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August 31, 2010 Category: North Carolina, Rating 4, United States, coffee@home, roaster Tags: Apollo Espresso, coffee, coffee review, Counter Culture Coffee, espresso, Espresso Aficionado, Espresso Toscano, Georgio Milos, rating coffee, Sprudge 
Beans: Apollo Espresso
Roaster: Counter Culture Coffee
Rating: 4-
A prominent gap in this blog’s coffee coverage is the absence of reviews for Counter Culture Coffee’s two signature espresso blends: the brighter, zestier Aficionado and the darker, sweeter Toscano. I’ve written about each from time to time during east coast cafe visits (since you can rarely find Counter Culture west of the most east cafes), but always hesitated when considering whether to bring a bag of one of these two coffees home. While I’ve always been perfectly happy with espresso made from either blend, I’ve never found myself as excited about these blends as I am with some of Counter Culture’s single origin beans.
My issue may be that I’m something of new school espresso-drinker with a palate formed on some of the best that America has to offer. Although I appreciate traditional approaches and the skill required to achieve them, I’d much rather my palate be challenged (and hopefully pleased) rather than simply pleased by something entirely familiar. While the Aficionado and Toscano blends do change seasonally (as all blends do to some degree), the goal of these blends is still to maintain a somewhat updated take on an old world profile. Enter the Apollo espresso.
The New York Times introduced Apollo a while back, reporting on the fluctuating nature of the Apollo blend. The beans comprising it may change frequently over the course of weeks or months, leading to an entirely different product – a frequently fluctuating profile. Not that the philosophy behind Apollo is entirely new. The formula and flavors of Intelligentsia Coffee‘s Black Cat changes quite dramatically quite often and Ritual Coffee simply renames their seasonal espresso every month or two to reflect the overhauled formula.
What’s important about the Apollo, though, is not that the philosophy behind it is novel to the industry, but that with it, Counter Culture is breaking with their own self-imposed sense of tradition. Counter Culture is throwing caution to the wind and approaching espresso with new found culinary creativity, and in so doing completely disregarding Georgio Milos’ recent ranting about how espresso is “supposed” to taste (and that American espresso rarely achieves such an ideal – not that it wants to). I’d argue that it’s Counter Culture, because of their embrace of traditional espresso profiles, even more so than James Hoffman (as Sprudge suggests), who is playing the role of Tevya.
Of course, maybe I should be more like Georgio Milos. After all, frequently changing espressos blends make coffee blogging something of a Sisyphean task. I could probably devote a whole blog to the changing profile of Black Cat or the constantly emerging espresso blends from Ritual (will those folks ever run out of names?). Fortunately for me, even if I can’t manage to keep up with each iteration, I can hopefully capture some of the culinary ingenuity and sense of taste that goes into a constantly changing blend like Apollo.
What I found in pulling shots was a light espresso consistent with the name and vision. I pulled my shots differently than recommended (16 g at 30-32 seconds) – which tasted heavily of grapes and grape candy. My notes also included chocolate, sassafras, caramel and desert wine. The lightweight, velvety mouthfeel was very pleasurable, and the shot top-heavy in a way that isn’t sour or out of balance. In the end, I found it be a very refreshing, fruity, sweet, if somewhat simple, blend that also worked quite well as filter coffee. Whether you’ve liked Counter Culture’s espressos in the past or not, I recommend you give this one a try.
 
August 28, 2010 Category: Rating 3, United States, Virginia, Washington D.C., cafe Tags: Apollo Espresso, Chinatown Coffee and Tea, coffee, coffee review, Counter Culture Coffee, espresso, Guatemala coffee, Guatemala Los Gemalos, La Marzocco GB/5, Le Pan Quotidien, Nick Cho, Peregrine Espresso, rating coffee, Washington DC coffee 
Name: Peregrine Espresso
Location: 660 Pennsylvania Avenue SE, Washington, D.C.
Roasters: Counter Culture Coffee
Rating: 3+
Look around the internet, and you’ll quickly determine that the coffee mantle in Washington D.C.’s post-Murky era appears to have been passed to two institutions: Chinatown Coffee and Tea and Peregrine Espresso. In my post on Chinatown Coffee, I mentioned how Nick Cho influenced that shop. It turns out, his presence is felt at Peregrine as well. One of Peregrine’s owners, Ryan Jenson, used to work for Murky Coffee, and Peregrine occupies the former Capital Hill Murky Coffee location that the IRS closed back in 2008.
