"Cupping" is a professional technique that evaluates coffee's taste, fragrance, aroma, taste, acidity, body and aftertaste, in that order. A coffee-cupping event has a lot in common with a science experiment.  There is one control (the different coffee beans), and everything else remains constant, including the brewing process, coffee-to-water ratio, percentage of how much the beans are ground, as well as amount of water in each cup.  These specific procedures ensure a fair test for every coffee bean. 

Further more, the testing begins with fragrance.  Beans are grounded and then immediately placed in a cup (without water) to sniff.  Judges smell for sweetness, which leads to "acidity" tastes, or "pungent" scents which foreshadows "sharp" tastes. They next judge the freshness by how intense the aroma is.  The aroma is then further tested by "adding 150 milliliters of nearly boiling 'crystal' fresh water" to the beans.  "With a long, deep sniff", the coffee is measured on its fruity, herbal, or nut-like character. 

Up next is the taste.  Judges drink from a spoon, quickly pouring down their tongue so that all taste-buds of the tongue react simultaneously.  If the first and/or strongest sensations occur on the tip of the tongue, the coffee has a sweeter character.  If the sensations occur near the back of the tongue, it has a more bitter character.  Judges decide on a first and second taste characteristic.  Fourth, the judge tests the coffee both with his/her mouth and nose at the same time. 

Fifth is aftertaste.  Aftertaste can range from unpleasant  to practically none (as ours is!).  Aftertaste characteristics can be sweet, burnt-like, pungent, resinous, or a mixture of these.  Lastly, the body of the coffee is tested.  By using the tongue while coffee is in the mouth, it is checked for "fat content" and "fiber and protein content".  The last four steps are usually repeated as the coffee cools, because the hot temperature can affect your judgment. 

To try "cupping" coffee yourself, see the following Classification of Coffee Flavor Terms, by Ted R. Lingle. Also, here are two of his tips: 1) keep cupping environment "free from outside interference", so you remain focused and unaffected from distractions for judging, 2) "take notes" on your coffee to help your mind agree with your tongue.

To be considered specialty or premium, coffee must exhibit distinct attributes and qualities in these seven areas. Moreover, such coffee must be free from odors, faults and taints.  There are nuances that may be too subtle to the common drinker to discern, but definitely distinct to the expert.  This technique is a type of measurement  that the coffee world all understands and accepts to scale and grade different coffees into a type (such as premium).  Instead of trusting coffee merchants who say their coffee is "really good", ask them for an objective and unbiased cupping score. 

Classification of Coffee Flavor Terms

by Ted R. Lingle
 

I. Olfaction Terminology: Bouquet (complexity)
A. Variety (qualitative assessment)				B. Intensity (quantitative assessment - in order of degree)
1. Fragrance	2. Aroma	3. Nose	4. Aftertaste	1. Rich
a. sweetly floral	a. fruity	a. caramelly	a. carbony	2. Full
b. sweetly spicy	b. herby	b. nutty	b. chocolaty	3. Rounded
		c. malty	c. spicy	4. Flat
			d. turpeny

Source: The Basics of Cupping Coffee, Third Edition. Lingle, Ted R.