I love cupping coffee. It is a great way to assess a coffee and learn how to identify defects, attributes, and nuances that allow you to make decisions about buying coffee and how to maintain consistency in roasting. But the issue we have in a lot of coffee is that cupping, a practice designed for the above scenarios, has been miss used in the front of house customer facing world of retail.

Today on Shift Break we will be talking about cupping's place in coffee quality control and what we should be doing instead of cupping to better manage the quality of our coffee and more clearly communicate a coffee's attributes to customers.

APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN!

KEY HOLDER COACHING GROUPS

Are you a coffee shop owner looking to join a community of other owners to help bring perspective, insight, encouragement, and accountability in a well curated setting?

Then you need to apply to join Key holder Coaching Groups!

Applications are now open for Spring 2026 Cohort:

APPLY TO KEY HOLDER COACHING GROUPS

KEYS TO THE SHOP® 1:1 CONSULTING AND COACHING

If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email

chris@keystothshop.com

of book a free call now:

https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min

Related Episodes:

586: How to Dial In Your Cafe

SHIFT BREAK! How to Think About Quality

533: Principles of Quality Control

406 : Five Ways to Immediately Improve Your Coffee Quality

SHIFT BREAK: Cupping is Overrated