The Golden Cup

In coffee there are many different degrees of excellence. They present themselves when you pull your first perfect espresso shot, cup an Ethiopian Moka Harrar that just blasts blueberry or when you simply enjoy a cup of coffee so much you just have to have another. These experiences are what drive coffee lovers to have them over and over again. It’s not really an addiction, just a striving for perfection.

No matter how many times I analyze coffee, I hold to the adage that coffee preparation is a personal thing. Everyone has his or her "method" of brewing a perceived perfect cup. When I was eight, I was taught to brew four scoops of Maxwell House for five minutes in a Corning-Ware stovetop percolator. Of course, the farming community of Trenton, North Carolina isn’t known as a coffee mecca so I attribute that experience as part of my coffee survival training. My early instruction not withstanding, it is usually the case that there is no accounting for taste especially in the coffee world without a provable method to justify organileptic response. Really. This is why coffee professionals, enthusiasts and generally people in the know rely on the time-honored standard known as The Golden Cup.

More than an award given once per year for excellence in brewed coffee to foodservice operators, it is the standard that all coffee preparation within the SCAA is based. Indeed, the proper coffee to water ratio, proper grind, brew water temperature and quality and contact time established by the Golden Cup standard are now the rules of thumb throughout the Specialty Coffee Industry rather than the practices of purists and scientists. One can see the reflection of this standard from the types of machinery that brewer manufacturers are producing to espresso extraction and coffee cupping. It is the Award Program, however, that has propelled the standard into the public arena and helped to raise the quality bar on brewed coffee.

What’s it all about?

In short, excellence in brewed coffee. The Golden Cup Award Program recognizes an attention to detail that foodservice operations are paying to their coffee program. It is a fair statement to say that if you are serving coffee and are not seeking the Golden Cup standard, then the coffee you’re serving is not nearly as good as it could be. Golden Cup coffee blooms in the cup, so to speak. The aroma greets the customer before they take their first sip. Coffee that is prepared in this way tastes like it was intended. Bright acidities stand out, sweet caramels and chocolates dance around your tongue and French roasts hang on your palate like the smoke from an evening campfire. (We are talking about Specialty Coffee here). Restaurants that follow this standard strive to have their coffee quality match their food quality, and it pays off. If the last thing a customer tastes in the dining experience is the coffee, then ensuring the coffee is fantastic compliments the whole meal.

What does it take?

A desire to have a great coffee program and a commitment to excellence. The rules for the operator are simple, really. First, select a reputable coffee roaster so the coffee being served is as fresh as possible. This roaster should have an SCAA Certified Brewing Technician on staff that can help the operator become certified. If not, an application can be obtained by contacting the SCAA through its website or by phone. After receiving the completed application, a Certified Brewing Technician will be dispatched to perform an onsite survey of the operator’s coffee program. Third, an operator needs to ensure that the following criteria are met:

1. Clean Coffee Brewing and Handling Equipment

This includes coffee grinders, brew baskets, sprayheads, seatcups in faucets and of course, containers and dispensers. Coffee oils form a residue over time on the surfaces of these components that will influence every batch of coffee it encounters.

2. Proper Grind

Grind particle size is one of the determining factors of extraction. The roaster or coffee provider should be able to discern which grind is correct.

3. Correct Water Temperature

Brew water temperature should be within 195-205F.

No exceptions.

4. Good Water Quality

Basically, if it tastes good and doesn’t form calcium deposits it’s good to go.

Water analysis by a reputable filtration company is strongly recommended.

Reverse Osmosis (unless its re-mineralized) and distilled water are unacceptable.

5. Contact Time

The amount of time water is in contact with the coffee varies with the type of brewer. Newer and more efficient brewing technologies are pushing the envelope but around five minutes of contact time is the norm.

The roaster or coffee provider should be able to help in this regard.

6. Coffee to Water Ratio

3.25 - 4.25 ounces by weight to make 64 fluid ounces of coffee

The reason there is a range is because different coffees extract differently. The coffee will taste wonderful somewhere in this range of 3.25-4.25 ounces.

Logically, the amounts of coffee to use increases as the batch size or amount of water increases. Again, the range of coffee comes into play according to taste.

How is a Golden Cup Award determined?

The certified brewing technician, when performing the onsite survey, will use testing devices and techniques learned in SCAA taught Brewing Fundamentals and Golden Cup certification classes. He or she will test and evaluate the brewed coffee and observe adherence to the above criteria by the applicant. The technician will then take both a coffee and a water sample for submission to the SCAA headquarters in Long Beach, California for further analysis and certification.

The brewing technician will test to see if the coffee’s soluble concentration or

“Strength” and soluble yield or “Extraction”, when correlated with the weight of dry coffee used and plotted on this chart converge in the “Optimum Balance Box”

When the samples reach Long Beach the SCAA’s Research and Training Associate, Lorenzo Brown, places a portion of the sample into a specialized microwave oven. The Labwave 9000 is a combination microwave, scale and computer that can determine actual dissolved solids to within 0.01% resolution. When the sample passes this final test, certification of the Golden Cup Award is approved.

The applicant will then be notified of the award and will receive in the mail a Golden Cup Certificate, a press release from the SCAA to distribute to local media, an order form to buy a beautiful Golden Cup Award plaque and will be listed in the quarterly SCAA Chronicle’s roster of GC Award recipients. Upon its completion in late February 2005, the Consumer Map on the SCAA website will feature members that have won the Golden Cup Award and their information by city and state in a 2D software map. It’ll be a good way to find actual coffee while traveling.

Then What?

Times have changed somewhat since Dr. Lockhart started the Coffee Brewing Institute in 1952. The over 6000 Golden Cup Awards that hung on the walls of establishments around the country and the world signified something great about the coffee of that time. These days with so much communication and so many coffee chains competing for the same market, anything that calls attention to better quality and sets an operation apart from the herd is crucial marketing.

So, as I always say, “Have a Party!”

As you can see, achieving the Golden Cup Award is no small matter for a foodservice operation or coffee shop. Why not celebrate that fact and have what is becoming known around the Charlotte and Atlanta areas at least as a Golden Cup Party. There are any number of food, wine and cigar awards that are given throughout the year. An organization’s coffee program is no less important. A national award for excellence in coffee says a lot about that company or shop’s desire to be the best. I encourage the operators that have won to set a date for a plaque presentation party and because they are either restauranteurs or shop owners, they usually know local media people, celebrities and others to invite for this particular celebration.

The Golden Cup Award is the perfect marketing tool to promote an operator’s coffee program. The GC parties I’ve been involved with have music, art, a presentation and coffee; what more could you want? An aftereffect of such a public display is that all too critical word of mouth advertising. Coffee sales in the Charlotte area shops that have won the Golden Cup and promoted it in the above fashion have risen on average, 20%. Not bad for a little ole brewing standard, huh?

The goal is to have that perfect coffee experience and then sell thousands of cups of that experience. Excellence in brewed coffee is achievable and is something to trumpet because when coffee is good, business is good.