Cupping Score
The Cupping Score is the score awarded to our coffees following rigorous evaluations and tastings, carried out according to the protocols established by the Specialty Coffee Association and the Coffee Quality Institute.
WHAT ARE THE EVALUATION CRITERIA, AND WHAT DO WE EVALUATE?
Each coffee is first evaluated in its raw form, to check for any defects.
This is followed by the tasting process known as cupping, carried out according to the protocol established by the SCA (Specialty Coffee Association).
The score awarded following this tasting determines the quality standard of the coffee:
- 90-100: Exceptional –Specialty
- 85-89.99: Excellent –Specialty
- 80-84.99: Very good – Specialty
- < 80.0: Not Specialty
Finally, we taste the coffee in espresso form (using our tasting sheet) and in filter coffee form, to decide which extraction method best captures the qualities of the coffee.
WHY SHOULD YOU TRUST OUR CUPPING SCORE?
We don’t rely solely on our in-house evaluations; instead, we also draw on the professional skill and experience of all of the tasters who have assessed the coffee before it reaches us.
Each coffee is evaluated by the producers and by Q-graders (tasters certified by the CQI – Coffee Quality Institute) before we buy it; we use their assessments as our starting point and combine it with the evaluation by our panel of tasters.
“The score reflects how you would assess it too, because we definitely don’t want you to be disappointed when you taste it!”
Prunella Meschini
WHY EVALUATE THE COFFEES IN-HOUSE?
Firstly, because it lets us be sure that the coffee is consistent with the score awarded by previous tasters, so we know that the quality has not been compromised during transportation.
Secondly, we evaluate the coffee after roasting, drawing on our know-how and specific methodology, thus arriving at a score that relates to the coffee our customers will find when they open the packet, rather than to the raw product prior to processing.
And finally, all evaluations of the coffee before it reaches the roaster involve small samples. Our evaluation takes into account a broad sample of the coffee that we’ve actually purchased, and so relates specifically to the various bags that we take the coffee from to roast and package.
All this means that our in-house evaluation more closely and specifically reflects the product you’ll find in our bags.
WHY GO TO ALL THIS EFFORT?
So that we can be sure that the coffee we’ve purchased meets our expectations, and that the coffee in the packet truly deserves the score on the label, including after we roast it.
We want to be certain that what’s in your cup is just what you’d expect.
HOW DOES THIS BENEFIT OUR PROFESSIONAL CLIENTS AND ENTHUSIASTS
We don’t simply stick the score given to each coffee by previous tasters on our labels, and nor are we arrogant enough to rely solely on our own evaluations.
We draw on both the work of our tasters and the opinions of experts who have tasted the coffees before us. So you can be sure that the score is based on evaluations by multiple professionals, under a range of conditions: we only select coffees that receive similar scores from all tasters, thus ensuring that they are of consistent quality.