This location, which actually resides on 7th street despite the technical address, turns out to be a good one. You’ll find it only a few short skips from the Eastern Market Metro station along a strip of Pennsylvania Avenue just Southeast of the Capitol (which is obvious by the address for those who actually get the DC address system). Just up the street from Peregrine, you’ll find the The Good Stuff Eatery/We The Pizza, which is run by the (seemingly) talented, but (seemingly) childish, Spike Mendelsohn, of Top Chef’s 4th season. Right next to Peregrine, actually on Pennsylvania, but seemingly under-patronized by comparison, is a Le Pan Quotidien.
At this location of Peregrine (a second Peregrine will soon be opening at 1718 14th Street NW), you have a couple of seating options. The relatively tiny space houses a handful of blond wooden tables surrounded by mostly white walls accented with splashes of snappy, apple green and accessorized by matte black menus, coffee equipment and coffee bags. There is also pastry case filled with some pretty amazing stuff (I highly recommend the egg filled brioche for breakfast). You can also sit at one of the six or so tables on the tiny patio, which works great during those small windows in D.C. that require neither heating, shelter or air conditioning.
Like Murky before it, Peregrine is a Counter Culture account. Since I never visited Murky, I can’t say which one did it better, but Peregrine certainly does a swell job and no wonder. Three of Peregrine’s baristas took first, third and fourth at last year’s Mid-Atlantic Barista Competition, and one, Jeremy Sterner, went on to place in the semi-finals in the 2010 United States Barista Championship.Of course, the owner himself is a former Southeast Regional Barista champion and former Counter Culture employee. So it’s probably no surprise then that Counter Culture turned to Peregrine, as one of three shops in the country to pilot the Apollo espresso, their new seasonal espresso blend (NYT).
Espresso at Peregrine is prepared on a sizeable four group La Marzocco GB/5. Unfortunately, my shot of Apollo appeared to be prepared by a barista in training. It was very light and delicate, both in flavor and in texture, which I’d describe as pillowy. The crema was a bit thin, but not as much as it appears in that my very delayed photograph below. I found it heavy on the citrus and floral (daisy?), with some candy-like sweetness but the shot held an acrid edge that spoke of pull quality and not potential, especially given my experience with this espresso (to be reported on soon). Given their reputation, I can only imagine that my still quite good shot was something of an anomaly (3+) and that the norm is much better.
Filter coffee consists of a happy, yet highly functional setup consisting of Fetco-brewed carafes of rotating coffees during the mornings for the customer on the go, and a Melitta pour over station operating throughout the day for customers with a little more time to linger. I like the way that Peregrine’s website cleverly refers to this as providing both macro- and micro-brewing options (I may just have to start using that). The menu lists a handful of Counter Culture coffees to chose from for the micro-brew.
Unfortunately, my first pick – the Yirgacheffe – was freshly out of stock. I opted instead for the Guatemala Los Gemelos microlot. My cup had some really nice, green apple acidity and an overall fruity character, supported by deep tobacco notes. I thought the papery taste of the brew method came through a bit strong for me and I was struggling to find a bit more depth and complexity in the coffee, even though I still enjoyed it quite a bit (3+).
In the end, Peregrine fell short of my expectations and probably of their true potential. Somewhat frustratedly, I can only rate things as I experienced them, but I do so with ample reservations. It’s quite likely that your experiences with this cafe have been or will be far better. Certainly Peregrine goes for depth over breadth compared to a shop like Chinatown. They use only a single roaster and one brew-to-order method, but they likely know their coffee better, certainly have some pretty top talent and still offer a heck of a lot of choices. Fortunately, there can be more than one. Both shops say good things about where D.C. coffee is going.
August 23, 2010 Category: Maryland, Rating 4, United States, Virginia, Washington D.C., cafe Tags: Abid Clever Coffee Dripper, Black Cat Espresso, Chinatown Coffee and Tea, coffee, coffee review, Counter Culture Coffee, Dolcezza Gelato, espresso, french press, Intelligentsia Coffee and Tea, Kanya Thirkuni, Kenya coffee, La Marzocco GB/5, Murky Coffee, Nick Cho, Novo Coffee, rating coffee, Washington DC coffee, Wrecking Ball Coffee Roasters 
Name: Chinatown Coffee and Tea
Location: 475 H Street Northwest, Washington, D.C.
