I've been getting into specialty coffee to a much greater extent in the last 18 months and have been enjoying lots of tasty espresso and pourover coffee across a range of regions/processes etc.. Pourover-wise, I mainly use the Kalita Wave but have also tried using a V60, Clever dripper, Oxo Rapid Brewer and Aeropress.
More recently, I've tried doing coffee cupping, both as part of the James Hoffman Fermentation Project and also more generally to see if I can properly taste the tasting notes of the coffees I've been drinking.
I've tried following both the cupping guide that came with my Fermentation Project kit from Wogan and also the SCA cupping instructions. Have tried following them as closely as possible in terms of coffee weight, water weight, cup size (both volume and diameter), temperature and timings.
My cupping results have been underwhelming to say the least - it just tastes very under-brewed and I get a lot less flavour out of the coffee than when I just brew it with my Kalita Wave. With the Fermentation Project, I was really struggling to taste any real differences between the 4 different coffees - I know they're only different in terms of their fermentation process but was hoping to notice more of a distinction between them.
Are my tastebuds just a bit too unrefined for cupping/ should I just stick to espresso/pourover, or are there any ways to improve my technique? My main issues seem to be that I don't get much of a crust (across a range of different grind settings) and the coffee lacks any real body which I miss compared to drinking espresso/pourover.
In case it makes any odds - I'm using a DF54 grinder and generally drinking coffee 1-2 weeks off-roast to allow it to degas a bit.