An Outdoor Coffee Cupping, Step by Step

A cupping doesn’t need a lab. A long table outside, identical glasses, hot water, and a few spoons — that’s the whole setup. This session happened at a coffee workspace, with the industrial street for a backdrop.

Setting the table

Each coffee gets several identical glasses — usually three to five per sample — so one uneven cup can’t skew the verdict. Coarsely ground coffee goes in dry, and you smell the grounds before any water touches them.

Breaking the crust

Hot water goes over the grounds and a crust forms on top. Four minutes in, you push the spoon through the crust and lean in — the aroma that escapes is the loudest part of the whole tasting. Then the floating grounds get skimmed off and the slurping starts.

Why bother

Cupping strips coffee down to the bean — no milk, no brewer technique, no packaging. Coffees you thought you knew show new sides, and the cheap one sometimes beats the fancy one. If you ever get invited to a public cupping, go. Loud slurping is not just allowed — it’s the correct technique.

The same ritual, indoors: inside a working coffee roastery.