Cupping is a method coffee tasters use to evaluate a coffees characteristics. If you really want to learn more about the traits of different coffees, this is a great way to do it. Just the fact that you would be willing to try this means you're well on your way to becoming a true coffee snob! So let's get started. First, you will need the following:

• A few kinds of fresh, whole bean coffee (if you want to compare)
• Grinder(preferably a burr grinder)
• Tea kettle for near boiling water
• Tablespoon
• Porcelain cups (8 oz.) for each coffee
• Silver spoon
• A cup (for spitting the coffee out)

Aroma is a major component of taste, try to do this where there are no strong, perfume-like smells in the air.
Here are the procedures for cupping:

• Fill cup with 2 heaping tablespoons of the ground coffee.
• Steep for 2-3 minutes. The coffee should form a crust or "cap" on top of the water. While steeping, check the coffee for any sour smells. Sour smells are bad and could indicate old or rancid coffee.
• Gently break the crust with your spoon by pushing the grounds back exposing the water. You should notice a fine-celled foam. If there is no foam, the coffee may not be fresh. Again smell the coffee because much of the fragrance is trapped under this crust. Pay extra attention to the fragrance because it is so important to the taste. As you continue to break the crust, the grounds will sink to the bottom of the cup.
• Fill your spoon with the brewed coffee avoiding the floating grounds.
• Slurp the coffee into your mouth with some force. This will mix air with the coffee and disperse it evenly throughout your mouth.
• Swirl the coffee around your mouth to get a good feel for the overall flavor.
• Spit the coffee out and rinse mouth with water before tasting another.