is suitable for coffee beans with very strong aromas.

Open-mouthed cups that extend outward allow coffee to enter the mouth smoothly, with better mouthfeel performance. Additionally, open-mouthed cups allow coffee liquid to flow more easily to the acid-sensitive areas on both sides of the tongue, making acidity more pronounced. However, aromas disperse more widely, making them relatively weaker. This cup shape is suitable for some light-roasted single-origin coffees rich in fruit flavors.

Straight-mouthed cups have a cup rim that forms a straight line with the cup body, with mugs being the most typical example. This opening strikes a balance between the two previous types. It's suitable for some medium to dark roasted single-origin coffees that taste balanced and comfortable.

In addition to common coffee cups, some coffee brands, much like wine glasses, have developed coffee tasting cups that offer better sensory experiences. Notably, Origami's aroma cup cleverly combines the advantages of both open and narrow-mouthed designs. The cup body features a narrowing treatment that concentrates aromas like a narrow-mouthed cup, while the narrowed section opens up again, allowing coffee liquid to flow more easily into the mouth and enhancing the coffee's mouthfeel.

The Canadian brand Kruve has introduced glass coffee tasting cups that retain the characteristic of appreciating the coffee's color. The double-layered glass provides better insulation while preventing heat burns. The cup rim also features a narrowing design to concentrate coffee aromas, while an ingenious curve at the opening makes it appear narrow when it's actually straight, preserving the coffee's mouthfeel.

Overall, besides being expensive, these professional coffee tasting cups have no real shortcomings.

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