Overview
Master the art and science of coffee tasting.
Learn to taste coffee the way industry professionals do. This program trains your palate to identify, compare, and describe coffee's aroma, body, acidity, and flavor through the same cupping protocol used at origin and on roasting floors worldwide — grinding, pouring, breaking the crust, and slurping across a full table of samples to score and describe each cup with precision.
Whether you're a barista sharpening your service, a roaster dialing in a profile, or simply serious about understanding what makes specialty coffee special, this program builds the tasting vocabulary and technique that separates guesswork from genuine quality judgment — skills you'll use every time you pick up a cup.
What You’ll Learn
The Full Curriculum.
Understanding Taste
Learn the physiology of taste and how to recognize bitterness, acidity, sweetness, and body — the building blocks every other tasting skill is built on. You'll train your palate to notice what's actually on your tongue before you ever try to describe it.
The Cupping Protocol
Master the formal process used across the industry: grinding to spec, pouring hot water over grounds, breaking the crust to capture aroma, skimming the foam, and slurping loudly enough to spread coffee across your whole palate as it cools.
Scoring & Description
Use a standard cupping form to score coffee across fragrance, flavor, aftertaste, body, and balance — the same categories professional tasters use to separate a great specialty coffee from an average commercial cup.
Flavor Identification
Learn to name what you taste using the coffee flavor wheel, moving from vague impressions to precise descriptors — and to recognize common defects before they ever reach a customer's cup.
Comparative Tasting
Cup coffees side by side across different origins, processing methods, and roast levels so the differences stop being abstract and start being obvious — the fastest way to sharpen a palate is direct comparison.
Why This Program
Refined Palate
Develop the sensory skills used by professional tasters worldwide.
Industry Vocabulary
Learn to describe coffee with precision and confidence.
Quality Judgment
Gain the ability to evaluate and compare coffee quality objectively.
Defect Detection
Learn to spot common cup defects before they ever reach a customer.
Liquoring / Coffee Tasting
Ready to Start Your Coffee Journey?
Spots are limited to keep cohorts small and hands-on. Secure your place, or message us directly if you'd like to talk through fit and timing first.