Coffee cupping is a professional evaluation method that transforms subjective sensory experiences into quantitative data, and the SCAA cupping scoring form is the core tool of this system. This article explains the ten scoring dimensions in the form one by one, covering fragrance, flavor, aftertaste, acidity, body, uniformity, balance, clean cup, sweetness, and overall evaluation, helping coffee enthusiasts understand the scoring basis and judgment criteria for each item. Whether you are a beginner just getting into cupping or a professional hoping to refine your sensory skills, this Chinese guide can serve as a practical reference. Front Street Coffee also provides related product information in the article for further understanding.

Coffee Cupping is called coffee cupping in Chinese, and some also call it cup tasting or cup evaluation. It is a wonderful and easy-to-operate method of sensory evaluation for coffee. Judging whether coffee is good or bad relies on taste, and this method is therefore named the "coffee cupping method." The person performing the evaluation is called a "coffee quality grader." Similar to wine tasting, during cupping the coffee liquid needs to be moved repeatedly in the mouth, engaging taste and smell to capture the flavor characteristics of the coffee. It transforms sensory impressions that are originally subjective and vary from person to person into quantitative data with practical reference value, used to support real decisions such as purchasing, sales, and sharing experiences.

Next, I will introduce the scoring points for each subitem in the SCAA cupping form one by one.

First item: Fragrance/Aroma

The fragrance item includes two parts, namely dry fragrance and wet aroma. After the coffee beans are ground, the first impression left and the first item that needs to be scored is the dry fragrance. Coffee floral notes, roasted hazelnut, and roasted almond are all pleasant aromas. After pouring water, the wet aroma that rushes out when the crust is broken brings even more room for imagination; the scents of honey, lemon, and apricot make people eager to take a sip.

Second scoring item: Flavor

When the temperature of the coffee liquid drops to around 71°C, slurping begins, and flavor is the first item perceived and scored after slurping. It covers various tastes and flavors as well as retronasal olfaction. The cupper can write the captured flavors into the scoring item, including all kinds of tastes or flavors smelled or tasted. It can be said that flavor is an extremely important scoring item and also an important basis for describing the characteristics of the cupping sample. The more good flavors that appear, the higher the score.

Third scoring item: Aftertaste

Aftertaste refers to the various tastes, aromas, or tactile sensations that remain in the mouth after slurping. The longer a good flavor lingers, the higher the score. For example, with sweetness, after slurping and spitting out the coffee, if it still remains clearly in the mouth, or even continues to spread, then this item will receive a relatively high score; conversely, if there is almost no aftertaste, or the aftertaste is extremely short, the score will be relatively low.

Fourth scoring item: Acidity

High-quality acidity is not irritating like vinegar. It can be bright and lively, and can also present many forms such as citrus, berries, or sweet lemon, as well as melon-like sweet acidity, or the crisp fruit acidity of just-ripened apples. All of the above are high-quality acidity. Poor acidity, on the other hand, is like unripe fruit or acetic acid. Some bad acidity is like overripe fruit or even rotten fruit, in which case fermented acidity or rotten-fruit acidity can be detected. The more high-quality the acidity, the higher the score.

Fifth scoring item: Body

Body does not evaluate taste, but rather the substances and tactile sensations felt in the mouth. Oiliness, viscosity, and weightiness together constitute body. For example, compared with water, milk has a much higher tactile sensation; compared with clear soup, thick soup has a far more obvious consistency and tactile sensation than the latter.

Sixth item: Uniformity

The scoring for this item is relatively simple: just see whether there are flavor differences among the 5 cups of samples, and which cup has defects. If all are consistent, then generously write down 10 points.

Seventh scoring item: Balance

Balance examines whether the various scoring items of the coffee are coordinated. For example, although the acidity is bright, can it ultimately turn sweet? Although the tactile sensation is viscous, does it not bring astringency? Are the various flavors of the coffee harmonious and unified? If all are satisfied, the score for this item will be relatively high.

Eighth scoring item: Clean cup

Clean cup is a very important and essential condition for specialty coffee. Being clean means complete freedom from taints or faults. Once coffee shows bad tastes and tactile sensations such as putridity, earthy notes, medicinal-iodine notes, fermented acidity, rubber, onion, or astringency, it indicates that the clean cup standard has not been met.

Ninth scoring item: Sweetness

Sweetness not only indicates that the coffee cherries were harvested at optimal ripeness and that unripe beans were not mixed in, but also represents outstanding coffee quality. Only by selecting just-ripened coffee cherries and processing them into green beans can relatively ideal sweetness be obtained. There are also many types of sweetness, such as sugarcane sweetness and caramel sweetness, and these can all be noted during evaluation. Coffee usually carries a certain degree of sweetness, so for this item, as long as sweetness is perceived, a relatively high score is generally given.

Tenth scoring item: Overall

The overall evaluation must answer: Is this cup of coffee excellent overall and appealing to you, or is it just average, or do you simply not like it? This item reflects the cupper's comprehensive judgment and can also reflect personal preference. Without cuppers working hard to evaluate every coffee, there would be no harvest for coffee farmers, and there would be no refreshing, delightful drink in the cup. Finding better-tasting coffee is the true meaning of cupping.

The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.