Are coffee cuppings the new wine tastings?

by Emily Matchar, Posted May 29th 2008 @ 1:00PM

There's a pretty interesting story in the New York Times about the prevalence of coffee "cuppings" - basically wine tastings for java, minus the spitting. Aficionados sit around discussing different roasts, trying to find the right words to describe the subtle flavors of a cup of Kenyan or Guatemalan roast.

Now, I drink coffee every day, usually multiple cups, black. Aside from water, it's probably the single consumable I have most regularly. But while I can certainly taste the difference between the watery, acidic, sewage brown stuff sold in most gas stations and a good French roast, that's about where it ends. When people tell me they drive half an hour for special beans or they 'hate' the (to me) perfectly ordinary cappuccinos at my local cafe, I just shrug. I mean, I'm willing to believe that other people have the ability to discern flavors I can't sense. But is a bag of beans from a single farm lot discernibly different than beans from a handful of farms in the same region? In a town with dozens of independent coffee shops, is it really plausible that one has the absolute 'best' coffee?

What do you think? Do you have sensitive coffee palates?

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Filed Under: Trends, Newspapers, Drink Recipes, Coffee Shops
Tags: america, coffee, coffee cupping, CoffeeCupping, east coast, new york times, tastings, wine tastings, WineTastings

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Reader comments (Page 3 of 3)

7-07-2008 @4:40AM Jaq said... Yes, coffee beans from different parts of the world taste different. There are few people who have the discipline to learn and discern a cup of coffee everytime they drink it.

I didn't care about this before, when I was still drinking *gasp* instant coffee. But suddenly, even one brand of instant coffee started to taste different from another brand. So I started learning more and more about coffee, coffee beans, coffee beans from certain parts of the world.

Coffee cupping isn't a requirement. But it's recommended to develop a deeper appreciation of coffee and the art of drinking it.

http://hazpafis.blogspot.com
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