Coffee Cupping Guide: Find Defects, Train Your Taste

Coffee cupping is more than just tasting. It’s a powerful tool for quality control and sensory training. By learning how to systematically cup coffee, you can identify bean defects, evaluate flavor profiles, and sharpen your palate like a pro.

⛾ What Is Coffee Cupping?

Coffee cupping is a standardized method used by professionals to evaluate the aroma, flavor, and quality of coffee. It involves tasting freshly ground coffee steeped in hot water without a filter, allowing the true character and defects of the coffee to shine through.

✋ Why Cupping Is Ideal for Detecting Coffee Defects

Cupping helps reveal even minor imperfections in coffee. With no milk, sugar, or paper filter to mask flaws, subtle off-notes are easier to detect.

Common Coffee Cupping Defects

Defect Type	Sensory Signs	Likely Cause
Quakers (Unripe beans)	Flat, peanut-like, dry taste	Picked too early
Fermentation defect	Sour, alcoholic, overripe fruit note	Poor processing or long fermentation
Moldy / earthy	Musty, damp, wet basement smell	Moisture damage or mold
Chemical / medicinal	Plastic, rubber, solvent-like	Contamination or drying issues
Stale	Papery, lifeless, oxidized flavor	Aged green coffee
Burnt / scorched	Ashy, bitter, dry	Overroasted or roasting defects

🏋️‍♂️ Cupping as Sensory Training

Getting better at tasting coffee

Cupping is not only for identifying defects.

It’s also a key practice to develop your sensory awareness.
With regular tasting, you’ll train your palate to detect:

Acidity – citrus, green apple, tartness
Sweetness – honey, caramel, fruit notes
Body – tea-like, creamy, syrupy
Bitterness – dark cocoa, tobacco
Balance & aftertaste

💡Tip: Try cupping different roast levels or origins side-by-side to improve your sensory vocabulary.

🏆 How Coffee Scoring Works

The Role of Defects in Coffee Grading

Professional coffee graders score coffees on a 100-point scale. Coffees scoring 80+ points are considered specialty grade.

Typical Cupping Scoring Criteria

Fragrance & aroma
Flavor & aftertaste
Acidity
Body
Balance
Clean cup
Sweetness
Uniformity
Overall impression
Defects (number & intensity)

Even one cup with a major defect can reduce the total score and disqualify the coffee from specialty grade.

📊 Use a Balance Chart for Better Results

What Is a Coffee Balance Chart?

Typical axes include:

Sweetness
Acidity
Bitterness
Body
Aftertaste
Clean Cup

📥 Download our free printable balance chart here

You can print and fill it in during your cupping sessions to better understand and compare coffees.

A coffee balance chart (also known as a spider or radar chart) helps visualize how a coffee performs across several sensory categories.

📋 Cupping Instructions

What You’ll Need:

Fresh coffee beans (single origin preferred)
Burr grinder (medium grind)
Hot water (93–96°C)
Cupping bowls or glasses
Cupping spoon
Tasting form or notebook

Cupping Instructions:

Weigh 8.25g of coffee per 150ml water
Grind to medium-coarse
Smell the dry aroma
Pour hot water gently over grounds (no stirring)
Wait 4 minutes, then break the crust with a spoon and smell again
Skim off any foam or floating grounds
Slurp the coffee from a spoon to spray it across your palate
Take notes on flavor, acidity, defects, and balance

🏷️ How Cupping Influences Coffee Pricing

Cupping doesn’t just help detect defects or train your palate — it also plays a critical role in determining the value of green coffee before it’s ever roasted.

In the coffee trade, importers, exporters, and producers use cupping scores to grade quality. A higher cupping score means a higher price. Coffees that score:

80+ points are considered specialty grade
<80 points fall into commercial grade

Even small defects can reduce a score and significantly lower the price a farmer receives. That’s why cupping is an essential part of the green coffee evaluation process.

💡Good to know💡
Green coffee samples are roasted in a light, even roast specifically for cupping. This ensures all coffees are evaluated under the same conditions.

🎯 Conclusion

Coffee cupping is a powerful combination of sensory discovery and defect detection. It’s how professionals grade beans, how roasters choose profiles, and how coffee lovers build a deeper relationship with their brew. By learning to spot defects and evaluate balance, you’ll unlock a whole new level of appreciation one spoonful at a time.

✍️ Want to improve your sensory skills?

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❓FAQ:
Absolutely. Green coffee samples are lightly roasted and cupped by buyers, traders, and producers to evaluate quality. This process helps determine whether the coffee qualifies as specialty or commercial grade.
A cupping score of 80 points or higher (based on the SCA protocol) is required for a coffee to be classified as specialty grade. Coffees scoring under 80 are usually sold at lower prices in the commercial segment.
Cupping is a standardized method using immersion without filters, allowing for consistent evaluation of aroma, flavor, and defects. Regular tasting often includes variables like brewing method, milk, or sugar, which can mask flaws.
Yes! – Especially with repeated practice. While professionals are more trained to spot subtle defects, even beginners can recognize basic flaws like sourness, staleness, or bitterness with the help of cupping guides and balance charts.

Coffee Cupping Guide – Sensory Skills & Defects