How to evaluate the quality of your coffee. Part 3: Cupping

“Mmmm, what an aroma! I bet this cup tastes amazing as well!“

Cupping is the last and (for a lot of us) maybe the most excting step of the quality control. It uncovers the final layer of your beans. It seems easy to set up proper cupping table and make cupping notes. It is a very important decision in your buying or production process, which has an impact on your business. So do it right!

This article is the last part of the QC trilogy by Julia Rebecca Richardson. Get inspired by Julia, the coffee professional with years of experiences in Quality Control lab at a coffee import company.  

Over to Julia:

cupping is a must

For a QC lab manager it’s important to cup offer, pre-shipment and arrival samples. If you’re a roaster, you cup also each roast to ensure it is up to your standards. Cupping gives you an understanding of your coffee and provides an important feedback. It helps to track progress or backtrack potential quality issues.

Production cupping table at Kaffa roastery, Oslo

Read more on this in article on How to store green coffee.

Coffee Grading System

To grade specialty roasted coffee, the cupping evaluation is a 0 to 100 scoring system. A general expectation is that specialty coffee will score a minimum of a total of 80 points, scoring less than 8 in any category indicates negative traits, and less than 7.5 in any category will generally disqualify a coffee. The categories can be divided up into 4 different steps as stated by SCAA:

Step #1 - Fragrance/Aroma

• The score is based on a wet/dry evaluation. First done within 15 minutes of grinding the coffee, and then done when breaking the crust.

Step #2 - Flavor, Aftertaste, Acidity, Body, and Balance

• When the cup has cooled to 160F/71 C or 8-10 minutes

Step #3 - Sweetness, Uniformity, and Cleanliness

• As the cup reaches room temperature below 100F/37 C

Step #4 - Scoring

• After all the samples have been evaluated, you tally up the score. 

Total Score Quality Classification

• 90-100 = Outstanding - Specialty

• 85-99.99 = Excellent - Specialty

• 80-84.99 = Very Good - Specialty

• < 80.0 = Below Specialty Quality - Not Specialty

Detailed version of cupping protocol: https://www.baristahustle.com/cupping-protocols/

The Espresso lab Roastery likes listening to the music during their QC procedures.

My Cupping Routine

CUPPING ROOM

I ensure the space is clean, distraction free, I do like a little mood music for the set up and introduction, but once the cupping starts, silence is best. 

Equipment

Cupping table, cupping spoons, trays, cupping numbers, scale, grinder, kettles, cupping cups, timer, cloths.

TIP:

Invite colleagues, guests, buyers and friends to cup. Notify cuppers when you’re about to grind the coffee. You can create a cupping session on an online platform such as Cropster and invite guests, hand out SCAA cupping sheets or provide blank pieces of paper with pens for notes and scoring.

Cupping session with friends and colleagues.

REQUIREMENTS

• Coffee samples are roasted within 24 hours of cupping.

• Following the Golden Cup Standards, I use 11.5g of coffee per 200ml of water

My coffee table set up goes from most basic to most acidic, and sub-categorize washed first, honey in the middle and naturals always last.

I prefer to do cuppings blindly, even if we know the purpose of the cupping. I associate numbers with each coffee, and I hide the labels until the end of the cupping.

For buying and quality control purposes, I like to have the remainder of the roast in a tray with greens easily accessible, in case a client is interested in inspecting the roast or greens.

Preparation

how many cups

Depending on the size and purpose of the cupping, I usually do 2-3 cups per coffee sample. With cups of clean hot water at every other cup, followed by clean cloths, paper towels and spit cups.

ratio

I then weigh up 11.5 g of roasted whole bean coffee sample in cupping cups. I may make adjustments +/- in grams used, depending on whether the sample was roasted on a production roaster or a sample roaster, there is a different extraction.

Tip: To make sure you’re hitting the mark, I recommend investing in a refractometer such as VST or Atago, and aim for an extraction yield of 18 %-22 %. I use 200g cupping cups. 

grinding

The coffee should be ground no longer than 15 minutes before water hits the cup.

