Coffee tasting a profession of the senses
Like all sciences that require experts to check and give opinions on the products, coffee tasting is a trade that has become relevant in recent decades because to be exercised it requires a connoisseur with a fine palate who certifies from his senses which is the quality of this drink.
Coffee tasting has become more professional over the years and is one of the most important requirements in the training of baristas whose work is today recognized and well paid in the hotel and restaurant market. Its fine and trained taste is what allows us to enjoy the most exquisite food and drinks.
The definition of a taster as expressed by a professional is “a person with taste and olfactory qualities and abilities that allow him to determine the quality of a coffee, a drink or a food” Uncontaminated senses to make a good judgment Among the qualities that a taster must have in order to be able to perform different tasks (especially food processes) are: good judgment, good eating habits, not being fond of intoxicating drinks and spicy foods, nor should they use perfumes or lotions.
“Coffee cupping is a ritual that is carried out with clearly defined standards and strict parameters in terms of the detailed steps to make a correct cupping” A good tasting must be totally subjective and much better if it is done blindly, in order to contrast one’s own verdicts with those of other tasters to give a conclusion on the characteristics of the coffees to be evaluated.
Through the tasting, the aim is to find and assess all the characteristics that define a coffee, which will help the tasters to make an objective value judgment, to compare several coffees with each other, or to contrast whether a coffee fits some predetermined characteristics. That is why a rigorous order must be followed in each step as well as having the appropriate instruments at hand (spoons and others), working in a clean place, without odors, noises and other distractions and without the intervention of tobacco or liquor.
Coffee tasting basically consists of trying different espresso coffees extracted in the same way. Coffee tasters are regulated through the CQI (Coffee Quality Institute), an organization that is in charge of issuing regulations and that certifies the 4,000 existing tasters in the world, who are responsible, in turn, for evaluating the quality of the coffees that are marketed among producing and consuming countries.