Roasters: Intelligentsia Coffee and Tea and rotating guest coffees
Rating: 4-
Good coffee in the Washington D.C. area used to be synonymous with the name Murky Coffee. Sadly, I never did make it to Murky before the IRS closed the Capital Hill location in February 2008 due to several tens of thousands of dollars being owed to them in back taxes. The main branch of Murky Coffee out in Arlington closed a little later in May that same year. Given my love of coffee exploration, not being able to add Murky to my list is something of a missed opportunity. Then again, one somewhat infamous incident leaves me wondering exactly what it was that I missed.
But never fear, former Murky owner, Nick Cho, is alive and well. In addition to maintaining a very entertaining, provocative and informative twitter feed, he is part-owner of Wrecking Ball Coffee Roasters, whose coffee I really wanted to try during my short visit to D.C. I had been under the mistaken impression that none of their wholesale accounts sits close to a Metro stop. It turns out that at least one Dolcezza location is right off Dupont Circle, which I didn’t discover until after I returned. It turns out that Nick Cho’s influence also extends to a new wave of D.C. cafes, such as Chinatown Coffee and Tea, where he was hired as a consultant in its design and build out. You can find this cafe right off the red line in…well…Chinatown, which is super convenient if you happen to be doing any business or sightseeing in the general northeast Capital-mall area.
In fact, Chinatown Coffee was the perfect spot for me to visit during my recent trip to D.C. This shop’s long slim profile with one brick wall is naturally cool seeming even minus the wonderful air-conditioning, which is a definite must when traveling to D.C. in August. More importantly, the coffee selection is great and the coffee itself very good. If that’s not enough the pastry selection was good and they’ve recently added a beer menu, which works a lot better when you aren’t there in the morning.
I noted two important aspects of Chinatown’s coffee menu about which readers of this blog should be aware. First is that they offer coffee from multiple roasters. Or at least they do so on days other than the one on which they expect new shipments to arrive (it seems its best to avoid Thursdays if you want roaster variety). The menu is driven by Intelligentsia as is noted on the website, but Chinatown Coffee also regularly features coffees from other roasters (something not mentioned on the website). During my visit, or at least around my visit, one could expect to be able to buy and be served coffees from Novo and Counter Culture.
The second important feature is that Chinatown offers multiple brewing options of multiple coffees. You can, of course order, the standard, but rotating, Fetco-brewed coffee. While I was there, it was an Intelligentsia Guatemala. During my visit, Chinatown was also serving your choice of two iced coffees. But most important is the fact that you can order any coffee to be brewed-to-order, either via French Press or the Abid Clever Coffee Dripper. This particular dual method approach is a good one since it provides to easily repeatable, yet varied, brew choices.
My choices of brewed coffee were limited to Intelligentsia (boo-hoo for me, right!) so I ordered a Clever of the Kenya Thirkuni. Of course, this coffee may very well have been my choice even if other coffees from other roasters had been available. I had heard quite a few good things about this Kenya and there are simply so many good Kenyas out right now, it seems a shame to miss Intelligentsia’s take on this coffee. My tasting notes for this cup included melon, tangerine, and dark chocolate with some black current and light floral notes (hyacinth) in the finish. It had a surprisingly mellow acidity for a Kenya, which did emerge slowly as it cooled. Overall, this was a very good cup of coffee despite the fact that I found the body a tad thin and the mouthfeel a little bit too oily (4-).
For espresso, Chinatown pulls shots of Black Cat on a LaMarzocco GB/5. They also pull shots of a rotating single origin espresso in addition to Black Cat decaf. The single origin hadn’t yet been dialed in on my visit and I was running out of time. Besides, I figured Black Cat was probably a better metric of Chinatown’s potential for espresso since they pull shots of it every day. My espresso was a little lacking in body for what I expect from this coffee and this machine, but had some really nice, crisp acidity with grapefruit notes and brown sugar sweetness (4-).
