Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders SHIFT BREAK: Cupping is Overrated
Mar 19, 2026
A critique of using cupping in front-of-house retail and why it can mislead customer experience. Discussion of tasting coffee in the actual formats customers drink, like espresso and pour-over. Practical quality-control alternatives such as tasting urns and setting menu-specific targets and tolerances. Advice on translating cup notes into real-world brewing standards.
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Cupping Is A Roaster's Quality Control Tool
- Cupping is essential for roasters and green buyers as a QC tool focused on batch consistency and defect detection.
- Chris DiFirio stresses cupping's role is internal quality control, not a direct translation to retail brewing experiences.
Cupping Notes Don't Match Real World Brewing
- Cupping notes often fail customers because they reflect aerated slurped tasting, not how coffee tastes as brewed or espresso in a café.
- Chris DiFirio explains customers read bag notes but then taste drip or espresso at home and don't recognize cupping descriptors.
Taste Coffee In The Formats Customers Use
- Taste coffees in the formats customers will drink them: urns, pour-over recipes, espresso shots, and group-taste the espresso regularly.
- Set and communicate clear tasting targets so baristas know the intended outcome for each menu item.