What is the purpose of coffee cupping?

Cupping is a critical practice in the coffee industry that focuses on evaluating the flavors and aromas of coffee. This process involves brewing coffee in a standardized way to assess its characteristics, including taste, fragrance, acidity, body, and overall balance. Professional tasters, known as cuppers, use specific techniques to analyze various coffees, allowing them to identify quality, origin, and potential flavor profiles.

This evaluation is essential for quality control, selecting beans for blends, and assisting coffee growers in improving their products. By systematically assessing each sample, cuppers can provide valuable insights into the coffee's unique attributes, which are essential for both producers and consumers.

Other options, such as brewing coffee efficiently, roasting beans, or serving coffee, do not capture the specific goal of cupping. While these activities are important in the coffee process, they are separate practices that do not pertain to the sensory evaluation aspect that cupping focuses on.