Comparison

Tasting Grounds vs CupTaster

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Tasting Grounds

This app helps specialty coffee enthusiasts brew better coffee by logging brew details, tasting notes, and ratings. Connect with friends and the wider coffee community to share experiences, discover new coffees and roasters, and learn about coffee origins and processing methods.

Highlights
  • Log brew details and tasting notes
  • Rate coffees like a professional
  • Share brews and methods with friends
  • Discover coffee origins and processing
  • Explore new roasters and brewing techniques
  • See community tasting notes and ratings
Read full description

Brew Coffee Together! Tasting Grounds is the specialty coffee app designed to connect the coffee community and help everyone brew better coffee together. - Log and rate your brews - record the details of your brewing process (such as brewer, water to grounds ratio, brew time, and more), the flavors you are tasting, and scoring notes like a coffee professional. - Share with your friends and the community - share your coffees and brewing methods, see what your friends are drinking, and discuss how we all enjoy our coffee differently. - Learn more about your coffee - see details about where your coffee was grown, how it was produced, and what flavors your roaster tastes as well as how others are brewing the same beans, what others are tasting, and how others are rating their brews. - Discover new things - discover similarities in the coffees that you do or don’t enjoy, explore new roasters from around the world, and find new ways to brew better coffee. We hope you enjoy using Tasting Grounds! Don’t forget to give us feedback at https://tastinggrounds.com/contact or follow us on Twitter (@tastinggrounds) and Instagram (@tastinggrounds)! TOS: https://tastinggrounds.com/terms

About

CupTaster

This app helps you systematically taste and analyze coffee using industry-standard cupping protocols. Record detailed notes on flavor and aroma to discover your preferences and understand coffee origins. Store your tasting data for future reference.

Highlights
  • Industry-standard cupping forms
  • Detailed flavor and aroma analysis
  • Personalized tasting notes
  • Store and retrieve tasting history
  • Intuitive user interface
  • Coffee origin insights
Read full description

Cupping (or cup-testing) is a coffee tasting method used in the coffee industry. It is performed all over the world according to uniform standards and specific protocols. The main purpose of cupping is to reveal the profile of the coffee. To achieve this, coffee is brewed in a universal way: ground coffee beans are placed in a glass, poured with hot water and left to steep undisturbed for four minutes. This method allows the coffee's flavor and aroma to fully develop. Cuppings are held at all stages of the coffee selection process, from the farm to the coffee shop. It is also an effective method for tasting and comparing several lots simultaneously. Baristas attend cuppings to gain insight into the potential of coffee beans and how to work better with a particular one. Those new to coffee attend cuppings to gain a deeper understanding of their preferences and to identify their preferred coffee origins. This is why we have developed a user-friendly and intuitive application with forms to fill in all characteristics according to world standards. It stores all the data so you can always go back and find something you like.

Screenshots

Tasting Grounds4 screens
CupTaster4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Tasting Grounds at Free against CupTaster's $1.99. Tasting Grounds also leads on update cadence (every 9 days vs monthly). CupTaster's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and review sentiment (100% vs 84%). On ads, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Tasting Grounds is free to download; CupTaster costs $1.99 up front. Tasting Grounds sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. CupTaster asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Tasting Grounds ships an update every 9 days, CupTaster monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Tasting Grounds versus CupTaster: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTasting GroundsCupTaster
PriceFree — better$1.99
Rating4.9 (47 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews84.2% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings47 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 9 days — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS15.115.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size62 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTasting Grounds, LLCNikita Baranov

Customer experience

Tasting Grounds

All ratings46 ratings
Positive95.7%
Neutral2.2%
Negative2.2%
Written reviews19 reviews
Positive84.2%
Neutral5.3%
Negative10.5%

CupTaster

Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Tasting Grounds

Subscriptions2
  • Tasting Grounds Pro - Monthly$2.991 Month
  • Tasting Grounds Pro - Yearly$24.991 Year
None

CupTaster

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Tasting Grounds free?
Tasting Grounds is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is CupTaster free?
CupTaster costs $1.99, with no in-app purchases.
Do Tasting Grounds or CupTaster have ads?
Neither Tasting Grounds nor CupTaster shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Tasting Grounds or CupTaster?
Tasting Grounds ships an update every 9 days, and CupTaster monthly. Most recently, Tasting Grounds was updated on November 3, 2026 and CupTaster on November 7, 2026.

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