Cupping is a practice that is done by coffee roasters, green bean buyers, and baristas. The reason we cup coffee is to identify the characteristics of the coffee; the aromas, the body, and the intensity of flavors (acidity). Since cupping coffee is so vital to purchasing our precious beans, Rhino Coffee Gear have designed a cupping bowl that is black on the inside as opposed to white. But why? While many of us like to believe that we are not easily deceived, our sense of taste is often fooled by our sense of sight. This is because humans have certain expectations of how food should look. When a food's color is off or is different to what we expect, our brain tells us that it tastes different too. Long supported by scientific studies, we use visual cues from colors to identify and judge the quality and taste of what we eat.
Your taste buds play an important role in determining the four basic groups of taste: sweet, salty, sour, and bitter. When your taste buds come into contact with food, they send signals to your brain to interpret flavor. As humans, we look at our food before eating, and our eyes send signals to our brains. This all occurs well before our taste buds get the chance to taste. This process can pre-determine how we will perceive the taste and flavor of what we're about to eat.
Color is often the first element noticed in the appearance of a food product. Humans begin to associate certain colors with various types of foods from birth and equate these colors to certain tastes and flavors throughout life. For example, we may expect yellow pudding to have a banana or lemon flavor and red jelly beans to have a cherry or cinnamon flavor. In fresh foods, such as fruits and vegetables, we rely on the color to determine their level of ripeness and freshness. If the color of a food product does not match our expectations, we may perceive its flavor differently.
Having the internal color as black rather than the traditional white will help you focus less on the color and clarity, eliminating any preconceived ideas and allowing for the people cupping to rate the cup purely by the taste and smell.
Apart from visual cues, water quality is another important factor that affects the taste of the coffee in your cupping bowl. Filtering the water you use for coffee can help remove common water contaminants such as arsenic, lead and aluminum and ensure you keep coffee drinkers safe and healthy. With filtered water, the taste of the coffee produced will also remain pure and unadulterated. Your senses, especially your taste buds, will not be influenced by the taste of unfiltered water which may have various chemicals such as chlorine in it, which give water a distinct taste.
To ensure that the bowls can be used in all aspects (from introductory cupping through to competition cupping) Rhino Coffee Gear Cupping Bowls have been specifically designed to meet all SCAA standards. The thick walls made from high-quality ceramic guarantees heat retention, allowing for coffee to remain at optimum temperature levels for longer.
Check out the product links below to view each Rhino Coffee Gear Cupping Bowl.
