Cupping How To

You've seen those wine tasters making funny faces and spitting, right? We do that around here, too.

In the coffee roasting business, it's called cupping and tasting. And we take it seriously, funny faces notwithstanding.

We cup and taste because it's the surest way to judge a bean's quality. Different kinds of beans produce distinctive flavors and aromas, and finding the best takes homework. That's why we cup and taste every day.

Here's how it's done:

• Roast a sample. 
• Grind it fine. 
• Add boiling water. 
• Remove the crust of grounds that forms on top as the coffee cools. 
• Use a spoon to slurp up a taste. 
• Run the coffee across your tongue. 
• Identify its characteristics.

Spit in the container of your own choosing.