What Is Coffee Cupping — and How to Try It in Amman

Cupping is how the coffee industry tastes coffee — a simple, standardised ritual that lets you compare beans side by side in a fair, controlled way. It’s what Q Graders use to assign quality scores. And it’s genuinely one of the most interesting things you can do with 20 minutes and a curious palate.

How a cupping works

1. Smell the dry grounds. Before any water, put your nose close to the ground coffee in the cup. You’ll often catch fruit, chocolate, or grain notes clearly.

2. Hot water is poured. A crust forms on the surface. Let it steep for four minutes.

3. Break the crust. Use a spoon to push the crust into the cup. As you do, lean in and inhale — this is often the most aromatic moment.

4. Skim the grounds off the surface. Remove the floating fragments with two spoons.

5. Slurp. Loud, on purpose. The slurp aerates the coffee and sprays it across your entire palate — you taste more. There is no polite way to cup coffee.

6. Notice. Is it bright or flat? Fruity or earthy? Does it feel heavy or light in the mouth? Does the finish linger or disappear quickly? Taste as it cools — acidity and complexity emerge more clearly at lower temperatures.

What you’ll actually notice

The first thing most first-timers notice is how different coffees taste from one another. An Ethiopian natural might taste like blueberry jam; a washed Kenyan might taste like black currant; a Guatemalan might be all chocolate and caramel. Same plant, radically different expressions.

Where to try it in Amman

The Amman Coffee Festival runs a Coffee Cupping Lab open to anyone, alongside roasting and barista sessions, during “The Picnic” (20–23 August, Balsam Grounds). No experience needed — the roasters running the sessions are excellent teachers.

Tickets are 5 JOD and include a free drink. Book your tasting at amman.coffeefestival.me · @acoffeefestival.