Once the cupping table is set and the coffees are weighed, I then notify the guests and begin grinding. I personally use the Mahlkonig EK43 and purge the grinder with extra sample material between each different type of coffee. 

SCAA recommends that the grind particle size should be slightly coarser than typically used for paper filter drip brewing, with 70 % to 75 % of the particles passing through a U.S. Standard size 20 mesh sieve.

DRY AROMA

While the guests do a dry sensory analysis of the coffee samples and make appropriate notes, I prepare the water. The water should be freshly drawn, odor free, not distilled or softened, with a pH between 7.0 and 7.4 and a level of buffer no higher than 70 ppm. Bring the water to approximately 200F/93C.

pour & time

Each cupping glass holds 200g of water, start your stopwatch and begin pouring until the lip of the glass or use a scale. Wait 4 minutes before breaking. 

Cupping of arrival samples at Nordic Approachh.

Once the 4 minutes is up, take a cupping spoon and posture your nose close to the cup. Do 3 to 4 smooth motions of the spoon to break the crust. Take in a sensorial analysis, and take note. Clean the cup. 

From pour to cupping, I typically wait approximately 8-10 minutes, 13 minutes being the absolute maximum. During this time, I may briefly discuss a producer or origin with the guests, some aspects of the coffee without giving away specific information about the cup. 

And don’t forget to follow hygiene! Ensure that you clean your spoon between each sample. In the time of COVID-19 there are some adjustments to cupping rules. Read more about it on SCAA website.

NOW YOU CAN TALK

Enter your data, score the coffee and when everyone is done: have a good discussion!

I personally like to approach cupping as an opportunity to be humble and open for learning. There are times when you need to be with your calibrated team, and make focused, quick and important decisions. There are other times when you will be digging into the coffees and profiles and need more time to reflect, discuss and evaluate with co-workers. And there are times when you’re in a mixed crowd of experienced and newcomers. All should feel welcomed, appreciated and valued for their opinion, as everyone can offer a fresh perspective. 

Morten and Kaya from Nordic approach cupping together and sharing thoughts about the samples.

Keeping data

Lastly, it is important to record and archive all the data. Keeping it in an organized and user-friendly document makes it easy not only for yourself, but for your teammates as well. You will find it helpful when looking back in order to be able compare how the taste developed from roast to roast. As mentioned before: Data tells the story.

Read more about Quality Control Routines:

• Part 1: Green bean evaluation

• Part 2: Sample roasting

The voice of coffee

At ROEST we focus on smart solutions to improve the coffee experience. From the consistency in roasting, to the evaluation of the cup, and bringing the quality of your coffee.

Our latest feature will turn your sample roaster into a coffee lab assistant. Then you can focus on what really matters: bringing the best quality coffee to your customers.

We are introducing a new feature:

FIRST CRACK DETECTION

THE VOICE OF COFFEE

“Imagine that the roaster would be able to listen to the coffee and
recognize the first crack.”

— Kaya Carretta, Nordic Approach

From 2016 to 2018, we collaborated with two students at NTNU (Norwegian University of Science and Technology) who experimented with different sensors and algorithms for first crack detection. The result was so good that we decided to take the project to the next level. We signed a development agreement with The University of Austin in Texas in June 2019, and engaged an expert in the field. After a few weeks, we had a prototype up and running. Even after analyzing only a few roasts, we got a very successful hit rate. Since then, we have been working on perfecting the electronics and the algorithms.

LESS MISTAKES, MORE CONSISTENCY

Since different coffees need different development times, we are today dependent on a human to determine when the roasting process is finished. Most of our customers do this by listening for the first crack, registering the first crack, and then letting the roaster finish the roast based on a pre-set development time. With our new technology, this is not needed: the roaster can do this on it’s own.

