The Craft of the Cup
Like Duolingo, but for The Craft of the Cup. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
For the part of you with thirty open tabs that never became anything.
21 levels across 4 sections, about 42 minutes end to end, roughly 8 days at five minutes a day. It moves through Mastering the Extraction, The Sensory Experience, Sourcing and Selection, and The Science of the Bean. It assumes you already know the basics.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in The Craft of the Cup
- Under-extraction leaves behind the sugars, resulting in a thin, sour cup
- Over-extraction pulls out heavy tannins that cause a dry sensation called astringency
- Sweetness and balance indicate the water dissolved the right amount of coffee solids
- Finer grinds increase surface area, which speeds up the extraction of bitter compounds
- Coarsening the grind allows water to flow faster, reducing the total contact time
- A coarse setting creates less surface area, preventing the over-extraction of bitters
- Identifying extraction levels based on sensory feedback
- Adjusting grind size to fix specific flavor issues
- Acids dissolve almost instantly
- Sweetness requires more contact time
- Bitterness is the final stage
- Immersion brewing efficiency
- Golden Ratio starting point
- 1:15 ratio results in heavier body
- The sequence of flavor extraction
- Applying the Golden Ratio
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives The Craft of the Cup the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
What causes that weirdly dry, chalky feeling on your tongue after a sip of bitter coffee?
Get it right to open this lesson and 20 more in the app.
Where The Craft of the Cup takes you
Move beyond the morning jolt to understand the science of extraction, the nuances of regional terroir, and the professional techniques used to evaluate world-class coffee.
- 1
Mastering the Extraction
- Dialing in the Perfect Brew
- Water Chemistry and Temperature
- 2
The Sensory Experience
- Navigating the Flavor Wheel
- Professional Cupping Techniques
- 3
Sourcing and Selection
- Decoding Processing and Varietals
- Freshness and Storage Science
- 4
The Science of the Bean
- Terroir and Altitude
4 sections · 7 units · 21 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
You pick the voice
The Craft of the Cup is taught in the The Bestie style: your friend who just gets it. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
More Food & Drink on Tomo
The Art of the Better Brew
Move beyond the morning jolt and learn to manipulate extraction, identify complex flavor profiles, and source beans like a professional roaster.
The Craft of Better Coffee
Move beyond the morning caffeine hit to understand the variables that define a perfect cup. Learn to manipulate extraction, analyze flavor profiles, and source beans like a professional.
The Science of the Perfect Cup
Move beyond the basics of brewing to master the chemical and physical variables that define world-class coffee. Learn to manipulate extraction, analyze complex flavor profiles, and understand the journey from terroir to the final sip.
Dialing in Your Daily Brew
Move beyond the basic recipe and learn to manipulate the variables of extraction to craft the perfect cup every morning.
The Craft of Better Coffee
Move beyond the morning caffeine hit and learn to manipulate extraction, water chemistry, and bean genetics to brew the perfect cup.
Dialing in the Perfect Cup
Move beyond basic brewing and learn to manipulate extraction, water chemistry, and bean profiles to craft professional-grade coffee at home.
Start The Craft of the Cup today.
Download Tomo, search The Craft of the Cup, and play your first lesson in under a minute.