Cupping overextraction?

Coffee preparation techniques besides espresso like pourover.
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Flounder
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#1: Post by Flounder »

Greetings,
I just watched a James Hoffmann video "A Beginners Guide to Coffee Tasting" and am curious about the cupping method. This may be a stupid question :
He said to keep tasting and comparing as the cups get cooler, several times over the next half hour. Would this not cause an over extraction situation?
I am in no way questioning James's method but more curious to understand why this would not be over extracting. As I delve deeper into understanding and developing my taste I would also love to hear from others about their own personal journeys and/or helpful advice or resources you have found to be of value. Thanks

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glf
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#2: Post by glf »

Flounder wrote:Would this not cause an over extraction situation?
No, since you're taking only from the top, as I understand it.

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Flounder (original poster)
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#3: Post by Flounder (original poster) replying to glf »


Hey Greg, Thanks for chiming in. I pondered that in which case it would seem extremely important to carefully dip the tasting spoon each time as to not create a stir. If that's true I wondered why James would not have mentioned it, being the perfectionist that he seems to be. Just thinking out loud here.

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baldheadracing
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#4: Post by baldheadracing »

It would over-extract if you stirred the grinds or disturbed the cups at each tasting. Undisturbed grounds don't extract much.
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another_jim
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#5: Post by another_jim »

Um. Cupping is done with coarse grinds. After four to five minutes the grounds are pressed to the bottom of each cup using the cupping spoon (this is the "breaking the crust part"), just like in a French Press. Moreover, the cups are cooling off. The reduced contact and the cooling mostly stop the extraction.

As a matter of long experience, the cooler the cup the gets, the less extracted it tastes. The roast flavors predominate early. The origin tastes come out as the cup cools. So remember a simple slogan when cupping. Judge the roast quality when the cup is hot; judge the bean quality when the cup cools.
Jim Schulman
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Flounder (original poster)
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#6: Post by Flounder (original poster) »

Thank you everyone for the replies, And thanks Jim for your explanation, makes sense to me now. I figured I was missing something. Cheers

jmotzi
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#7: Post by jmotzi »

But we also do not need to fear a high level of extraction (ignoring the question of where the boundary is between "high" and "over"):

https://www.baristamagazine.com/changin ... scott-rao/

https://www.baristahustle.com/blog/extract-more-better/

https://coffeeadastra.com/2019/01/29/th ... xtraction/

JM
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DamianWarS
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#8: Post by DamianWarS »

Flounder wrote:Greetings,
I just watched a James Hoffmann video "A Beginners Guide to Coffee Tasting" and am curious about the cupping method. This may be a stupid question :
He said to keep tasting and comparing as the cups get cooler, several times over the next half hour. Would this not cause an over extraction situation?
I am in no way questioning James's method but more curious to understand why this would not be over extracting. As I delve deeper into understanding and developing my taste I would also love to hear from others about their own personal journeys and/or helpful advice or resources you have found to be of value. Thanks
The breaking the crust after 4 or so minutes will cause the coffee to sink effectively stopping the brew. The surface is skimmed so any bits on top are removed and suspected particles will slowly sink as you let the coffee cool for the first cupping. This is the same with any classic immersion brewing methods like the fresh press. With a press pot you can treat it just like a cupping bowl and decante it out when ready without ever pressing and the grinds will stay at the bottom. There is a higher concentration gradient in the grounds at the bottom but if undisturbed it just stays at the bottom.

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pizzaman383
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#9: Post by pizzaman383 »

Clearly the method used works well for its intended purpose. I wonder if it really works the way conventional wisdom says it does or whether there are more complicated diffusion, flow, gradient, etc dynamics going on.
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