What’s tough about rating Chinatown Coffee and Tea is trying to interpret my own tolerance for innovation and progress, and how those factors intertwine with coffee quality. A year or two ago, Chinatown, with their two brew-to-order options made from your choice of coffees from multiple roasters (not to mention multiple espressos on good equipment), would have been headline news. These days, this more complicated model of coffee delivery is still more than what you expect to find in most shops, but not unheard of when reading about the opening of more serious shops (we’re talking about those not run by the roaster here). No doubt that Chinatown Coffee executes their setup smartly and efficiently and certainly deserves the moniker, “coffee destination.” Still, I left longing for something to make this visit one of those out-of-this-world experiences. Perhaps I’m thinking too hard. Maybe I should just forget it. After all, it’s Chinatown.
August 13, 2010 Category: California, Rating 4, San Francisco, United States, coffee@home, roaster Tags: coffee, coffee review, Kenya coffee, Kenya Karimikui, rating coffee, Ritual Coffee Roasters  
Beans: Kenya Karimikui
Roaster: Ritual Coffee Roasters
Rating: 4-
A couple of weeks ago, I attended a cupping event for Home Barista members. As luck would have it, five of my seven top picks (out of 22 world class coffees) were not available in this country. Thankfully, at least one of these seven was a Bay Area coffee. I headed over to Ritual to drink a calibrating cup and to pick up a bag of the Karimikui for home.
If I had to describe this coffee with just one word, it would be “grapefruit.” Of course, I don’t actually eat much grapefruit so I couldn’t say much about pink or standard or which heirloom varietal this coffee’s flavor most evokes (the bag noted simply “pink grapefruit”). But don’t let the fact that you don’t like grapefruit stop you. I pretty much can’t stand grapefruit, but for some reason, I really liked this coffee. Be warned, though, a coffee this bright isn’t for everyone. There’s also the fact that it costs $28/pound (although Ritual actually sells this coffee in groovy, black half-pound bags for $14).
If there is one flaw with the coffee, I’d say the grapefruit goes a bit pithy in the aftertaste. The good news is that this coffee is a two for one. I did a double-take eight days past the roast date when this coffee transformed. The intensely bright acidity mellowed considerably and the grapefruit notes faded into the background, leaving sweet tangerine with a hint of currants. I guess I just moved past my arbitrarily imposed one-word description.
For a brew method, I’d recommend a paper filter approach (clever, V60, etc.) for this coffee, although a siphon also works well. It has a beautiful viscous mouthfeel which worked all right in a french press but the other aspects of that brew method (or a gold cone in a clever) tend to obscure the more delicate flavors and aromas of this coffee. And, of course, with acidity like this, any kind of intensifying brew method, such as espresso or aeropress, is more or less a no-starter, unless you like to pucker.
The bottom line is that I’d definitely recommend trying a cup of this coffee if your Ritual-slinging cafe happens still to have it in stock, even given that a cup (or bag) will fetch a higher price than its other Ritual coffee cousins. Assuming you like what you taste, I’d definitely say it’s worth picking up a bag . Sometimes, I find Ritual’s higher priced coffees not quite worth the extra buck, but this one delivers, even at this steep price.
August 6, 2010 Category: California, Rating 3, Rating 4, San Francisco, United States, coffee@home, roaster Tags: coffee, coffee review, Colombia coffee, Colombia Norby Sancho, Decaf coffee, Decaffeinated Ethiopia Sidamo Shoye, Ethiopia coffee, Four Barrel Coffee, Guatemala Concepcion Pixcaya, Guatemela coffee, Kenya coffee, Kenya Kangunu, Modern Coffee, rating coffee, Subrosa Coffee   
Beans: See Below
Roaster: Four Barrel Coffee
Rating: see below
It’s been quite a while – far too long – since I’ve actually reviewed Four Barrel at Four Barrel, but I have been tasting their coffees quite regularly both at Modern Coffee, Subrosa and the occasional cupping event. Fortunately for me, the mountain does occasionally come to Mohammed, such as when Four Barrel recently contacted me about sending a few samples. I gladly accepted and was happy to receive said samples, which arrived, nested neatly inside a gigantic Four Barrel bag.
It turns out that Four Barrel sent four, pretty wide-ranging samples my way. They included two African coffees – one of them a decaf, one Central American coffee and one coffee from South America. I broke each bag open and took a look. Here’s what I found.
