DEEPEN YOUR COFFEE KNOWLEDGE
Coffee cupping is a practice used by coffee buyers and roasters to taste and score coffees side by side. It’s also a great way to develop your palate and break down aspects of the coffee’s taste. Seasoned cuppers assess body, sweetness, acidity and overall flavour. is Proud Mary’s uber-cool engine AUNTY PEG’S room and coffee cellar door. This is where you can tour the working roastery, pick up beans and brew gear and, at its ground-floor bar, taste all manner of black coffees including espressos, AeroPress, cold drip and even an ale-like brew made by steeping ultra-premium Geisha beans in cold water. Free cupping sessions at 10.30am on Saturdays showcase staff favourites, and seasonal blends. To plunge in deeper, you can also book a barista boot camp through the Collingwood Coffee College at Aunty Peg’s; auntypegsbypmc.com.au offers weekly public cuppings SEVEN SEEDS at 9am on Tuesdays on a walk-in basis (no reservations) for up to 12 people. A $4 donation goes towards a charity called Women for Women in Africa. Each session is hosted by a Seven Seeds coffee roaster who runs through the cupping process; sevenseeds.com.au conducts public MARKET LANE COFFEE cuppings at the Prahran Market shop on Fridays (1pm–1.45pm) for up to six people. It also offers roasting and espresso and filter coffee brewing classes; marketlane.com.au runs classes including AXIL COFFEE ROASTERS a farm to cup class, barista training, latte art and brewing classes. axilcoffee.com.au To go to the next level, take the $600 Sensory Module 1 course at LAB’s training ST.ALI’S SENSORY facility in Port Melbourne. Here you’ll learn the ins and outs of cupping protocol, and develop all your sensory and olfactory skills; sensorylab.com.au