I am writing from murky coffee in Clarendon after spending an hour in the cupping room. Murky holds two cuppings every Friday. Although space is limited, the cuppings are free and open to the public. It's just one way in which murky has been working to spread the gospel of good coffee. For anyone who wants to learn more about coffee, it's a great way to spend an hour.
Cupping is not unlike wine tastings, but the coffee is not brewed in the traditional sense. Finely ground coffee is first assessed by it's aroma. It is then steeped in hot water for 4 minutes, and cuppers assess the coffee for fragrance, brightness (acidity), flavor, body and aftertaste. When you are dealing with really great coffee, freshly roasted, it is amazing how many flavors you can begin to detect. Coffee has more than 700 flavor constituents, far more than wine's meager 150. Different brewing techniques will bring out different flavors, but only cupping brings out the full pantheon.
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