The Kona Coffee Farm Experience

One of the most rewarding parts of my job is traveling to the world’s coffee production regions. This year’s trip to Kona was particularly memorable, as it marked David’s first tour of a Kona coffee farm.

Greenwell Farms was the first Kona farm we visited. Tommy Greenwell has been a friend for many years, and his grandparents began farming coffee at Greenwell Farms in the early 1900s. Amazingly, some of the first coffee plants still bear fruit – and this was the first stop on our tour of the farm. As you can see by the photograph below, the red berries are ready for one of the pickers to come by and harvest them.

Tommy, David and I then visited the pulping vats and drying roofs. In the vats, the cherries are cleaned away until only the coffee beans inside remain. Then, the wet beans are spread carefully and evenly on one of the nearby roofs to dry in the sun for several days. An interesting tidbit: it rains nearly every day in Kona, albeit briefly. As you can see from these photographs, the roofs are flat but there is a peaked portion that moves on runners and is pulled over the drying beans to keep the rain out during the storms.

After the beans dry, they are sorted by bean quality. At this point, the Kona peaberry is separated out from the Kona coffee beans. The peaberry accounts for about 3% of all Kona coffee, and occurs when the coffee cherry yields one round, pea-shaped bean rather than two halves (what we envision when someone says “coffee bean”). Kona peaberry coffee is highly sought-after coffee and is the most expensive type of Kona available on the market today. David and I sampled and compared Greenwell’s Kona and Kona peaberry coffees, and found the latter to be slightly lighter with a bit of a sparkling taste.

Once sorting has taken place, the beans are bagged and prepared for shipment. The beans are shipped as green beans to ensure freshness – we roast them once we receive them in Gävle to make sure we offer only freshly-roasted coffees to our customers.

As David said to me at the end of the day, “The more I learn, the more I want to learn.” I think most people who are passionate about coffee feel this way, too. So please do share any comments or questions with us about Kona, coffee production regions, farms or anything else that’s on your mind.

Kona: 2007 Gevalia Cupping Competition

David and I have just returned from our week in Kona. It was David’s first trip to the Big Island of Hawaii, and my eighth, and we had a marvelous time. We were shown tremendous island hospitality by everyone at the coffee festival and by our friends like Trent Bateman and Tommy Greenwell, two of Kona’s coffee growers. Over the next few times I write to you, I am going to share our experiences in Kona: cupping, farms, people and David’s experience at his first cupping competition, where he served as a guest judge. Today, I’d like to share this year’s competition winners.

For the first time this year, Gevalia hosted two coffee competitions: the Classic Competition and the Crown Competition. The Classic Competition is open to all Kona coffee farms, and entrants must submit 50 pounds of coffee to be considered for the prize. This year’s winner was Kona Old Style, a 2 ½ - acre organic farm in Kealakekua, Hawaii, owned by Una Greenway and her husband, Leon Rosner. Although David and I and the other three judges sampled 66 submissions, there was simply no comparison: Una and Leon’s Kona coffee was a clear winner. Second prize was awarded to Malia Ohana and third prize went to J. Yokoyama. Talking with these winners was a very special part of the competition, and I will tell you more about each farm in upcoming posts. I’ll also let you know how you can visit them on the Web or in person when you find yourself in Kona.

This year, Gevalia introduced the Crown Competition, open to larger farms that were required to submit 3,000 pounds of Kona coffee to be considered. This year, David and I sampled the coffee from eleven finalists in this competition, and were delighted to award first prize to Ono Kona Coffee of Holualoa, Hawaii, owned by Sharon and Bob Wood. The Woods were awarded an exclusive contract with Gevalia, which will purchase their 3,000 pounds of coffee and create a limited-edition Kona coffee from their beans.

In my eight years at Kona, this was the best coffee I have tasted. Since the crop was early this year, the beans had plenty of time to reach optimal maturation, and the taste was reflective of this. I’ll share more soon, but in the meantime, please let me know your thoughts and questions – or, even better, please let us know if you were able to visit us this year in Kona. We would very much like to hear your thoughts on the coffee and the competition, and to share our photos with you.