People make mistakes. No person is consistent. “When I’m roasting, I’m certain about recognizing the first crack and pressing the button after a certain amount of time. The process of the first crack is not rhythmical. You can catch the crack of one bean and another bean, then someone pushes the button. When I’m roasting, I wait for the rush of the first cracks, that is when the beans start to develop. If everyone who’s roasting will start counting development time at various times, we will have very different results,” explains Kaya Carreta, Quality & Lab Manager at Nordic Approach.

No person thinks the same or acts the same in the same situation. You will always get different results from the same recipe. This is what The First Crack Detection solves. To unleash the full potential, we had to remove the human inconsistency. That’s the great value coming from the technology.

How can you go back and be sure that the first crack was marked correctly?

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First crack is on most roasting software a mark on a graph. How can you then go back and be sure that it was marked correctly? Impossible, unless you have the data. Compare the two graphs below and you will see that the graph with first crack registered is clearly much easier to analyze both during roasting and after.

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Research and Data Collection 

As a roaster, you now have the chance to see the intensity of the first cracks, also known as crack rate. You can also see how the crack rate is changing with different profiles. It can give more value both during and after roasting. We hope to unlock a new way of understanding different coffees and roasting profiles. The final question remains; “What can we learn about the coffee from the behaviour of the first crack?”

ready TO PURCHASE

All roasters with serial number starting on P11 and above are compatible. Installing the hardware is easily done in a few minutes. Tools will be included.

Read more about it here.

Nordic roasting style

In 2014, when I lived in Prague, we were always so excited to taste coffees from Norwegian specialty coffee roasters. It felt so exclusive and rare. Yet the excitement was gone after tasting the cup. Flat is the word we would use to describe the experience. It was nothing like we were used to within our market.

Today, I have been in Norway for two years, and the local coffee is complimenting my taste buds.

Bjørnar Hafslund, founder of Brattestø roastery, has been roasting since 2006. He says: “I would like to compare the coffees I roasted in 2006 and now. I am sure they were extremely underdeveloped.”

Is that the Nordic roasting style?

Photo credit: Jørgen Øyehaug

Norway is known as the world’s second largest consumer of coffee. Coffee rituals are tied to long summer days: cooking coffee at the hytta (cabin) deep in the beautiful northern nature.

A country with over 80 roasteries and home to World coffee champions, Norway is well-known for the trend of Nordic roasting style. The Nordic roasting style can simply be described as a lighter roast. Specialty coffee is roasted light by default in comparison with commercial grade coffee. 

Does this mean the Nordic style is lighter than others? Or is there more to it?  

I talked with Norwegian roasters and roasters outside Norway who follow this style, to understand where it started and the secret behind it.

Where it came from

Scandinavian or Nordic?

Simo Kristidhi, the Head roaster at Solberg & Hansen, explains: “Norwegian roast is the one that is the closest to what we nowadays call Nordic roast, as it has always been lighter. In comparison, Sweden and Finland have an excessive darker roast.”

The idea of the Nordic roasting style started around 20 years ago, along with the rise of specialty coffee in the Nordic countries. The very first world barista championships, Nordic Barista cup or Nordic Roaster, are among the most important events that shaped the local coffee industry. Specialty coffee roasteries and personalities have a huge impact on the way the local market evolved: Tim Wendelboe, Solberg & Hansen, Kaffa or people like Andreas Hertzberg, and many others, played important roles.

Nordic roaster forum gathers coffee experts from around the world to join the lectures from coffee buyers, roasters and producers. Photo credit: http://nordicroasterforum.com/

Bjørnar remembers when Trish Gothreb, the first roaster at Mocca roastery (currently Kaffa), came to Norway with her (back then, controversial) roasting style: “The roast level she had was so light in comparison to what the industry was used to. Everyone was sceptical. And the fact is, compared to today’s standards, it wasn’t even so light.”

KAFFA roastery, photo from 2012. Photo credit: Kaffa

Roasting coffee lighter is only possible when roasting high-quality coffee. Otherwise, we are risking unpleasant outcomes. Because of a trade exchange with Brazil in the early 19th century, Norway could access high-quality coffee in exchange with fish.

