The folder on the shelf
Every week the team cups. Arrival samples from the importer, production roasts from Monday, a new profile the head roaster is trying. People score on printed sheets, write descriptors in the margins, and the sheets go into a folder. Six months later, when a café says the espresso tastes flatter than it did in spring, nobody can find the spring cupping sheets, or they can but cannot tell which batch each one scored.
Some of the knowledge lives in the head roaster's memory. Some is in a WhatsApp group where someone posted a photo of the scores. None of it is searchable.
Why the records do not get used
Paper is not the real problem. The problem is that a cupping sheet records a sample name, not a link to anything. "Ethiopia 3" on a Tuesday could be an arrival sample, a production batch or a pre shipment offer. Without that link, the scores cannot be compared across time, across lots or against complaints, and so nobody bothers to go back to them.
- Samples are named ad hoc at the table.
- Scores are not tied to a lot, a batch or a profile.
- Descriptors differ between cuppers and between weeks.
- Arrival sample results never reach the person who bought the coffee.
- Nothing is kept from production QC except the roaster's impression.
What you lose without the history
You lose the ability to answer questions that matter to the business. Is this lot fading faster than the last one from the same producer? Did the new profile actually change the cup, or did it just feel different? Were the complaints in March about a particular batch? Buying decisions for next season rely on memory. And when a senior cupper leaves, their judgement leaves with them.
A cupping record built for the table
- A tablet or phone form that works on a wet cupping table, with large buttons and your own score sheet, whether that follows the SCA form, a simplified house score or both.
- Before cupping, the session is set up from the system: arrival samples from the green stock, batches from the roast log, profiles under test. Each cup position is linked to a real lot or batch.
- Cuppers score blind where you want them to, and the form reveals what each cup was after scoring.
- Descriptors are chosen from your own list with free text allowed, so notes stay comparable between people.
- Results are stored against the lot and the batch, and appear on the lot's page next to its stock and contract.
- Reports show a lot's scores over time, compare profiles, and line up customer complaints against the cupping results for the same batches.
| Session type | Linked to | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| Pre shipment and offer samples | Importer offer | Buying decisions |
| Arrival samples | Green lot | Checking the delivery matches the offer |
| Production QC | Roast batch | Consistency week to week |
| Profile trials | Profile version | Deciding whether a change stays |
| Complaint follow up | Batch and customer | Checking whether a complaint holds up |
When the scores are searchable
Cupping stays the same ritual. What changes is afterwards: the scores are already filed against the right coffee, and anyone planning a buy or reviewing a profile can see the history in one place. The head roaster can show a new team member how a lot has developed. The person who buys green sees how their purchases actually cupped on arrival and months later, which is useful when talking to importers about next year.
Is cupping knowledge getting lost?
- Cupping sheets are in a folder or a notebook.
- You could not find last season's scores for a coffee you are rebuying.
- Samples are named on the day rather than linked to a lot.
- Different cuppers use completely different descriptors.
- Production QC is a quick taste with no record.