Leadup to Kona: Current Climate Conditions and Preparations for the 2007 Kona Coffee Cupping Competition

In a little more than a week, David and I will be working hard to choose next year’s Kona coffee for Gevalia. After last year’s competition, in which over 70 farms participated, we are very excited to sample this year’s Kona crop. From the moment our plane touches down in Kona, we will be on the move, visiting Kona farms and catching up with our friends, the growers. We will also become acquainted with the other members of the judging panel for the Kona Coffee Cupping Competition, and prepare for the two-day tasting.

I look forward to introducing David to Kona, since this is his first visit to Hawaii and one of the most important parts of his role as Master Taster Apprentice. After many years of judging the competition and working with the growers, it is a privilege to be able to introduce them to David. Although I have worked with generations of growers, this is the first time the next generation of Gevalia Master Taster has been introduced to the coffee community, and is truly a unique occasion.

Throughout the year, our growers in Kona have kept us abreast of weather and climate news. We are in for a wonderful trip: temperatures are about 75-85°F during the day and there is a light breeze of up to 10MPH. There have been some rainstorms, but this should not impact our trip or the Kona crop in the slightest.

Kona at Home: How to Store This Year’s Winning Kona Blend

As every coffee drinker knows, maintaining the freshness of beans or grounds is essential. People are always sharing with me their methods for storing coffee, and I am often asked for my recommendations for storing coffee. And I always give the same advice: it is necessary to maintain optimal temperature and air conditions.

As any coffee drinker can tell you, there is nothing worse than the taste of coffee brewed from stale beans or grounds. In our tasting setting in Gävle, David and I are very careful to maintain an agreeable temperature. Even though beans are hard to the touch, they are as sensitive in their response to adverse temperature conditions as a painting or an instrument. So, we must always keep coffee at temperatures that ensure the best aroma, color and taste.

As I have shared previously, the ideal temperature for cupping is 62-65°C (144-149°F), and we strictly adhere to this guideline every day at Gevalia, since we know that doing otherwise would impact our taste experience. When it comes to storing coffee, temperature also remains paramount. It is my recommendation that coffee be stored at 8°C (46°F). This is on the colder side for a refrigerator, but, in my experience, this storage temperature guarantees optimal results for bean color and aroma as well as the perfect brewed cup down the road.

The other important factor to consider while storing is air. As with fruits, which become overripe when left to out of refrigeration for too long, or breads, which harden with too much exposure to the air, coffee can also be adversely affected by air. As such, I recommend storing coffee beans and grounds in an airtight container to maintain freshness and guarantee later enjoyment. If temperature and airtight conditions are met, one will be guaranteed a lovely cup of brewed coffee when the time is right.

If you follow these guidelines, you will always have a fresh cup of coffee, no matter how long your beans or grounds have been in refrigeration. Combined with a tight seal, you are guaranteed success – no matter what the bean or the blend.

Cupping Kona: the Subtleties Involved in Cupping Different Beans

This will be my ninth year serving on the judging panel at the Kona Coffee Cupping Competition in Kona, Hawaii. Although I cup coffee every day in Sweden for Gevalia, the cupping experience at Kona is truly unique.

While I employ a consistent method to tasting all blends and beans, the charged atmosphere of the Kona Competition requires that a particular and undivided attention be given in a very intense and exciting situation. In Sweden, David and I cup between 250 and 300 cups of coffee daily, but the challenge of choosing the winning bean at Kona requires two intense days of four judges each cupping over 600 cups per day. If this year is as successful as last year for the Kona growers and the crop produced, I anticipate that more than 70 farms will enter their coffee into the competition.

David and I often discuss how important it is to cup in the same manner from day to day. There is, of course, a science that we follow closely. But as the number of cups I work with doubles for two days at Kona, I will need to rely on things beyond the science of cupping, and trust that decades of honing my senses of smell and taste will serve me well. And, of course, I will be carrying my lucky cupping spoon with me. I never cup coffee without it.

My Sense of Responsibility to Millions of Coffee Drinkers: the Kona Coffee Cupping Competition

At Kona, it is always very exciting to cup the world’s most exclusive coffee bean. Kona coffee grows only on the volcanic slopes of the Kona region in Hawaii, which certainly limits the acreage on which coffee can be grown.

