Cupping is a practice in the coffee industry that dates back to the late 19th century when the coffee market began to expand beyond its origin in Africa. Clarence E. Brickford, a green coffee broker based out of San Francisco, developed this method of tasting to allow merchants to evaluate the quality and flavor of the coffee that was being purchased. Prior to this, merchants selected their coffee solely based on the size and color of the green coffee beans resulting in inconsistent quality and flavor profile once roasted. The commercial roaster Hill Bros was the first to adopt this practice to their roasting operations. B. D. Balart advanced the standards and developed vocabulary for cupping; as well as advocated for blind tasting to allow merchants to set-aside biases they may have and to authentically grade the coffee.  Today cupping is a standard practice for the entire coffee chain - producers, importers, roasters, and baristas alike use this for green buying and quality control. Using elements like aroma, acidity, sweetness, and body allow people to understand the nuances of the coffee they are tasting.  Diving further, cupping is a meticulous process. Before one starts it is key to allow the coffee to rest post roast to allow the degassing process to occur. Degassing is when trapped CO2 is released from the bean allowing the ideal flavor profile to be achieved. Once the coffee has rested we grind 13 grams at a medium-coarse setting and take note of what we can smell. It is important to note that during each phase of this process it is important to smell the coffee and take mental or physical notes of what you can smell and see.  From there, the timer will start and we pour 200ml of 208 degrees fahrenheit filtered water over the bed of coffee. After the water is poured over the bed of grounds a crust will form on the top of the cup. This crust is made up of water-soluble compounds and volatile elements, including coffee oils, fine  coffee particles, and aromatic  gases. The crust acts as a protective layer during the brewing process, helping the trapped aroma fully develop before tasting.   At the four minute mark we take a cupping spoon and gently break the crust. Doing this allows the grounds at the top of the cup to settle down to the bottom of the cup. Once the grounds settle we will skim the remaining foam off of the top and discard it.  The final step before you begin tasting is to allow the coffee to cool down to desired temperature. Typically we allow it to cool down to around the 15 minute mark. As the coffee cools the flavor will be more prominent and you will find the coffee becomes sweeter. From there we taste and evaluate the flavor and determine our thoughts on the coffee.  We use cupping to taste samples from our importers. Being able to evaluate coffees before committing to contracting them allows us to curate a menu that is best suited to our preferences. When we are working to release a new coffee we use cupping to determine if we have developed the coffee to its highest potential. Additionally, we cup weekly to act as quality control of the current lineup of our offerings. Doing this ensures that we are achieving consistency for our retail and wholesale partners. We determine if the profile needs to be adjusted over time as aging occurs.  In all, cupping has come a long way since the late 19th century. We value this tedious practice to grade the coffee we serve you. Next time you enjoy a cup of coffee at home or in one of our cafe’s, we recommend taking a moment to pause and appreciate everything behind the cup in your hand. 

Sourcing coffee in Burundi is as much about relationships and resilience as it is about flavor. When Ben and Kristy Carlson arrived in 2011, they witnessed significant challenges facing smallholder farmers— ranging from inconsistent quality and limited infrastructure to deep-rooted systemic inequalities that hindered long-term success. In response, they founded Long Miles Coffee, building a model centered on meaningful connections between farmers, improved infrastructure, and transparent partnerships with buyers.

In the hills of Las Flores, Santa Barbra, Honduras, 46 year old producer Isaias Fernandez tends to his 10 hectare farm, Finca el Ocotillo. You can find his farm at an astounding 1,720 masl. Here, the ideal growing conditions and generations of experience come together to produce exceptional specialty coffee that we have been sourcing consistently since 2015!

Featuring tracks from our current vinyl selection! 

You can now follow us on Spotify! We’ll never stop loving to play vinyl in the shops but we’re excited to create some playlists inspired by our baristas and the ever changing seasons.

Hey friends! If you’re reading this, you’ve probably noticed our new site. We’re excited to share it with you and felt it was time for an upgrade that really reflects who we are. The new site makes it easier to explore our coffees, learn about us, and stay connected with everything happening at Little Amps. Thanks for checking it out and growing with us!

MIA: How did you first get into coffee? How old were you? WHITNEY: My coffee origin story starts when I was 16. I got my first job at Starbucks—like many baristas do—and just fell in love with coffee and the connections around it. Eventually I moved to a small roaster in Gettysburg, Bantam Coffee Roasters. I was there for a couple of years, working as a barista and managing their two coffee trucks. I loved the community outreach side of that job.

Here at Little Amps we are always on the hunt for fun and interesting tasting coffee to bring to our guests and wholesale partners. We work directly with importers who work hand in hand with farmers to bring quality, ethically sourced coffee to you! The two prominent importers we work alongside are Coffee Quest and Osito Coffee. Together, we are able to highlight producers and share their work with people all around the world!

Hey, it's another Little Amps' Holiday Blend Y'all, 2025 Edition!! We've been so enamored with the 50/50 blend of washed and natural process Ethiopian coffees that we just had to do it again! This year features two coffees from Aba Nura of the Jimma Zone, one fully washed and one natural, sourced through our friends at Osito Coffee. In the cup, you’ll find notes of juicy berries, sweet chocolate, and delicate florals. A delicious way to amp up the festivities this season!  

Amid the misty hills of Chikkmagalur, India, Ajoy and Pranoy Thipaiah of the Kerehaklu Estate have dedicated their lives to cultivating nothing but the best on their biodiverse land growing coffee and other local vegetation on their 97-hectare plantation. For five generations, the family has worked  to continue their ancestors legacy by enriching the coffee culture within India.

On average Americans drink 400 million cups of coffee per day. Whether that be at home, at the office, or your local coffee shop, coffee is habitual for millions of people. Though, drinking large amounts of coffee can cause adverse effects on a person; making decaf is an incredible option to continue sipping on your favorite beverage. Today I will walk you through two methods of decaffeination that we have used here at Little Amps - Swiss Water Processing and Ethyl Acetate Processing.