Cupping is a method of evaluating different characteristics of a particular coffee bean. Cupping allows us to compare and contrast coffees against each other, and allows us to get a better understanding of each coffee.

– Stephen Leighton – Hasbean

Every Friday at around 12.15 Middletown Coffee Co in Ballymena hold a FREE public coffee cupping. That means, anyone can drop in and taste an ever-changing selection of coffees. Because coffee is a fresh product, the options are always changing depending on harvest times in coffee producing countries.

Coffee cupping at Middletown is relaxed and informal. The staff are super friendly and will explain everything and answer any questions you may have about the coffees. You even get to slurp!! Chris [pictured above] likes it when you slurp!

Ballymena Bonanza

Middletown regularly have guest coffees from some of the best coffee roasters around the world. They tipped us off about this exciting guest coffee coming up next week.

Bonanza are a speciality coffee company based in Berlin. Here’s what they say about themselves;

Our idea of roasting is the counter opposite of what is commonly regarded as the way to roast coffee, which is, we roast it as little as possible, enough to fully develop all flavours, with the aim to highlight what makes a coffee distinct. The resulting cup should be clean, clear and pure, free from tastes that are produced by the roast itself.

Check out their website. They have one of the most beautifully designed roasters/shops we’ve ever seen.

Keep an eye out for the Middletown announcement that these coffees have arrived. We had a sneaky taste this week of a pre-sample and you are in for a treat.

We love the growing community of coffee enthusiasts in and around Ballymena and we know these guest coffees at Middletown will get a lot of people very excited.