In my travels, there is one constant theme: people always share stories about their favorite cup of coffee. While each story is unique, the storytellers share a devotion to coffee. And for Kona drinkers, the amount of coffee grown per year is limited, and it is essential that only the best beans be offered to customers. So, for everyone whose favorite cup of coffee is Kona, the Kona Coffee Cupping Competition is of utmost importance. Indeed, while I am at Kona, I know that cupping the year’s coffee harvest is pivotal for the drinkers of the year’s Kona offering.

My goal at Kona is to choose the Kona bean that will mean every Kona drinker enjoys his or her cup of coffee to the utmost. The responsibility to Kona drinkers is always on my mind when I am in Hawaii, and I hope that when you enjoy your cup of Kona coffee, you will remember that your favorite cup of coffee has been selected with care.

Importance of the Competition and the Significance of the Winning Bean

In the Kona region of Hawaii’s Big Island, there is no greater honor for a farm than to be named as producer of the winning bean at the Gevalia Kona Coffee Cupping Competition. Last year, more than 70 farms competed by submitting their Kona coffee samples within the competition’s rules for consideration. Over the two-and-a-half days I spent working with my fellow judges in cupping over 600 cups of submitted Kona coffee, I was struck by how much competing farms were enjoying the camaraderie of their special coffee community and how the annual Kona Festival speaks to the underlying enthusiasm the local growers hold for the Kona region, soil and coffee – and for their colleagues in the Kona region.

In my time spent on the slopes of Mount Hualalau and Mauna Loa in the Kona Districts, I have visited enormous coffee farms covering acres and acres, and have visited some farms that grow coffee only on an acre or two. But regardless of the total acreage of coffee crop produced by a particular farm, all entrants are equal at the Kona Coffee Cupping Competition. Each coffee farm submits a 50-pound sample of its Kona crop, from which five pounds are entered into the competition. The Kona Coffee Cupping Competition is a blind tasting, and as such, each five-pound sample of beans is assigned a number.

Once the field has been narrowed to 15 competitors, new numbers are assigned. This way, we judges are even more aware of maintaining an acute palate and can approach each cupping with a “blind tongue,” if you will. In addition to cupping each sample, we also examine the green and roasted beans of each submission to evaluate the properties of the beans. The beans are given marks in six categories: fragrance, aroma, taste, nose, aftertaste and body. The sample given the highest score becomes the winning bean – and the acreage of the submitting farm is never taken into consideration.

The equality amongst competitors from the outset of the Gevalia Kona Cupping Competition is what makes the competition such an integral part of the Kona crop every year. Gevalia relies on the Kona beans selected by the cupping panel to produce its Gevalia Kona Select Varietal coffee. When I am home in Gävle, cupping our Kona coffee, I am proud that it has come from a region so rich in coffee quality and worthy competitors.

2007 Kona Coffee Cupping Competition and My Role

As you can see from my last two posts, I love the Kona region, the coffee it produces and the farmers who dedicate themselves to this special coffee’s successful cultivation year after year. It’s my particular honor to serve as Panel Chairman at the 2007 Kona Coffee Cupping Competition November 7-8, 2007. It’s my ninth year serving as a judge for the competition, and I am also proud that Gevalia is again the lead sponsor of this important event, our twelfth year.

As Panel Chairman, I will direct and work with my fellow three judges over a two-and-a-half-day period to cup approximately 600 cups of Kona coffee. We narrow the field from dozens of farms’ entries to the best 15 coffees, which we then reduce to five or six finalists. In our final day of cupping, we choose one grower as the winner who has produced the year’s highest-quality Kona.

In addition to the exciting days of cupping to determine the winner of the Kona Coffee Cupping Competition, the nine-day Kona Festival offers nearly 50 events for visitors, who learn all about why Kona is so special and how we determine the best Kona coffees. The visitors also enjoy fabulous local foods, parades, a pageant, tours of the Kona farms, concerts and an art exhibit – a presentation of local artists’ work that I try to never miss.

The Kona Festival and the overall quality of Kona coffees offered there make Kona the place to be for all coffee-lovers November of every year. It is my honor as Gevalia Master Taster to be entrusted with chairing the cupping panel that is tasked with selecting the year’s best Kona bean, and I am already preparing for this exciting challenge at the 2007 Kona Coffee Cupping Competition.

