Our beloved coffee spot Little Skips is hosting its first free, open-to-the-public, coffee cupping event this coming Tuesday, February 12 at 6PM! The patrons will have an opportunity to try a variety of coffees, and to learn a little more about the qualities that make their brew exceptional! We sat down with the Little Skips’ Coffee Specialist, Sean Sullivan to chat about what we can expect on Tuesday.
So Skips is having a cupping event next week!
Yeah, we’re really excited about it! It’s going to be a very laid-back affair. I really don’t like when people think of coffee cupping and they instantly think of some sort of pretentious ceremony – it’s really quite simple. We’re just going to get together and taste some really good coffee and talk about what you taste and how you taste it. You can expect to walk away knowing a little bit more about coffee and understanding what goes into a really good cup.
For those who aren’t familiar with a cupping event, is it analogous to a wine tasting?
They’re pretty similar, yeah. Again, people may have the idea that it’s something ceremonious. But really, we’re just going to grind coffee, smell coffee, put some hot water in it, smell it some more and try it. This is how professionals get to know a cup of coffee to get a baseline for the flavor profile, how it tastes – the “notes”, if you will. Unlike a wine tasting, you don’t get drunk, but there is going to be spitting involved. Hopefully no one will be shy about spitting. There’s a cup for it. It’s all going to be set up at the bar, as a round table discussion where we all explore the coffee at the same time. The more we get into it, the more people will learn.
Can you tell us anything about what will we be tasting at the Cupping?
Well, we’re definitely going to Africa. There are going to be three different coffees, and they’re all going to be of African origin. Hopefully this is going to be the first in a series of cuppings at which we’re going to “go around the world” – so that when you go into a cafe and the barista tells you “this is an African” you have an idea of what might be in that cup flavor-wise and can compare it to other coffees. Not too long ago, most people thought of coffee as something from Dunkin Donuts, or from a bodega. We’ve been here for a while and we figure it’s time to reach out and get the community to know and love coffee as much as us, and to broaden our general idea of what coffee is and where it comes from.
Little Skips Brews Counter Culture Coffee, right?
Yeah, exclusively. Our baristas are all trained by Counter Culture and all the coffee, every single bean of coffee that we serve, is from Counter Culture. Counter Culture helped get this cafe where it is, and we’re really happy to have such a good relationship with them.
Little Skips has hosted a wide range of events in the past.
Yes, everything from art shows to music shows or just parties to get everyone in the community together. That’s really where Skips comes from: it’s completely community-oriented. We try to maintain that as much as we can, especially with new people moving in and old people moving out. Our customer base has changed a lot, and we have a lot more people coming in here now. It’s become a little bit more of a hustle to keep up with everyone, but we still want to know everyone on a first-name basis and to be involved in everything that’s happening around us.
It’s really exciting to know that there will be cupping events here going forward. Where can we find more information about events at Little Skips?
We have this event posted on Twitter and Instagram, and we’re also on Facebook, and we put out a post up at least once day (I think Instagram is our most high-traffic platform). Alexis Henry is our Social Media Wizard, and she’s great.
See you on Tuesday, February 12th, 6PM sharp; and it’s absolutely free! Everyone is welcome but due to limited capacity the event will be first-come, first-serve.
