Coffee has made a tremendous journey to make its way into our cup, and while much of that journey is basically obvious to us (i.e. growing, harvesting, shipping, roasting, and brewing), some of the nuances of that process go unappreciated by the average coffee consumer, even some of the more discerning ones. In this post, I’ll touch on one of those behind-the-scenes processes, one that coffee professionals worldwide use to perfect their craft, bringing you that delicious morning brew: cupping.

Nothing natural is simple, let’s get that straight from the get-go. As with most things in the natural world, coffee is complicated. It is fragile, susceptible to disease, reactive to changes in temperature, altitude... (See More)