The Art and Craft of Coffee by Kevin Sinnott Read Free Book Online Page B

that several industry roast masters claim their blends must be roasted one variety at a time and that size, moisture, and other differences between their blends’ varieties change the flavors when roasted together.

    Cupping
    Coffee cupping is the process to evaluate coffee’s taste, the stop-and-smell-the-roses step in your development as a coffee drinker. Have you ever seen a wine taster swirling a vintage Cabernet in a glass and sniffing it before taking a tiny sip? Well, cupping is the coffee world’s equivalent.
    And it has layers of flavor. It awakens taste buds on your tongue as it flows around your mouth. Coffee gets more flavorful as it cools. Where wine drinkers credit wine’s relaxing qualities for giving its imbibers more taste toward the end of a glass, coffee drinkers cite coffee’s stimulating quality as a flavor enhancer. That means the second cup is often tastier than the first.
    A classic cupping operation uses tiny ceramic coffee cups, but rocks glasses, china, or glassware suit the technique as well. If cupping with others, you may wish to prepare separate samples for each participant. If you share, rinse your spoon as you cup. People who cup often obtain a special cupping spoon that is wide like a soup spoon, almost round in shape, with a snub nose.
    I can’t wait any longer. Let’s get started.
Materials
Tea kettle
1 6-ounce (180 ml) rocks glass for each coffee sample
1 water glass per participant, for rinsing spoons 3 to 6 fresh ground coffee samples
Scale, to weigh coffees
1 cupping spoon per participant
Log book to score and describe the coffees
1 serving sparkling water for each participant, to cleanse palate between cupping, optional
Spittoon, such as a tall glass or bowl, optional
    How to Cup Coffee
    Cupping is best done in a relaxed style. It requires a head free of colds or other barriers to smell and taste buds free of strong competing flavors. Ample time is the only practical way to allow for multiple tastings as the coffee cools, so it is important to allot enough time. Allow a minimum of one hour to cup up to six coffees.
    Keeping a Journal of How to Cup
    A coffee buyer I know has kept a cupping journal for more than forty years. She has recorded impressions of every Sumatra crop since her start in the industry (when women were first allowed into the cupping rooms). She can conjure in great detail the 1982 Mandheling crop. She can spot up and comers and predict future great coffees by tracking which farms are problem solving and developing the best beans. If you don’t keep a log, as she says, a cup of coffee lasts only minutes. With a log, your coffee lasts as long as the ink remains on the page.
    
To Spit or Not to Spit?
That is a question for which there is no answer, or rather, the answer is a personal choice. Professional cuppers keep a spittoon nearby. For them, it is necessary because they cup many coffees in a day (and still need to get a full night’s sleep). If only cupping a few favorites, I recommend fully enjoying the coffee by drinking it. Always keep a spittoon or other receptacle nearby in case a coffee doesn’t taste good. Consider using a large glass, bowl, or other receptacle that you can empty and reuse. Also, sparkling water does wonders for refreshing the palate. Keep a bottle on hand flor sipping between cuppings.
    Instructions
1. Fill a kettle (you can never have too much hot water) with filtered, good-tasting water and set it to boil on the stove.
2. Set out small glasses, one for each coffee sample. Place a few large water glasses at the center of the arrangement.
3. Place 2 tablespoons (10 g) of fresh finely ground coffee in each rocks glass for each 6-ounce
(180 ml) sample (a) . The tall water glasses should not have coffee in them.
4. Once the water boils, turn off the burner and wait for 1 minute.
5. Pour 6 ounces (180 ml) of hot water