Here at Barrie House, we take the art of cupping very seriously; rarely does any coffee anywhere undergo the kind of scrutiny that our cuppers conduct.

All of the coffees sourced by us have been cupped at least 5 times during the sourcing, roasting and packing processes. Literally hundreds of thousands of cups of coffee are smelled, tasted and scored each year based on their exquisite characteristics.

The candidate coffees that continuously score high enough are allowed to advance beyond the selection process. When coffees finally pass our stringent cupping process they will be considered the very best in their class with noteworthy fine characteristics.

Below is a brief list of standards we apply during the cupping process:

• Coffee to water ratio for cupping –is recommended to be 8.25 grams (whole bean) coffee (± 0.25 grams) to 5.07 fluid ounces (150 ml) water is used.
• Cupping vessels–are made of tempered glass or ceramic material. The tempered glass vessels are 7 fluid ounces (207 ml) and the ceramic vessels are 9 fluid ounces (266 ml), with a top diameter of between 3 and 3.5 inches (76 – 89 mm). All cups used are of identical volume, dimensions and material of manufacture, and have lids.
• Cupping water temperature–is 200°F ± 2°F (92.2 – 94.4°C) when poured on grounds.
• Cupping water–meets all the requirements listed in the SCAA Standard “Water for Brewing Specialty Coffee.” Grind for cupping—is one where 70-75 percent of the grinds pass through the 20 mesh sieve.
• Roast for cupping–takes between 8 and 12 minutes, and is used for cupping between 8 and 24 hours after roasting.
• Roast color for cupping–meets Agtron ‘gourmet’ color score of 58 for whole beans, 63 for ground coffee, ±1 unit, or between the scores of 55 and 60 on the ‘standard’ Agtron scale.
• Cupping room size–dimensions are no smaller than 110 square feet (10.22 m2).
• Cupping spoons–hold 0.135 – 0.169 fluid ounces (4-5 ml) of coffee sample and are of non-reactive metal.
• Cupping tables–sit 6 people and have a surface area of at least 10 square feet (0.93 square meters), and are between 42 and 46 inches (1.07 – 1.17 meters) tall.