What is coffee slurping? In this article, learn:
- Could slurping ever be a good thing?
- Who slurps coffee?
- Coffee slurping definition
- What happens if you don’t slurp coffee
- How to slurp coffee
Could slurping be a good thing?
I have to confess something. I slurp soup. I know I shouldn’t, I know we’re told that it’s bad to slurp, and it’s even a bit shocking.
I do try to control myself in restaurants. But at home…
I remember one time my husband and I were having soup at dinner and he looked at me with a bit of disgust and said to me, “You’re slurping.”
Not a good thing, huh??
You could be asking, “What? Didn’t your mother teach you to never slurp?” Well, sometimes it’s necessary, and not just when you’ve got a hot bowl of soup in front of you.
Because with coffee, we need to slurp.
Who slurps coffee?
Slurping is a big thing in the coffee world. In fact, if you go to a professional coffee cupping, you may almost be deafened by the sound of slurping.
You never knew that human beings could slurp so loud.
Slurping is so important in the coffee industry, I even named my book on coffee tasting Permission to Slurp. I also discuss slurping in all my coffee courses, such as my Taste Coffee Like a Pro course.
What is coffee slurping (and how do you do it)?
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines slurping as “to make a sucking noise while eating or drinking.”
So a definition for “coffee slurping” could be: “to make a sucking noise while drinking coffee.”
What’s the idea with all that sucking in of coffee? Well, to slurp, you want to pull the liquid into your mouth fast.
Tip: Some people make a little bridge from the coffee cup to their palate with their tongue. Just touch your tongue to the cup and use it as a pathway for the liquid. Just be careful and practice quite a bit so you don’t wind up aspirating too much coffee in (and thus choking).
The more air that comes in with the coffee, the louder the slurp.
You might be asking, “Is this really necessary? Can’t I just sip the coffee?”
What happens if you don’t slurp
If you sip coffee, the liquid doesn’t go where it’s supposed to go.
You can try this out right now: go get a glass of water or, why not, prepare yourself a fantastic cup of coffee.
Now sip it. Where does the liquid wind up first?
Just on the tip of your tongue. Then it goes to the back and down the hatch. But have you really tasted the drink?
NOT REALLY.
How to slurp coffee
So what do you need to do?
If you’ve done wine tastings, you’ve seen this. You don’t just sip wine at a wine tasting. You’re taught to get that wine all over your tongue, mouth, and palate by slurping it in at full speed.
It’s the same deal with coffee. You want to slurp coffee quick enough so that it gets aerated and spreads all over your tongue and palate.
That way your tongue can fully register the taste sensations. Also, your nose picks up on many aromas and helps you detect even more flavors.
You need to get your nose working with your taste buds. Why do you need to get your nose involved? We go into this with more detail in our coffee courses and workshops, but the brief explanation is that you don’t actually taste with your tongue.
You taste with…your nose.
Sounds odd, huh? There isn’t time to go into it right now, but just believe me on this one.
So when you slurp, both your taste buds and your nose get involved and you really truly taste the coffee. So you need to slurp.
Now you can see why my book is called Permission to Slurp, and many of my coffee courses have “slurp” in the title. Because slurping is at the core of learning about coffee.
So yes, we’re telling you it is just fine to slurp your coffee – the louder the better – to get the full taste experience. Professional cuppers and baristas slurp long and loud, so don’t be shy about your slurping.
Do you want some personalized help in learning to slurp like the pros? Join us for a coffee workshop in Bogota or Cartagena, Colombia!
Why you should slurp coffee
So… Are you ready to slurp? Join me as I explain the importance of slurping and why you should be making more noise over your morning cup of coffee:
Learning the basics of coffee tasting opens up a whole world of tastes to you. You can go waaaaaay beyond just saying “This coffee is good” – you can become a pro at tasting and judging coffee.
Taste Coffee Like a Pro is more than just a course…it’s a multimedia experience of exactly what you need to understand coffee.
This course will help you learn about coffee the way you should – with activities, workbooks, and memory sheets that will help you use the information as you learn.
If you want to see how Taste Coffee like a Pro can help you, take a look at our course site and preview the curriculum. You can get an idea of the vital lessons in the course, such as the Secrets of Coffee Professionals, Do Coffees From Around the World Taste Different, and Challenges Coffee Growers Face and How You Can Help.
Do you have any questions about coffee? Please get in touch – we love to answer coffee questions.
