Affiliate Disclosure

This disclosure is made in accordance with the US Federal Trade Commission's Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (16 CFR Part 255) and equivalent UK and EU rules on identifying commercial content.

The disclosure

CupCura earns affiliate commission. When you follow an equipment or bean recommendation from this site to a retailer and buy something, we may receive a small commission from that retailer. The price you pay is exactly the same as it would be if you had gone there directly. You are never charged extra.

Affiliate links are marked in two ways: visually, with a disclosure line next to every product recommendation, and technically, with a rel="sponsored nofollow" attribute that identifies them to search engines as commercial.

What is and is not commissioned

Our current programme is Amazon Associates. As an Amazon Associate, CupCura earns from qualifying purchases.

The editorial independence pledge

These are commitments, not aspirations:

1. No paid placement. No manufacturer, roaster, or retailer can buy a position in our catalog, a higher rating, or inclusion in a recommendation. There is no rate card, because nothing is for sale.
2. Ratings come first, links come second. Sensory assessments and flavor-radar values are set before any product is matched to a page, and are never revised to suit a commercial partner.
3. We recommend against things. Where a category is not worth the money, or a cheaper option performs as well, we say so — including when that costs us commission.
4. No commission on health content. Contraindications, caffeine guidance, and safety notes carry no commercial links and are never softened for a partner.
5. We disclose before you click, not after. Disclosure appears next to the recommendation itself, not buried in a footer.

What commission funds

Hosting, image licensing, and the research time behind the guides.

CupCura also carries Google AdSense advertising. Ad revenue and affiliate commission are entirely separate from editorial decisions: advertisers have no say in what we cover, no visibility of our editorial calendar, and no ability to influence a rating. We do not choose which specific ads appear — Google does — which is precisely why advertising cannot buy editorial position here.

How recommendations are chosen

Products enter the catalogue by one route only: an editor decides the category is worth covering, then selects the item that best answers it. There is no submission process, no vendor outreach queue, and no way for a brand to initiate inclusion.

Selection weighs four things, in this order:

1. Does it control the variable it claims to? Equipment earns a place by stabilising something you would otherwise be guessing at — grind consistency, water temperature, contact time. Features that do not change what reaches the cup do not count toward a recommendation.
2. Is it serviceable? Gear whose burrs, gaskets and seals can be replaced routinely outlasts sealed alternatives at the same price. We weight lifespan over specification.
3. Is it the right tier for the reader? The best item in a category is often not the right recommendation. Where a cheaper option performs equivalently for most people, that is what we say.
4. Is it actually available? A recommendation you cannot buy is not useful, however good the product.

What we do not do

• No sponsored posts or paid reviews. No brand has purchased coverage on CupCura, and there is no rate card because nothing is for sale.
• No affiliate links inside health content. Contraindications, caffeine guidance and safety notes carry no commercial links and are never softened for a partner.
• No fabricated urgency. No countdown timers, invented scarcity, or "lowest price ever" claims. Prices shown are indicative and set by the retailer, not by us.
• No undisclosed relationships. If a commercial relationship ever extends beyond standard affiliate commission, it will be disclosed on the page it affects, not only here.

Prices and availability

Prices, stock and specifications shown for recommended products are indicative. They are set by the retailer and change without notice. Always confirm the current price and specification on the retailer's own page before buying — what you see there is authoritative, and what you see here may be out of date.

Questions

If you believe a recommendation on this site is commercially influenced, challenge it. Email info@cupcura.com and we will explain the reasoning or correct the page.