If you ask two specialty professionals what makes a high-quality coffee, you’ll likely get a surprisingly consistent answer: clean, sweet, juicy, bright. To an outsider, they would be forgiven for thinking coffee quality is universally defined.

But the truth is more sober.

In this episode, we examine how a simple cupping form helped create a universal idea of quality. We then look at the evidence that, in fact, it’s just the personal preferences of a small group of people masquerading as universal quality. 

Please support my work directly at Ko-fi.com/FilterStories

Other ways you can help:

Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify

Discover how I make these Filter Stories episodes by subscribing to my Substack newsletter

Go deeper into the story of quality:

2004 cupping form from the Specialty Coffee Association of America

SCAA Coffee Cuppers Handbook (4th edition, 2011)

Cup of Excellence cupping form

Kenneth Liberman's book, "Tasting Coffee: An Inquiry into Objectivity"

SCA's video series on the CVA presented by Peter Giuliano