Coffee Tasting

If you've decided to become a true coffee drinker, or just like to treat yourself to an invigorating drink from time to time, knowing how to determine whether you're drinking good coffee is important. Understanding the intricacies of the work of tasters is mainly a matter of experience, but theory, as everywhere, is not the least important and certainly will not be superfluous.

Coffee belongs to the category of goods that, with an almost identical appearance at first glance, can differ significantly in quality and price. This led to the appearance of tasters and the tasting process itself , also known as " capping ".

In order to describe all the taste characteristics of coffee , you need to start a separate dictionary, because a cup of aromatic drink contains several hundreds of different substances that shape its taste and aroma. In general, cupping is a simple process, but it requires the right approach and a certain technique to fully and qualitatively evaluate the tested coffee .

With all its scrupulousness , cupping is a very interesting and pleasant pastime. As a rule, coffee tasting is held collectively so that tasters can discuss their impressions of the drink.

Everyone's perception is different, especially when it comes to tastes and smells. Compiling a detailed description of your feelings and then discussing it will help reveal the truth about the taste of the tested coffee .

For convenience and some formalization of the tasting process , there are certain forms where tasters enter their impressions and feelings according to certain parameters using a rating scale.

For tasting , you need dishes - containers for brewing: cups or glasses; special spoons, similar to table spoons, but flatter and wider; dishes with water for rinsing the spoon between different types of coffee . Scales are used to accurately measure the amount of coffee for tasting , because the amount of coffee in each cup must be strictly the same. Grinding the grain in most cases is average, as for most automatic coffee makers.

Professional tasting begins with the assessment of still green beans. Tasters evaluate their appearance, size, aroma, and compare them with standards for each specific variety. Then the process continues at all stages of roasting.

Then they proceed to grinding. At this stage, it is very important to thoroughly clean the coffee grinder between different samples of coffee , because even the smallest particles of the previous variety can affect the purity of the aroma.

Ground coffee is poured into cups. The ratio of ground grains and water can be set individually for a given tasting , but on average 6-10 g of coffee per 100-150 ml of water is taken. First, tasters evaluate the aroma of ground coffee that has not yet been filled with water. At the same time, the names of the varieties are not communicated to the participants of the tasting , the samples are simply numbered or marked in any convenient way. However, this stage should not be delayed, because ground coffee loses its aromatic qualities very quickly.

The samples should be poured with water in the order of their grinding - the coffee that was ground first should be poured first. Ground grains float to the top, forming a crust. The optimal time for its formation is 3-4 minutes. The tasters evaluate the aroma, and then the solemn moment comes - "breaking the crust". The crust is pierced and mixed with a tasting spoon, or preferably a separate one, specially selected for this purpose. In fact, there is a technique even for this process in the world of professional tasting , and tasters prefer to do it their own way, making "breaking" another point of discussion.

When the crust is broken, another evaluation of the aroma of the drink takes place, the results of which are entered into the mold.

When the aroma of coffee is appreciated, the process of tasting the taste of the drink begins. Each sample, one by one, is scooped into a spoon and drawn into itself along with the air in order to more fully experience the aroma, this happens with a characteristic sound. Tasters sip, splash, even spit, and this is not evidence of bad taste, these are special elements of the profession.

Each sample of coffee is recommended to be tasted several times in order to fully reveal the fullness of the taste and aroma in dynamics - the brewing coffee takes on new and new shades.

By the way, about spitting - it is not necessary to swallow the tested samples, they are usually spit into a separate vessel.