In the coffee industry, ‘cupping’ is the formal name we give coffee tasting.
We use this system of tasting as an opportunity to evaluate our current and newly arrived coffees, our recent roasts, and coffees gifted to us by friends from other roasteries, both near and far.
For customers and newcomers, cupping is a great way to compare coffees side by side, and to begin to develop your palate. When coffees are experienced comparatively, their different flavour profiles emerge. Over time you can identify a Kenyan coffee just by its taste, and you will know what we mean when we describe a coffee's mouth feel, or identify its flavour as fruity or winey or milk chocolatey.
At a cupping there are up to eight coffees on the table. We always taste blind – i.e. we don't know until the end of the session which coffee is which, to avoid preconceptions of what a given coffee 'should' taste like. We start by assessing the dry aroma, then the wet aroma. Then the fun bit: the slurping and spitting! Our staff will guide you through the evaluation, explaining what we look for when we assess and score our coffees.
We run public cuppings every Friday morning at our Sydney Rd shop. No previous experience is necessary, and we’ll provide everything you need for the session. The group size is limited to eight, so please book in to secure your spot. The $10 entry free will be donated to the Santa Clara Scholarship Fund.