Bjørnar plays with the idea of Norwegian acquired taste: “Norwegians are more accustomed to food with higher levels of acidity. Because of our cold climate, the fruits that dominate our fauna are apples and berries.”

Brewed coffee in Norway is like an espresso in Italy: It comes with a strong tradition. And lighter roast fits brewed coffee the best.

The idea behind

There are different roasting styles in the world. In Asia, you will experience specialty coffee roasted darker than the Nordic roasting style. As well as in North America: “I'd say, on average the 'American' style of roasting is still darker than the average Nordic roasting style, especially within specialty roasters”, says Lance Schnorenberg, the head roaster of SEY coffee in New York.

Most of the roasters have their own style or strategy for roasting coffee. This could be the way they approach beans, and what they are aiming to develop in the cup.

When trying to define the Nordic style, what I found similar is the aim for flavour development, and the unique taste experience when looking for the right profile for each coffee.

SEY coffee in New York is famous for roasting coffee the Nordic style, and the head roaster Lance explains: “I like to think about roasting or development as trying to be as transparent as possible. This is probably in line with the Nordic or Scandinavian style. We try to roast in a way that is as clear a representation of the coffee and terroir as we possibly can.”

Simo describes the idea behind the Nordic roasting style: “…to showcase the potential of the bean, taking in consideration the origin, the variety, the process and terroir. The result is an enormous differentiation of taste attributes between origins, lots and varieties, instead of delivering a coffee that tastes just coffee.”  

Sounds like the ideal roasting style, doesn’t it? So why isn't everyone roasting this way?

Roasting coffee lighter can be tricky. If you stop the roast too soon, the taste will not quite develop. The result will be a green and underdeveloped cup.

Nordic style is not only about roasting light, or quickly, as some have described it. Simo explains with an example: “A perfect Nordic style Kenyan coffee can be roasted at a certain colour development within 8-9 minutes, while a Colombian coffee can be roasted at a different colour development at 9:30-10 minutes. Which means that this style is not only about the fast and light roasts. It’s about taste and at which point this coffee will be the most developed and complex.”

Photo credit: Photography Paul Lockhart

“We (coffee professionals) like and seek light roasted coffee that represents the farm, terior, variety... Maybe it drives back to the Nordic countries who started the trend, but that trend has grown worldwide. What makes us stand out is that since it originated here (in Norway), we have a responsibility to keep that going strong in terms of consistency, skill of roasted coffee, and interesting coffee origins. Therefore in our roastery it all comes down to: hard work and passion, cupping constantly, and always being students of coffee.”

Adrian Seligman, Founder of Scandinavian Alps Roastery

Future of the roasting style

What is the future of the specialty coffee industry on the roasting level? The rise of smart technology, especially in roasting, allows us to control many useful parameters. For example, with our ROEST sample roaster you can measure bean or environmental temperature, adjust drum speed, power, and fan. The more information you can get from the roaster, the more you can improve your roasting skills.  

Simo Kristidhi trying out sample roasting on ROEST during the Norwegian roasting championship 2019.

Nowadays, we can also learn more about roasting from the educational events and roasting courses that are getting more and more available: “The forums, such as Nordic roasters, revolutionized the global roasting community, spreading knowledge and educating the new generation,” explains Simo. “Still, there is a big gap from roastery to roastery in how they interpret and perceive the development level of the coffee. Unfortunately, some of the coffee is quite underdeveloped. For that reason, I believe that many roasters will improve their profiles to deliver a cup that is up to the expectations of the Nordic Style.”

Lance adds: “People are learning, and once people drink coffee with acidity and learn to appreciate it, it's generally very difficult to go back to drinking coffee that doesn't have it.” After all, the coffee industry is (and will be) about the customers.” 

If you ever go to Zürich, make sure to stop by at MAME coffee shop where you will have delicious coffee, served by awarded baristas. And please note the quote in the window, which I believe will always remain the most important factor regarding coffee, no matter what style you roast: 

“The best coffee is the coffee you like!”

Written by

Veronika Galova Vesela, Marketing Manager of ROEST