Decaffeinated Ethipia Sidamo Shoye (4-)
Decaf, eh? Brave to send it in a bag of non-decaffeinated samples. Maybe that clever Four Barrel staff read my blog and knew that I was a sucker for a good decaf. Or maybe they knew they happened to have one. I read that Jeremy Tooker drinks a lot of decaf and thus has a vested interest in raising the bar. This decaf does just that. After looking back at some of my previous decaf reviews, I can’t help but feel a little dissatisfied with my own inconsistent ratings. I’ve always struggled whether to give decafs a nudge up with the qualification that they are decafs. Why penalize them for something that’s not their fault? Then again, this could just be a failing of my own learning curve. Or, it’s just possible that decafs really have improved substantially over a short period of time. From this point forward then, I’m going to set the record straight and treat decafs like any other coffee when it comes to rating them. If not for my sudden need for self-correction, this coffee would have received a 4.
Numbers aside, what I can tell you is that this coffee is delicious! These teeny, cute little beans could easily compete with caffeinated beans twice their size…and…er…quality. I will say that the body was sometimes thin, but the buttery mouthfeel, earthy body and hints of apple, blueberry, and bergamont were beautiful. This kind of complexity is pretty much unheard of in a decaf, which I found benefited most from a Clever (I’m currently using it with V60 paper filters) or an Aeropress. The latter accentuated the floral notes while the former brought out the fruit. Even if you don’t drink decaf, I strongly encourage you to buy this coffee. Just save a little for me.
Kenya Kangunu (4-)
I thought I’d kick this review off with the Shoye, giving a voice to the underdog, since the Kangunu, one of Four Barrel’s pricer coffees, seems to be getting all the attention these days. Sprudge raved about it and Stumptown’s version of the same coffee got the God Shot bump during Chris Tacy’s post-HB personal cupping.
To start things off with a puzzle, I have to admit, I tried this coffee at the above-linked to HB cupping event and did not like it. It was actually one of the few coffees on the table that I didn’t like. What was confusing was that I had been drinking this coffee for several days at home and had been liking it quite a bit. Don’t ask me to explain, but the coffee on that table simple didn’t exhibit the really delicious raspberry, currant, milk chocolate and floral notes I found when cupping it and brewing it on my own. What was most pleasant about this coffee was the way it aged. On day 3, I got pure raspberry jam. More than a week into tasting it, this coffee was full of chocolate and currant with subdued floral notes. I think the thinner body of this coffee suffered from a paper filter. I found a gold cone in a Clever to produce the best, most satisfying cup. I may never solve the mystery of why I didn’t like it at that cupping, but I’m glad that that one experience didn’t cut short my lovely relationship with this coffee.
Guatemala Concepcion Pixcaya (3+)
The Pixcaya is a lively, bright Guatemala that challenged my assumptions about coffees from Guatemala. Instead of chocolate, fruit and full body, this coffee offered a tea-like body with bright citrus acidity, hints of plum, sugar and cocoa. What I liked most was the interplay of lighter body and the thick, syrupy mouthfeel. I felt it was a little too bright, especially at first, but what started off as almost lemony, did mellow into a nice, sweeter orange acidity well past the roast (10+ days). For brewing I’d suggest a non-paper brew method, even thought the strong acidity of this coffee might suggest otherwise. True to form with many of Four Barrel’s coffees, I found this one worked best with a French Press or gold cone filter in a Clever.
Colombia Norby Sancho (2+)
There always seems to be a black sheep of the bunch. That coffee would be the Colombia Norby Sancho, named after the farmer and not the lot/farm. Don’t get me wrong, this coffee isn’t flat or lifeless; it’s very complex. It’s just that this coffee has some difficulty pulling itself together in a presentable way. On the cupping table, I really didn’t like it. I found it very vegetal: pea, lemongrass, corn and compost (yes, my reaction was strong). If I had stopped there, I probably wouldn’t even be writing about this coffee, but I did brew it a number of a ways, waited some time and then brewed it some more. What I concluded was that this coffee was mercurial. At times, I liked its really round mouthfeel, with roasted tomato acidity. At others, it just tasted off. I found the latter results especially so when I used more concentrated brew methods such as the Aeropress. This review may be a moot point since this coffee is no longer available. If you do see it, I would say try before you buy.