A Lifetime of Knowing Growers

In my years as a Master Taster, I have traveled to coffee regions around the world to hand-select premium beans for Gevalia coffees. In every region, I work closely with growers, whose knowledge of and commitment to their coffee crop is a key ingredient in creating superior coffee. Just as I feel it is my responsibility to taste cup after cup in order to deliver the best to the customer, growers feel it is their responsibility to present their best beans and to offer insight into their crops.

It is very important to know about crop seasons to make sure that the same taste is cultivated year after year for a particular blend or Select Varietal. When I buy beans, I always have the correct balance of the blends in mind, and therefore am very careful of gauging the crop cycle properly. A blend can contain up to seven or eight beans, and a flawless combination must be achieved to sustain the proper taste of a coffee, batch after batch.

The superior consistency of coffees offered by Gevalia can only be achieved through a longstanding relationship with growers based on mutual trust and admiration.
Growing coffee is very much a time-honored tradition, passed down from one generation to the next. Over the years, many growers have become my close friends, and have in turn introduced me to their children (and, in some cases, grandchildren), who have begun to learn the family business. It is wonderful to return to a region year after year to see old friends and to make new ones as the new generations take over the coffee crop.

Kona: Nurturing the Bean from Field to Cup

The Kona coffee bean can only be designated as such if it comes from the one place in the world where it is grown – Kona, Hawaii. As we discussed last week, the volcanic nutrients make Kona’s soil a unique and highly hospitable location in which to grow coffee. In addition to the soil nutrients, Kona’s successful cultivation also depends on a specific combination of sun and water. Kona’s climate offers sunny mornings, rainy afternoons and cool, comfortable evenings, which result in an ideal combination of weather factors to Kona coffee plants.

Kona is cultivated on the Big Island of Hawaii in the North and South Kona Districts, where it grows on the slopes of Mount Hualalau and Mauna Loa. Despite the generosity of Princess Bernice’s KSBE land grant in the late 19th Century, the acreage on which Kona can grow is limited to fewer than 3,000 acres by the size of the North and South Kona districts, making Kona coffee one of the most sought-after and expensive coffees in the world.



But how does the Kona plant produce the green beans that eventually are roasted to a rich brown color and ground to make your cup of Kona? To answer this question, I rely upon my relationships with Kona growers, who let me know annually the rate of growth of the crop. Typically, Kona coffee plants bloom in February and March, producing exquisite white flowers on the coffee trees and which the growers refer to as “Kona Snow.” In April, green berries appear on the branches, and by late August a red fruit, commonly called “cherry” due to its resemblance to that ripe berry, are ripe for picking. The Kona farmers then pick the cherries from the coffee branches by hand, plucking each tree of its cherries several times between August and January, whereupon the annual crop cycle begins anew. During the harvest, each coffee tree will yield about 20 pounds of cherries. “Kona Snow” never ceases to take my breath away, but what really impresses me is this: it takes seven pounds of cherries to make one pound of roasted coffee.


The farmers then take the picked cherries and run them through a coffee pulper, which separates the cherries’ beans (there are two beans per cherry) from the fruity pulp. After this separation, the beans are placed in a fermentation tank for approximately 12 hours. They are then removed, rinsed and spread to dry on a drying rack in the sun, which usually has a cover to protect the beans from becoming wet again in the event of rain. After the beans have dried completely (usually after one to two weeks), the beans are stored (they are now dried green beans) prior to roasting.

On Cupping

I wanted to share this video with you so that you can learn a bit more about cupping. I hope you enjoy this and find it helpful. There are other videos at the bottom of the blog for your enjoyment as well.

History of Gevalia

As many of you know, I have been Master Taster at Gevalia for 40 years. I am honored to contribute to the company's rich history, and I thought you might be interested in learning more about our heritage.

Gevalia was founded in 1853 in Gävle, Sweden, where we still have our factory and where all coffee tastings are performed. Our founder, Victor Theodor Engwall, was a successful importer devoted to procuring the world’s best coffees for Sweden’s beverage enjoyment. Engwall’s dedication to scouring the world for the finest beans continues to be the driving philosophy at Gevalia, and his commitment to discovery, connoisseurship and perfection are values held today by every Gevalia employee.

