Coffee Cupping

[glenn]

I did a coffee cupping today in order to choose a roaster for my cafe. Maybe I did something wrong, like too much at once (?) - my palette started to deteriorate to the point that by the end, all the beans started to taste the same. I tried 4 vendors who gave me samples of 3 to 5 roasts each. I did my best to limit myself to 2 sips of each one. Anyone else have this problem? I made sure to drink water in between coffee tasting - any other tips?

I've still got one more vendor to try (Hi Owen!), but I was able to easily rule out 2 of the 4 vendors. It boils down to Gimme Coffee and Terroir plus the one I still need to try. One of the reasons I eliminated one of the vendors was because the samples weren't sent in vacuum packed bags. Is that a valid reason to take away points? Regardless, I also thought the coffee wasn't at the same level as the two I chose.

Also, this took like forever. I cleaned (not super thoroughly - I did the super thorough cleaning at the onset) the grinder before grinding every single coffee - that's a lot of cleaning. The grinder is a Rocky Rancilio, making it somewhat of a pain. Did I go overboard? Any other thoughts?

[phaelon56]

I'd be more concerned about knowing the roast date than about getting vacuum sealed packages. The coffee should be stored in airtight containers out of direct light once you receive it and bags with one way Co2 release valves are nice but if it gets to you within two - three days after roasting a regular bag that has a folded and clamped/crimped edge should be okay. I've often purchased my beans that way and just tossed then tossed the enitre bag in the hopper of the grinder (which is hardly airtight).

Rinsing your mouth with water between coffee samples will help and you might also try some neutral food such as plain crackers. For espresso sampling it can be helpful to be very consceientious about grinder cleaning but for coffee sampling I think a quick brush-out should be adequate.

Also.... not sure about you but some of us (myself included) either don't have or haven't yet developed a refined enough palate and vocabulary to easily differentiate between minor subtleties among different coffees. What I can do is easily identify what I like from what I don't like. With a moderate amount of practice it's easy to distinguish a bright acidic finish from a fuller bodied less acidic flavor profile. It's also relatively easy to distinguish very fresh coffee (i.e. within ten days of roast date) from stale coffee. You should also find it simple to note the differences between darker and lighter roasting styles.

Something more subtle is the difference between roasters for the same varietal. That may vary depending on whether the roaster is sourcing specific single origin estate varietals and buyign in major quantities (e.g. what Terroir is doing) or if they're just getting the best co-op varietal available at any given time from a reputable broker (e.g. this is what the folks I'm working for are doing).

Freshness, service and quality are equally important - vendors that have a strong focus on the wholesale trade will usually be best able to address all three of those points consistently (meaning the folks I work for will not be your strongest candidate as their focus is primarily retail with a moderate amount of local wholesale trade).

Price is the least important issue. The difference in the cost per cup for the coffee between $6 per pound and $8 per pound is minimal.

[glenn]

Thanks, Owen. I guess I'll go ahead and give the points back that I took away to Gimme Coffee :))

[glenn]

I did another cupping today - this time blind and I chose the 2 roasters that came up on top yesterday. Terroir topped my choice easily, though I wouldn't be disappointed if I were served gimme coffee anywhere. Two of the 4 roasters had roast dates on the package - both of those roasters, gimme coffee and terroir shipped the same day as the roast date and I rec'd the packages the next day. Terroir claims to have developed a new vacuum packed system that adds to the shelf life -- they're changing their label to reflect an expiration 90 days from the roast date instead of 30. This is quite helpful as I expect to sell coffee by the bag.

[SL28ave]

Hi Owen,

A quick clarification.....

the roaster is sourcing specific single origin estate varietals and buyign in major quantities (e.g. what Terroir is doing

Terroir doesn't limit its green procurement to only one source or protocol; we use auctions, brokers, direct etc. It's pretty simple: if a coffee is great on the cupping table, we find a way to aquire it and, try to give the consumer, to the best of our ability, the identity of the farmers. It doesn't matter if its a co-op, single estate, blend of small farms or, even hand picked by Panda Bears. The industry is set up in a way that this is absolutely necessary to attain the highest qualities from each region, each harvest.

Nor does Terroir buy in major quantities, in fact you could say we are champions for the opposite. Large quantity lots are the norm and also a great boon to coffees meeting their potential; in most cases a great 200 Lb lot is blended with thousands of other pounds of mediocre coffee. This is the exact reason that George Howell co-founded Cup of Excellence; to find the masterpieces that are ALWAYS blended with coffees of lesser or generic quality. Last week we had a 4 bag lot, that's the size of the entire lot, FLOWN in directly from Colombia. That's completely revolutionary.

Even most of the "speciatly" coffees that most roasters buy from distributers at 1 or 8 bag quantities are usually part of container sized lots that the distributer sourced. In most cases, that's not where the quality is at.

Last year a masterpiece 2 bags in Nicaragua was about to be blended into a random large Fair Trade lot. Geoff Watts luckilly found it before it was blended.

So, naturally George Howell and Geoff Watts decided to purchase these 2 bags. When the US importer received it at port, he absolutely refused to go through the mixed container to find the two bags. He thought we were nuts. This is what we're up against.

-Peter

Edited November 1, 2004 by SL28ave (log)

[phaelon56]

Thanks for the clarifications and the interesting insights, Peter. My understanding of what Terroir was/is doing as gleaned mostly form their web site and also from some thingss I read about George and a few others joining forces to buy that exceptional lot which was a recent Cup Of Excellence winner.

By "major quantities" I wasn't trying to imply huge amounts such as large brokers or big commercial brokers buy but differentiating from what many micro-roasters do, which is buy a bag at a time of most varieties and perhaps several at a time of the varieties used in larger amounts.

There are, of course, many small roasters whose available capital for inventory investment and available storage space simply isn't sufficient to buy 10 or 20 bags of an exceptional coffee, even if it were readily available. My employer, for whom I do roasting several evenings per week, is a good example. We keep no more than 18 - 20 varieties of beans on hand and only two of those are ordered in multiple bag quantities. A bean like Yirgacheffe, for example, is one that we order by the single bag and use up in a two week period but we lack the space or demand to stock larger quantities. Therefore we rely on the broker to send us "best available" within a given quality range. Not an ideal system but until I own a roasting business of my own, am investing my own money in the beans and am signing everyone else's paychecks... I'll stick with the program that's been working for them

I think it's terrific that Terroir is using the approach that they are - someone has to break ground and push growers and importers to recognize the value of discriminating between various lots and working with roasters to make those highr quality beans available to those willing to pay the price.

I was intrigued by the mention on the Terroir Coffee web site of a system for freezing green beans. Can you elaborate on that at all if possible? Might a system of that sort have benefit for the home roasting community if they were to use consumer level equipment such as vacuum sealers and home freezers or is there benefit to be achieved only with industrial equipment?