How to Be a Coffee Taster

Coffee is a very chemically-complex drink and some research supports the idea that there are certain people who are better than others at being coffee tasters, called a "cupper" in the world of coffee. The steps below will lead you to becoming a coffee taster.

Things You'll Need

• Food coloring
• Different coffee blends
• Coffee maker

Instructions

1. Test the amount of taste buds on your tongue by dabbing a bit of dark food color on your tongue. Press your tongue, with color, onto a white napkin. Count the number of little dots; these represent each taste bud.

2. Determine the level of taster you are by the number of tastebuds you have on a 1/4 inch circle on the colored napkin you pressed to your tongue. Supertasters have 50 dots (papillae) per 1/4 inch, medium tasters have 15-30 and non-tasters have as few as 10.

3. Target the areas of your tongue where tastes are the strongest and decide what triggers the most response from your tongue. A very intense reaction to bitterness would preclude you from becoming a coffee taster.

4. Brew different blends of coffee as an experiment to see which nuances of different beans react in your mouth.

5. Swish the coffee around in your mouth from the front of your tongue to back, not from side to side. If you are a good coffee taster you will notice many different flavors, such as herbs, spices and even chocolate in the flavor of the coffee. If it all tastes the same to you, coffee tasting is probably not something you would excel in doing.

Tips & Warnings

• Prepare coffee to be tasted in a coffeemaker that is very clean. Make sure that any soap residue in the carafe is thoroughly removed. You do not want to taste soap with your coffee.

• Do not add any flavorings such as cream or sugar to the coffee you are tasting. The true flavor of the coffee will be masked with the addition of other substances.