Q Grader Training in Bangkok: Can You Taste the Difference?

Three cups, with two coffees the same and one different: triangulation gave our Q Grader learners a focused way to practise sensory comparison in Bangkok. The task can look simple until the differences become subtle.

Learners compared aroma, taste, acidity, mouthfeel, sweetness, aftertaste and balance. The work required attention to the coffee itself rather than a quick answer shaped by expectations. Slowing down and returning to the cups helped make the comparison more deliberate.

This practice connects with professional coffee work, including comparing roast profiles, checking changes in water or brewing, and evaluating recipe or equipment adjustments. The exercise was about recognising a difference and describing it, not simply guessing an odd cup.

Taste, compare, decide and repeat captured the mood of the session. Alongside the other activities in our September Q Grader week, triangulation gave learners another opportunity to concentrate, discuss and build confidence in their sensory decisions. Explore the original classroom album below.