Preparing for Cup Tasters, with Huamin Chen
The Cup Tasters Championship is one of coffee's most mentally demanding competitions; eight triangulations, eight minutes, and the pressure of identifying subtle differences under scrutiny.
Huamin Chen, Head of Coffee Programming at Seven Mystery, represented Canada and placed third at the World Cup Tasters Championship in Geneva last year. Here, he explains how the competition works, the mental game behind it, and how anyone can start training their palate at home.
Can you walk us through what happens during a Cup Tasters round?
You're on stage with a spoon and eight groups of coffee in front of you. Each group has three cups of brewed drip coffee, two are identical, one is different. You have eight minutes to taste through all of them and identify which cup is the odd one out in each group. If you and another competitor both get all eight correct, the tiebreaker is time, whoever finished fastest wins. It's surprisingly nerve-wracking when you're up there.
How did you train for the world stage?
I practiced at home with my drip machines—I have a Fellow and a Ratio Six. I'd brew three coffees at a time, usually all washed but from different origins with similar profiles. Maybe Costa Rica, Colombia, and Honduras. Once that felt manageable, I'd make it harder by using the same origin but changing the brew by just a few grams to create really subtle differences. You shuffle the cups and practice picking out the odd one. The goal is to build a mental database of flavours through repetition.
How does competition experience help with your work at Seven Mystery?
It directly improves my quality control work. Every week, I cup all our roasted coffees to ensure consistency batch to batch. If there are slight differences, I can pinpoint exactly what needs adjusting in the roasting profile. The same skills apply to green buying: when we receive samples, I can immediately spot defects and share that feedback with farms or suppliers so everyone in the supply chain is on the same page.
What would you say to someone who thinks competitions are out of reach?
I hear that a lot. Many people say competing in coffee competitions feels too big or intimidating. But if you have a passion for coffee, just go for it. Don't worry about results, just do your best and see what happens. The more coffee you drink, the more you're building that internal database. Stay curious, ask questions, and search for answers, that's what keeps you motivated and learning. A competition like Cup Tasters is more accessible than people think.
Want to try three new coffees every month?
Take our quiz and you'll receive three new coffees from three new Canadian roasters, freshly roasted just for you!
Change your profile, upgrade or downgrade your sizing, skip a shipment or cancel at any time.
