Virtual Coffee Tasting

Coffee cupping is a standardized and ritualized method of tasting that is used at nearly every level of the supply chain—by farmers to check in on the quality of their harvest, by green buyers to choose which coffees to purchase, and by roasters to help guide their roast profiles. The cupping process begins with assessing the smell of the ground coffee before moving into steeping the grounds and then tasting, focusing on independent attributes such as flavor, aftertaste, acidity and body as well as holistic impressions.

Besides being a critical method of assessment, it can be a wonderful educational experience that can highlight the diversity of flavors found in coffees from around the world and build familiarity and comfort with describing what we taste. Cupping requires no special equipment, and what is needed is commonly found in home kitchens—small cups, tablespoons or a scale, spoons and hot water.

In this class, you'll learn more about coffee production and how each step in the process contributes to the final taste of the coffee. Then, we'll experience how terroir affects the coffee flavor through a coffee cupping.

In order for this tasting to be truly interactive and inclusive, we'll all need to be tasting the same coffees! Please add 1x of each coffee linked below. If you have a burr grinder at home, feel free to order whole bean, otherwise please select auto-drip from the drop down menu. This will ensure the grind size is appropriate for the cupping but will also work perfectly in your automatic drip machine and some pour over devices.

• Colombia La Familia Guarnizo
• Congo Umoja

Ahead of our virtual tasting, you will receive simple instructions for setting up the tasting. At the start of class, the cupping process will be covered in detail and any questions answered before beginning the guided tasting itself, during which open conversation will be encouraged. This is a unique opportunity to compare and contrast two distinct and beautiful coffees, discuss them in a welcoming environment and learn about what makes them so different.

Please note:

This class is held over Zoom. We like to encourage participation from all students- if you are comfortable and able, feel free to turn your camera and microphone on so we can all engage with one another! Dial-in details will be provided 24 hours prior to the start time of class.