What equipment do I need in my cupping lab?
Equipment specifications for any lab, plus CQI requirements
Water:
Cupping with clean water is essential. If you don’t have access to clean, filtered water, or are unwilling to invest in maintaining a filtration system, plan to buy water for cupping and allow space for large water bottles and a way to use them easily.
Remember that the coffee liquor is more than 98% water; if your water tastes like anything at all, it will negatively impact the quality of your cup.
Cups:
When cupping, we use a ratio of 8.5g coffee to 150mL of water. Whatever cups you decide on, make sure they are all the same volume. For a full cupping, you’ll need 5 cups per sample plus a rinse cup. Cupping sets should have a maximum of 10, so having 60 cups on hand is a good starting point.
Using ceramic or glass cups are most common, but some labs have plastic ones like these.
CQI Requirments:
Cupping bowls/vessels made of ceramic or glass with volume being between 200- 266mL and diameter 75-90mm. - Minimum of sixty (60) per six (6) students/per cupping table; all vessels must be uniform.
Kettles
Whether you have a hot water tower, a stove, or an induction burner, you will need a way to pour the water into the cups. Gooseneck kettles will take longer to pour out of, and are usually smaller in volume; I recommend big kettles that hold more than 2L.
CQI Requirements:
Large hot water pitchers to pour water during cuppings (minimum 1.5L Capacity for ease of carrying / handling when pouring at table). NO goosenecks because the spout pours water too slowly and typically does not hold more than 1.5 liters at a time. - Minimum six (6) to eight (8) pitchers to be able to pour a full round of cupping at once. Thermal pitchers are preferred.
A way to heat water:
Electric kettles require a lot of electrical power and don’t heat a large volume of water. I find gas or electric stovetops to be the most useful.
CQI Requirements:
Temperature of the water shall be approx. 93C - 96C (199.4F - 205F). Equivalent water temperature shall be calculated based on venue higher location’s elevation when applicable.
Grinder:
Grind size and consistency is an important component for good extraction. Investing in a burr grinder that doesn’t create too many fines or boulders will greatly improve your experience at the cupping table. Cupping labs can go through a lot of coffee depending on the season; a high-quality grinder that can withstand a large volume of coffee while maintaining consistency is often worth the investment.
The Malkhonig EK 43 is industry standard, with it’s partner the Guatemala being a good alternative. Smaller grinders like the Baratza MODEL work well, but have a smaller motor.
CQI Requirments:
Commercial coffee grinder(s) – NOT espresso grinders – Minimum of one (1) per venue; ideally one (1) per twelve (12) students for a better learning environment.
Spoons:
Cupping spoons are part of the coffee evaluator’s toolkit. Some cuppers have preferred spoon shapes, and it can be nice to have spoons built specifically for this practice. However if you need a large volume of spoons - and you do, if you plan on hosting cupping sessions with 5-10 people or more - buying soup spoons in bulk can be a more economic option.
Cupping spoons should not be used for anything other than coffee cupping, lest they get food grease or other flavors on them that impact the evaluation of the coffee.
CQI requirements:
Minimum two (2) per student.
Spit cups:
Caffeine is a powerful substance, and in high quantities can impact the cupper’s ability to evaluate the cup. Spitting the coffee liquor (rather than swallowing) is a good way to avoid over caffeination.
Spit cups can really be any size or shape, but here are a few considerations:
Spit cups should be totally different from any other cup in your lab, and should only be used for spit. Making them easily identifiable makes it less likely that a cupper will use the spit cup to drink out of.
Spit cups should be easy to hold; cuppers often have to balance a clipboard, pencil, spoon, and spit cup in their hands, and be able to take legible notes and make accurate analysis of the product in front of them. A spit cup that is light, not too big, or that has a handle to hold onto can make this balancing act easier to manage.
CQI requirements:
Spittoons, such as 16 oz tumblers or paper cups – One (1) per participant. Several for each participant if disposable.
Colander:
Coffee grounds are not great for plumbing, and avoiding getting solids down the drain is a good way to avoid clogs. Make sure the screen size is small enough to capture fine coffee grounds.
Having a bucket to drain liquid into after the cupping is over can help a lot with efficiency.
CQI requirements:
Buckets with fine mesh sieve - One (1) per table.
Dishwasher/Sink:
Having a place to wash and dry cups quickly between and after cuppings can be extremely helpful. A commercial sanitizer or personal dishwasher can be useful, but if those aren’t available then having space for all your cups to dry becomes all the more important.
Towels:
Towels are an invaluable tool when cupping coffee. Whether to dry spills, pick up messes, or to put on the table during the cupping, they are nearly essential. Using microfiber is nice if it’s available, especially since it will not leave any residue on the cups if you use it to try them quickly.
Be sure that your towels have no scent! Any smells coming from cleaning products or mold will negatively impact the cupper’s ability to evaluate the product.
Cupping Table
A cupping table should be high enough that the cuppers don’t have to bend over double to reach the cups, and not so high that it’s too difficult to pour water easily. Tables that have an adjustable height make this problem a little easier to deal with.
Cupping tables are usually long and relatively narrow; think about how many cups you’d like to evaluate at a time (hopefully no more than 10). Cups shouldn’t be overly crowded, and there needs to be space between each sample. CQI give very specific size requirements you can see below.
CQI requirements:
Rectangular cupping tables - recommended dimensions are 1.5m (L) x 60cm (W). Height of cupping table shall be comfortable for attendees to cup coffee while standing – tables with adjustable height are preferred. – One (1) table per six (6) students.
Scales:
Having a bank of multiple scales makes life much easier in a cupping lab. Make sure the scales are big enough to hold multiple cups at a time, have a long battery life, and are accurate to the 0.01 gram.
CQI Requirements
Scales – must have a 0.01g precision. Minimum of one (1) scale per six (6) students/per cupping table.
Digital Timers:
I personally enjoy having two timers, one counting up from when water is first poured, and one counting down from first pour to four minutes, when it’s time to break. These should have displays big enough to be easily visible, buttons that are easy to navigate at a glance, and it’s always nice if they don’t beep incessantly.
CQI requirements:
Digital timers – One (1) per cupping table; ideally two (2) per table.
Clipboards:
Having an excess of clipboards on hand is never a bad thing. Every cupper will need one to take notes, and in my labs it always seems like there’s one less than we need that day. Buy extras!
I prefer the ones that don’t have an obtrusive clip, and though less ecologically sound plastic holds up better to the abuses of water exposure than cardboard. This style is my favorite.
CQI Requirements:
Clipboards – One (1) per participant (students + instructors + helpers).
Pencils:
When using a paper SCA form, it’s always best to use pencil. Mechanical pencils have a finer tip, which can be easier to make legible when writing small enough to fit in the spaces on the form, but wood pencils work just fine - so long as you have a sharpener, as well!
CQI Requirements:
Minimum enough for course
Setting up a cupping lab is no small task; there are tons of details, plenty of equipment, and many variables to manage. If you need help setting your cupping lab up for success, contact me directly and loupecoffee@gmail.com or through the form above.
