what would life be without spicy food icecreams perfumes fragrant flowers latenight parties and alcohol ask sunalini menon who swears by this regimen no shes not a health freak or someone prone to allergies shes been practising abstinence for the sake of her passion which is also her profession asias first and only woman professional in the field of coffee cupping tasting sunalini has experienced the aroma of several thousands of coffee types and spent a considerable time in the fields i love icecreams and soft drinks but they affect my taste buds my profession requires them to be extremely sensitive so i steer clear of cold food items or beverages she said the chief executive of coffeelab one of indias largest coffee exporters sunalini spoke to toi on the ocassion of coffee santhe a threeday carnival hosted by karnataka chitrakala parishath restraint and discipline are core attributes of a good coffee cupper it is essential to preserve the palate the instrument vital for coffee tasting were advised to avoid spicy food alcohol and smoking are a strict no no late nights and poor health can be a hindrance to the job she explained coffee cuppers have to perform regular tongue exercises not only to keep their taste buds active but also to pick up foreign flavours cupping with experts from other parts of the world helps calibrate ones potential and understand the coffee produce of other countries one also needs to perceive through the eyes nose and palate of other cuppers she said habituated to taking a sip and playfully swirling the liquid in her mouth before spitting sunalini said her job doesnt allow her to swallow the coffee however aromatic and delicious it be coffee can have the distinct enzymatic flavours of apples apricots peaches and berries sugarbrowning flavours of chocolate caramel honey or those of spices like clove and pepper it is an inborn acuity of taste knowledge experience memory and good communication skills which help the cupper differentiate one flavour from another she said sunalini who entered the male bastion decades ago said her journey hasnt been easy i wasnt lucky enough to be handheld when learning the tricks of the trade i had to learn on my own especially the chemistry of the coffee bean it took a long time for me to be accepted into the fold but once there you are in she said cupping as a career there are certifications for coffee tasters issued by the specialty coffee association of america scaa and specialty coffee association of europe scae the scaa issues two types of certificates one is called the licensed q grader and the other the licensed r grader the q grader licence is a certificate for proficiency in evaluating arabica coffees and the r grader for proficiency in evaluating robusta coffees said sunalini she admitted that coffee tasting as a career could have some limitations to overcome them one needs to perhaps complement tasting with other jobs such growing roasting