Have you tried Coffee "Cupping"?

Neither had I until only a few weeks ago. The team at MERLO Coffee Roasters at Bowen Hills, have a new addition to their roasting house; a glass 'cupping room'.

I've now become what people like to call a 'coffee snob' - and proud of it!

The Merlo coffee cupping experience is something we should all try, if you have an appreciation for a good cup of coffee, Thompson Street, Bowen Hills is the place to go.

We were firstly introduced to the 'cupping' experience, which was similar to a sommelier introducing their wines during a tasting. Who knew there were aromas such as fruity, woody, chocolates, floral and spice just to name a few - for coffee!. We leant where the beans come from, to how they are roasted and how long they are kept for.

The process was to firstly smell the different beans from various locations. It was incredible how different they did smell. The second step was to then add very precise 92 degree hot water in a circular motion, to the cup. The cup and the brewing coffee was let sit for 3 minutes to form a crust. You would then scoop back the crust with a dessert spoon and smell the coffee - again, it changed entirely.

The last step was to slurp the coffee from your dessert spoon in a very un-lady like fashion, to aerate the flavor of the coffee. It changed again! Un-lady like maybe, but similar to wine appreciation; it just works!

I now pop by on most days for a 'Bean of the Month' latte. (no judgement, yes I have milk)

For your more information contact the team at Merlo Coffee

---