Coffee cupping is one of the many wonders of the coffee world and helps to provide a magical experience to your senses when you eventually take the first sip. Even if you’re not a barista, it’s still important to know what your coffee is going to smell or taste like and coffee cupping gives you the opportunity to get a little warm-up before the main event. As top-tier coffee roasters, here at Alfresco we need to make sure that our blends are at the highest possible quality as well as ensuring they smell great on a consistent basis.

This well known method will give you the understanding of your coffee that you serve, we always make sure our baristas know what they’re serving like the back of their hands! When creating a new blend, you need to pick coffees that meet your own guidelines as well as matching the taste of the customers. Cupping lets us and allows us to find the right combinations. If you want to give it a go, read on.

Prepare your blend

Pour your hot water onto freshly roasted and ground beans in the cup that needs to be steeped for 3-5 minutes. The wonderful infusion is mixed and the foamy head is removed entirely. This goes without saying but make sure you let the coffee cool down so you don’t burn your tongue and you give the flavours time to blend.

Compare the pair

To start off, it’s a great idea to explore the refinements by focusing on whether the coffee tastes nutty or chocolatey or if it has notes of fresh berries or citrus fruits. You can find unique flavours within every blend as each harvest is different to the last. Weather and altitude play a role, but the soil and the cultivar play the most important role of all. The coffee can go wrong at several different points before the coffee is even in the cup.

The Alfresco Coffee Roasters’ team are a bunch of pro’s, so you can rest assured that only the best coffee will make it into your cup. Don’t forget to put us to the test when you next visit our Moruya or Batemans Bay stores.