July 23, 2010 Category: Australia, California, Canada, Norway, San Francisco, United Kingdom, United States, Vancouver, event Tags: 49th Parallel Coffee Roasters, Barefoot Coffee Roasters, Black Cat Espresso, Bolivia coffee, Bolivia Mondo Novo, coffee, coffee cupping, coffee review, Colombia coffee, Colombia Finca La Florida, Colombia La Esperanza, Colombia La Orquidea, Colombia Norbey Sancho, Costa Rica Cerra Paldo, Costa Rica coffee, Costa Rica Finca Roblas, Costa Rica Herbezu Honey, Costa Rica La Mirella Honey, Ecco Caffe, Ethiopia coffee, Ethiopia Yergacheffe, Four Barrel Coffee, Home Barista, Honduras Cielito Lindo, Honduras coffee, Honduras La Tortuga, Intelligentsia Coffee and Tea, Kenya coffee, Kenya Handege, Kenya Kangocho, Kenya Kangunu, Kenya Karimikui, Kenya Kiunyu, Kenya Mtaro, Kenya Tegu, Kenya Thiriku, Mecca Espresso, Olympica Coffee Roasting Company, Panama coffee, Panama Esmeralda Geisha, rating coffee, Ritual Coffee Roasters, Square Mile Coffee Roasters, Stumptown Coffee Roasters, Tim Wendelboe What I’m not attempting to do
It’s not entirely clear where the right place is to begin when discussing the coffee cupping event I attended last Saturday. I’d like not to spend time discussing the pros and cons of coffee cupping as either a brew method, tasting technique or public relations tool. I’d also not like to spend time recounting just what coffee cupping is or the hows and whys of doing it (1,2,3,4). I definitely do not want to engage over how the media loves to portray cupping (rightfully or not) as an activity full of funny adjectives (1,2). And I certainly don’t want to spend time describing the multitude of opportunities that you likely have to cup coffee at roasters and cafes near you (please do add them in the comments below), or how easy it is to pick up some cupping supplies for yourself to use at home. What I do want to do is recount the activities of this Home Barista meetup I attended, include a few notes on the coffees, and see if I can’t pass along a few morsels of wisdom along the way.
 
Giving Thanks
First off, I want to extend a round of thank yous to the people responsible for this amazing event. Chris Tacy (1,2) did a marvelous job of rounding up coffees, leading and organizing the whole thing. Doug Jamieson gave up the space (and provided some great tips on espresso brewing). There were several people helping out who’s names I didn’t all get. There were, of course, all the Home Barista members who actually attended. Then there were the roasters and other coffee folks who donated an insane number of really incredible coffees and other items given away as door prizes.
 
The Cupping Table of the Gods
The star of the event, and the place we began, was that cupping table, which contained 22 coffees from 11 roasters located in 5 different countries. This kinds of spread is impressive purely for its breadth, but even more so when you consider the quality of the coffees that we cupped, which included an Esmeralda Geisha, several cup of excellence winners and numerous select microlots. (Many of these coffees go for well above the $20/pound mark). The coffees we cupped included the following:
- 49th Parallel Coffee Roasters, Kenya Handege AA
- 49th Parallel Coffee Coffee Roasters, Costa Rica Finca Roblas Microlot
- Barefoot Coffee Roasters, Costa Rica Herbazu Honey
- Barefoot Coffee Roasters, Costa Rica Cerro Paldo
- Ecco Caffe, Kenya Kiunyu
- Ecco Caffe, Kenya Kangocho
- Four Barrel Coffee, Kenya Kangunu
- Four Barrel Coffee, Colombia Cauca Norbey Sancho Microlot
- Mecca Espresso, Kenya Mtaro Estate
- Mecca Espresso, Bolivia Mondo Novo (CoE #7)
- Intelligentsia Coffee and Tea, Honduras La Tortuga
- Intelligentsia Coffee and Tea, Kenya Thiriku
- Olympia Coffee Roasting Company, Costa Rica La Mirella “Honey”
- Olympia Coffee Roasting Company, Colombia Finca La Florida Manuel Antonio Ovies
- Ritual Coffee Roasters, Kenya Karimikui
- Ritual Coffee Roasters, Colombia La Orquidea
- Square Mile Coffee Roasters, Kenya Tegu Kirimukuyu
- Square Mile Coffee Roasters, Ethiopia Yirgacheffe
- Stumptown Coffee Roasters, Colombia La Esperanza
- Stumptown Coffee Roasters, Kenya Kangunu
- Tim Wendelboe Panama Hacienda La Esmeralda Mario San Jose
- Tim Wendelboe Honduras Cielito Lindo (CoE #5)
(Now those of you keeping close watch over Chris Tacy’s tasting notes, will notice that the much lauded Stumptown Guatemala or the Tim Wendelboe Brazil he tasted, mysteriously, never made it to the H-B cupping table. Coincidence? I think not. The hubris of some hosts, keeping all the good stuff for themselves!)