Within a few years of establishing Gevalia, Engwall’s commitment to the world’s best coffee was rewarded when Sweden’s King Gustav stopped at Gävle and sampled Gevalia. The king was so enamored with the coffee’s perfectly-balanced taste and warm, inviting aroma that he named Gevalia coffee purveyor for the Royal Court of Sweden, an unparalleled honor it continues to hold today.

The combination of royal patronage and strong founding philosophy make Gevalia a uniquely positioned coffee. There is simply no other coffee purveyor that works with such rich history and high standards, which have been continually met and surpassed for over 150 years. Of particular importance, Engwall’s founding spirit still serves as the heart and soul of Gevalia.

It’s this commitment to perfection that has led to my years of service as Master Taster exclusively for Gevalia. Like Engwall and all Gevalia Master Tasters before me, I believe in traveling the world to attain the best coffee, and by putting each blend and bean through a series of rigorous tests and cuppings to ensure only the best coffees are offered by Gevalia. After all, it’s up to me to ensure that Gevalia remains a timeless brand that’s held in the highest esteem and signifies only the best that coffee has to offer.

History of Kona and Its Growers

As I prepare for my trip to Kona in November, I am paying close attention to the weather in Hawaii, especially hurricanes, which may affect the crop. I have been assured by the growers in Kona that Hurricane Flossie caused no damage, and my team continues to monitor the weather closely.

My relationships with coffee growers across the world’s production regions are essential to ensuring the unsurpassed quality of Gevalia coffees. Each region’s growers contribute to that location’s coffee history, and every farm and grower plays a unique role. As we prepare for the 2007 Kona Coffee Cupping Competition, I am compelled to share the special story of the Kona growers and their crop.

In Kona, the growers have been the driving force behind the coffee crop since the first coffee tree was planted in Hawaii in 1813. Although the first tree was short-lived, the local farmers realized the potential of growing coffee in the local soil, which is richly enhanced by volcanic nutrients and minerals. By 1828, coffee seeds had been transported to the Kona coast, and the coffee trees were flourishing. The taste of the beans was unprecedented, and Kona coffee quickly gained a superior reputation that went far beyond the island. With the burgeoning crop and the powerful combination of Kona’s rich volcanic soil, determined families of farmers and ideal climate conditions, coffee acreage increased at a rapid rate and the Kona coffee industry was born.

What I enjoy even more than the story of the farmers and their commitment to producing the first Kona beans is the source of support behind Kona’s farmers. Just as the Gevalia coffee story is tied to Sweden’s royal family, the success of the Kona bean is due largely to the foresight and philanthropic efforts of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop of Hawaii, the last direct descendant of King Kamehameha the Great. The majority of Kona coffee is cultivated on land owned by the Kamehameha Schools Bishop Estate (KSBE), a trust implemented in 1884 to fulfill Princess Bernice’s request to utilize her land to generate income solely for the Kamehameha Schools, which today is the largest independent school system in the United States. Princess Bernice’s estate trustees implemented a long-term agricultural leasehold system, whereby the Kamehameha Schools continue to flourish today and the Kona growers continue to have access to the world’s richest volcanic soil.

I love the story of Kona’s beginnings and the special role it plays in the Hawaiian community, and I am reminded of this great history every time my plane touches down in Hawaii for the Kona Coffee Cupping Competition. This year’s event is scheduled to be held November 7-8. I look forward to seeing you there.

I would also like to thank you for all of your comments and inquiries. I was recently asked how long David must train to become a Master Taster, and the answer is that most Master Tasters usually require between five and seven years of training to attain the Master Taster title. Please keep your comments coming - I look forward to your questions.

Passing the Torch: The Tradition of the Gevalia Master Taster

I am often asked how one attains the title of Master Taster. And I always respond in the same way: coffee is an art for which one must feel passion.

I began my professional career as a photographer, which was my profession for seven years. Although I enjoyed it, I knew it was not my permanent career and continued to explore other fields. In the early 1960s, I trained as a First Tenor with the Royal Swedish Opera Company and was offered a contract. However, in a stroke of good luck, I discovered coffee at the same time, and after exploring the art of images and the art of singing, I found that the art of coffee was my passion.

