Inside a Cupping Session at the New York Coffee Festival

Every October, a Brooklyn warehouse fills up with roasters, brewers, equipment makers, and a lot of people who take coffee seriously enough to slurp it loudly in public.

A canvas tote bag from a New York coffee festival

Brick warehouse venue entrance at a Brooklyn coffee festival

What a cupping actually is

Cupping is the industry’s shared language for tasting coffee. Coarsely ground coffee goes into identical cups, hot water is poured over the top, and a crust of grounds forms on the surface. You break the crust with a spoon, inhale the aroma that rushes out, skim off the grounds, and then taste — loudly, with a slurp that sprays the coffee across your palate.

Rows of identical white cups on a coffee cupping table

The tables are set with rows of identical cups so every coffee gets the same treatment. No brewer skill to hide behind, no milk to soften the edges — just the bean, the water, and your nose.

Tasting coffee with a cupping spoon at a festival table

Pouring hot water over coffee grounds during a cupping

The festival floor

A roaster booth on the floor of a coffee festival

Between sessions, roasters run booths showing off whatever they’re proudest of. Small roasters pull crowds next to the big names, and half the room is walking around with a tote bag full of samples.

If you go

Cupping tables at festivals are usually free to join — just show up on time, follow the person’s lead, and don’t wear strong perfume (it genuinely ruins the tasting for the whole table). Bring your own spoon if you’re particular; borrow one if you’re not.

And slurp. Everyone is doing it. That’s the point.

Part of the same trip: a coffee crawl through New York City.