 
Lessons from a large cupping
The cupping began with a few introductory words and some general cupping guidance by Chris and then the group was off, sniffing, slurping, tasting and note-taking. We did know from prior posts most of the roasters on the table, but we didn’t know the actual coffees or which cups were from which roasters. Cupping blind is definitely a rewarding experience since you feel no obligation to like or to think you should like one coffee over the next.
I had two immediate impressions. First, whether it’s what you should do on a first round of cupping or not, when you have a dozen or so people trying to cup 22 coffees, you really can’t get more than a quick impression without causing a traffic jam. Second, people who cup professionally are like marathon runners. The palate fatigue I experienced, even with mineral water cleansing sessions, made detailed note-taking tougher, and the notes I did take circumspect. In the end, I relied little on my actual notes and stuck by a tried and true method of first impressions: a full smiley face for the top picks and simple smile (no eyes) for the next tier down.
 
My top picks
The bottom line was that there were no bad coffees and those that I liked less than others could have been due to palate fatigue, the fact that there were some real superstar coffees on the table or comparative differences between coffees from different origins that I didn’t have time to examine as fully as I would have liked. Qualifications aside, here were my top picks:
- Tier One (amazing):
- Tim Wendelboe Panama Hacienda La Esmeralda Mario San Jose
- Square Mile Coffee Roasters, Ethiopia Yirgacheffe
- Tier Two (others that seriously grabbed my attention):
- Mecca Espresso, Bolivia Mondo Novo (CoE #7)
- Ritual Coffee Roasters, Kenya Karimikui
- Square Mile Coffee Roasters, Kenya Tegu Kirimukuyu
- Stumptown Coffee Roasters, Colombia La Esperanza
- Tim Wendelboe Honduras Cielito Lindo (CoE #5)
What’s obvious to me from this list? I need to be drinking more coffees from out of the country. Of course the first two stood out because of both the high quality of the coffees and their origins – both of which tend to be two of my favorite origins for quality coffees. But for the others, I’m less clear whether my like was due to the quality of the green bean, something about the roasting style or simply the way they outshone their neighbors on the table. Either way, it looks like my out-of-pocket expenses for coffee may just have gone up. That international shipping is a killer, if you can even get it. Apparently Wendelboe won’t sell to U.S. addresses due to the delays created by U.S. customs.
 
But wait, there’s more…
What’s startlingly silly about this event is that there was more to it than just this stellar cupping table. After we were done sharing a bit more about the coffees we headed back to talk espresso and to spend some quality time with a Mazer Robur, Mazzer Super Jolly, La Marzocco GS/3 and an Elektra Sixties A3. Chris and Doug gave brief lessons on shot techniques and gave us an opportunity to work on ours.
There were door prizes as well. It’s hard to argue with free bags of Black Cat, Square Mile t-shirts, Intelligentsia mugs, and cupping spoons. But better still were the techniques that several of us were able to take with us. A few pointers have already lead to some consistently better shots at home.
Lessons Learned
I’d like not to get too reflective on what has turned out to be an already too long post, but here’s my attempt to encapsulate either what I learned or what I heard that I think is worth passing along. And keep in mind, this advice is really for folks who want to get to know coffee better and have a passion for coffee. If you just want to know where to get a good cup and don’t care about the nuances of taste, check elsewhere on this blog or simply look at the list above.
- If you have the chance, try any one of the above mentioned coffees.
- Cup coffee often. If you want to improve your ability to identify flavors and your appreciation of coffee, you’ve got to taste and compare coffees often and cupping remains one of the better ways to do so.
- Don’t cup with too many people or too many coffees. OK. This was a great event, but it would have been better with fewer coffees and fewer people. I’m not complaining, mind you, just pointing out my preference.
- But do cup with other people, especially those more experienced and skilled than you. Don’t be intimidated. Ask questions. Discuss what you taste. The goal is to build your vocabulary and hear terms that fit what you’re tasting. You’ll never do that by yourself or if you are always the most knowledgeable in the room.