My mentor was a Master Taster named Arne Roslund, who guided me through the process of becoming a Master Taster. With passion in-hand, my next task was to hone my senses of taste and smell. Through many days of Triangle Tests, bean examination and cupping, I began to learn how to taste. People are always amazed when I tell them that I achieved the rank of Master Taster after seven years of tasting. But I always tell them that cupping is a profession that requires years of careful observation and constant learning, and that becoming a Master Taster only happens after a matter of years.

In addition, the honor of being named Master Taster can only be bestowed by one who already holds the title. I was honored to be named Master Taster by Arne.




Now, over four decades later, I am getting ready to hand my tasting spoon to the next generation of tasters. It is now my privilege to share the timeless skills needed to become a Master Taster with David Holfve, who has joined Gevalia to learn the art of cupping. David has a keen sense of smell and an enthusiasm for the work, but more importantly, I know he will become Master Taster because he possesses that which trumps all other qualities needed in a taster: David has the passion for coffee. It is an honor to present him with his own tasting spoon.

My Favorite Regions

How many of us search for the “perfect cup of coffee?” From people I talk to around the world, it seems the answer is all of us.

In over three decades traversing the globe in search of the best beans for Gevalia, I have found, much to my delight, that there are several ways to make the perfect cup of coffee. “Perfect” can come from many sources, and from a single bean or a blend. Here are my top sources for the perfect cup:

- Antigua from Guatemala: single beans, simply perfect in the cup

- Kenyan: a wonderful black currant flavor in every cup

- Kona: the best of region and bean; a beautiful taste from a beautiful region

As you can see, I have a “perfect” cup from just about every coffee region in the world. In my travels, I continue to be amazed by the unique tastes that each region offers. By surveying and perusing each regional crop, I have been fortunate to become close with farmers committed to producing only the best beans. It’s this commitment that delivers the unparalleled tasting experience I have found in each of these regions.

As all of you continue on your quest for your perfect cup of coffee, I will strive to deliver the perfect cup of Kona coffee to you. Even though the competition is still over three months away, I am observing the climate and working with the growers to ensure the best coffee possible in each and every cup that makes its way to you.

Background of the Beans

It’s amazing how much work goes into your cup of coffee. The harvesting, preparation, shipping, roasting, cupping and packaging all play important roles in coffee production, but none is more important than working with a superior bean from the outset.

Most people are always taken aback when I show them raw coffee beans. This is because they’re green, and in our minds, coffee beans are the deep brown color that we buy as grounds or whole beans in the market. In over three decades at Gevalia, I have traveled the globe to find the best beans for our brand. I’m always on the lookout for beans that can be included in a Gevalia blend, or can be featured alone as a Gevalia Select Varietal coffee. What’s the difference? At Gevalia, our blends are composed of seven to eight beans, whereas our Select Varietals are produced from a single bean and only available for approximately four months, when the bean is at its peak production time. This is the case with Kona coffee, which is made from a single bean into the Gevalia Select Varietal Kona Coffee.



People are also surprised when I tell them about the manner in which coffee grows and its similarities across all regions. The coffee seed and plant are biologically the same across all regions, but what produces different coffees is how and where they are grown. The most important factors in coffee production include altitude, climate and soil conditions. For example, in Antigua coffee grows at 1,400m (4,593ft) above sea level. There is a Kenyan coffee that grows at 2,000m (6,562ft), and the highest coffee in the world grows in Ethiopia, at approximately 2,500m (8,202ft). For Kona, the altitude is only 400m (1312ft). Kona coffee grows in rich soil that is formed primarily by lava and volcanic ash, and grows successfully due to all the nutrients therein.

One needs to keep in mind that maturation of the bean takes longer at higher altitudes. It is also true that more mature beans, such as the Ethiopian bean, provide a much fuller aroma than low-ground coffee.

When you pour your cup of coffee in the morning, you will now know that it began as a green bean, and was influenced by its growing climate and altitude on its way to your cup.

Cupping 101

One of the questions I am asked most often is: “How do you cup coffee?”

