Do you know what cupping is?

 

Perhaps you think it is something to do with an exotic beauty treatment?

Or a cookery term?

In fact, there is such a thing as coffee cupping and, if you are something of a coffee connoisseur (or would like to be) then the odds are that you might end up at such an event.

For instance, Mercury News recently ran a story about a cupping at Blvd Coffee in Los Gatos.

What went on there?

It’s a little bit like a wine-tasting, but involving coffee instead of wine.

Various coffee brews are tasted by visitors (often using a particular sterling silver spoon), to learn more about the flavour, taste and aroma (wet and also dry) etc.

It is, you might be unsurprised to hear, something of a no-no to add anything else to the beverage such as milk or sugar.

It is to be drunk on its own.

At the Blvd Coffee cupping event, one of the most expensive coffees on the planet was available for tasting.

What is it?

Panama Esmeralda Geisha.

It costs between $50-60 per 12 ounce bag.

Another cupping event in the news was reported in the Ballard News Tribunal.

They reported on a Friday public coffee cupping session which is run by a couple of coffee aficionados  Erik Evenson and David Yake.

The emphasis of these sessions is to learn more about coffee, its quality and how it tastes.

The two give a reasonable spectrum of different coffees to sample (three cups of eight coffees) and visitors are encouraged to ask questions.