There, have I drunk the cupping Kool-aid or what?
July 18, 2010 Category: California, East Bay, Rating 2, Rating 3, United States, coffee@home, roaster Tags: Blackbird Cafe, coffee, coffee review, espresso, Grand Lake Farmers Market, Marin Farmers Market, rating coffee, Scarlet City Coffee Roasters  
Beans: Scarlet City Coffees
Roaster: Scarlet City Coffee Roasters
Rating: see below
I first encountered Scarlet City Coffee Roasters in what amounted to something of a pop-up appearance for Blackbird Cafe when they set up shop for all of two weekends at the Grand Lake Farmer’s Market. After I tasted their espresso there I found myself in touch with Jen St. Hilaire, owner of Scarlet City and whose past includes work with both Vivace and Ecco Caffe. Somehow time flew by, and now, nearly a year later, I’m finally getting around to trying some samples Scarlet City was kind enough to send me (they were not year old samples – it just took that long for us to arrange to send them). You can find Scarlet City Coffee still being served at Blackbird Cafe’s kiosk at the Marin Farmer’s Market.
Feeling inspired by the end of Robert Christgau’s Consumer Guide, I’ll attempt to keep these capsule reviews of each coffee short and sweet.
Light Speed Espresso (3+)
The Light Speed is an American espresso blend which I think even the likes of Giorgio Milos might approve. My tasting notes included words like fresh bread, brown sugar, cocoa and butterscotch with a certain savory bite and crisp, dry acidity. It’s an understated blend with a thick, but not syrupy mouthfeel intended mostly for espresso and light milk drinks rather than cappuccinos and lattes, where its subtlety gets quickly overwhelmed. It wasn’t a knock-my-socks-off espresso but the profile was evocative of some slightly arid, northern Italian landscape, or, um, perhaps the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon?
Peru Decaf (3)
I still haven’t figured out yet how to rate decaf coffees successfully. They rarely stand up to their caffeinated cousins, but it seems unfair to penalize them for falling into this lot in life. Isn’t the persecution they face under the tell-tale “D” emblazoned on their package sufficient? Don’t they deserve the benefit of the doubt? These bigger questions aside, I found this decaf to be a worthy contender of its peers. This coffee is marked by pine-like acidity, but not nearly as sharp as this type of acidity can be with other Peru coffees. I also noted lime, clove and dry earthiness. The roast did, at times, lean a bit dark for me, bringing out the more bitter elements of molasses. I would especially recommend this decaf to drinkers of darker roasted coffees who are ready – willingly or unwillingly – to improve their coffee outlook and make a change for the better.
Ethiopia Amaro Gayo (3-)
As those familiar with coffee will know, the Amaro Gayo coffee is produced by Ethiopia’s only female miller and exporter, Asnakech Thomas, and is synonymous with the words fruit bomb. This naturally processed coffee is the kind that jumps out at you on the cupping table. It’s also the type of coffee now deemed passe by many coffee greats. One glance at Scarlet City’s Amaro Gayo and I was doubly convinced that this coffee was not going to be to my liking – both too fruity and too darkly roasted. But I tasted it and changed my mind. Just as a chocolate chip cookie can benefit from a caramelized, if not slightly burnt, edge, this coffee’s potential for cloy turns out to work with a darker roast. In addition to the expected blueberry notes, I found some vanilla and a little bit of spice in this thick, but not syrupy coffee that seemed to work best as a French Press. A paper filter tends to bring out the roast and block the fruit to a less than desirable degree. I’m not fawning over this coffee, but it does make me reconsider how you really do have to pick the right roast for the bean, and sometimes consider choices outside your roasting comfort zone.
Warp Drive Espresso (2+)
This blend appears to be the workhorse blend for Scarlet City, anchoring down the big, bad lattes that are so passe in coffee circles these days and providing a bolder espresso option for those planning to to enter blow hard contests with William Shatner. While there’s something to be said for a more seasonal approach, less standard approach to espresso blending, I see nothing wrong with a roaster offering up a bass-heavy milk-mixer blend like this one if it meets the needs of the customer. My take: earth, molasses, dark chocolate, a hint of fruit (purple grapes) and a syrupy mouthfeel. When done right, this blend produced bass heavy shots with pleasant flavors, but I found the blend could stray into the phenolic and musty.
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