“Cup” is another word for “taste,” and as I will explain, cupping coffee is always done under the same circumstances regardless of bean type or blend elements. The beans are purchased and shipped to us here in Gävle, Sweden, the home of Gevalia, located two hours outside of Stockholm. When the beans arrive, they are checked for color and roasted in our factory. A note here: beans are green before they are roasted, at which time they become the rich brown color we are used to and grind to enjoy our morning coffee.

Once the beans have been ground, we’re ready to cup. Here at Gevalia, we cup at one of several cupping tables in our laboratory, which is a round table about four feet in diameter and can be spun, much like a Lazy Susan. A low stool is placed next to the table for the Master Taster, and there are two sinks on either side to emit the coffee from the mouth after the taste has been determined. All the way around the edge of the table, we place glasses (about 35 to 50, depending on the bean or blend being tasted) with six grams of roasted, ground coffee at the bottom. Hot water between 92-96°C (198°F-205°F) is poured over the grounds and we wait 14 minutes for the mixture to cool to 60-65°C (140°F-149°F). This is the optimal temperature at which to cup coffee.



One may start cupping with any of the glasses on the table. I always use the same approach, with the table on my right side and my spoon in my right hand. My cupping spoon is round, like a soup spoon, but a bit smaller and about twice as deep. My spoon is my treasure and I have used it for over thirty years. It bears a silver engraving that lets the rest of the lab know which spoon is mine. With my spoon in hand and seated with the cupping table on my right, I am ready to taste.

First, I inhale the coffee’s aroma and then dip my spoon about halfway into the glass. I slurp the coffee from the spoon, swishing the coffee around my mouth to ensure that it hits the back of my tongue, where bitterness is best detected. Even though my mother always told me not to slurp my soup when I was young, slurping is an essential part of cupping and the best way to get the coffee to all of the regions of the tongue and to saturate as many nerve-endings as possible. I then swirl the coffee around my mouth to assess the coffee’s acidity and body – something we call “mouth feel.” This helps me evaluate the texture and consistency of the coffee, and also permits me to detect any defects in taste, such as rancidity or murkiness. After considering the mouthful, I spit the coffee into a small sink secured below the cupping table. And I move on to the next glass, until the entire table has been tasted.

I note my observations and provide a final analysis of the samples. It’s through this process that we at Gevalia fulfill our commitment to providing only the best-tasting coffee. I repeat this process several times a day and usually cup up to 300 cups of coffee every day.

Willy Pettersson: "The Man with the Golden Tongue"

From the moment I cupped my first cup of coffee 40 years ago, I knew I was meant to be a Master Taster. Over the years, I have had the pleasure of working with extraordinary colleagues and growers, traveling the globe searching for the best beans, and tasting the most extraordinary coffees available. I am preparing for my journey this November to the Gevalia Kona Coffee Cupping Competition in Kona, Hawaii, where I will select this year’s winning Kona bean on behalf of Gevalia. I am delighted to share my thoughts and preparations for my trip to Kona with you over the coming months.


My coffee journey began in Stockholm, where I worked as a laboratory assistant to Master Taster Arne Roslund. Arne was a wonderful teacher and extraordinary mentor to me, and it was under his guidance that I began to appreciate and determine the intricate nuances of coffee. My training included a challenge called “The Triangle Test,” during which I was given three cups of coffee – two that came from the same batch; one that did not. Under Arne’s tutelage, I learned to smell and taste the coffee with such precision that I was able to tell the “odd cup out” in every Triangle Test without exception.


Within seven years, I earned the title of Master Taster and was appointed Master Taster at Gevalia, a position that I still hold. It was during my early years in coffee that I was first called “The Man with the Golden Tongue,” a title of which I am most proud. Beyond a passion for beans and the art of tasting, the most important quality a Master Taster can hope to have is acute senses of taste and smell. Although it takes only a few seconds to cup a single glass of coffee, all of my senses are heightened during that time, and I must be able to savor and describe all characteristics of that glass, even as I move on to the next one. And the best part? I am always amazed that there are endless, subtle nuances to every bean and blend, and I delight in arriving to work each day to discover them.

As we move through the coming months toward the Kona Coffee Cupping Competition, I look forward to sharing the intricacies of coffee growing, roasting and tasting with you, so that you might also discover new ways to enjoy one of my favorite beans.