Counter Culture Coffee Washington, DC

Hi all

Today we had 3 coffees on the table to evaluate:

Aida’s Grand Reserve 2009 - a blend of peaberries from Finca Mauritania, Los Alpes, and Finca Kilamanjaro farms in Santa Ana, El Salvador.  ”Citrus! Lime! Sweet!” were the first couple words from people after I had asked what they smelled in the coffee.  There was also a bready-peanut thing happening in conjunction with raspberries and honey.  We were off to a great start and ready to dig into this coffee and see what lay ahead in the slurp.  But first, we evaluated the break and folks thought that the citrus and bready notes were the major descriptors.  When we finally started to taste, we found there was a lot going on:  more citrus (orange and lime), sweet & sour sauce, rich and sweet chocolate, and a savory/salty element too.  The body was light and waxy with a clean/quick/sweet finish.  Great job, Aida–This is a really terrific coffee!  6 favorites

Teka from Muramvya, Burundi - This is a coffee from the Teka washing station–a quality focused mill in Burundi.  We got some great smells starting off including earthy chocolate, salted meats, black pepper, and fruits.  The break was sweet maple syrup and oranges.  This was a bright coffee (with acidity ramping up as it cooled), but not quite as citrusy as the 1st coffee.  Flavors were juicy red fruits, bitter chocolate, sweet pipe tobacco all wrapped up in a syrupy, whole milk body.  The finish was resiny pine with dry tannins reminiscent of red wine.  We were really into this coffee.  6 favorites.

Gayo from Aceh, Sumatra - Hemp and nut seed oil on the nose first off became green pepper and strawberry jam when water was added.  During the break we smelled toasted corriander, nuts and dark cherries–a little winey.  We started tasting this coffee and really noticed the herbaceous flavors:  sage, black pepper, thyme, and earth.  The brightness was high, but in a different way than the previous two…more of a baking chocolate acidity.  We felt that the body was thinner than we expected based on the aromas, and the finish was very lasting and vegetal.  Gayo was named “most interesting coffee on the table.”  3 favorites.

Hello folks!  Great cupping today at the DCTC!  It was a blast with 4 new visitors and 4 baristas who did great today at describing the following 3 coffees:

Ndaroini– Nyeri, Kenya (2 fav)

Fragrance:  Chocolate, cherry/rasp/hazelnut/berry, cayenne, heavy fall forest, woodsy, autumn musk, tomato sweet.

Aroma:  Earth, currant, charcoal, rasp, dark chocolate, sweet, raspberry pie baking, high mountain snow

Break: Oatmeal, BKFST, toast, honey, cedar, green pepper, cooked carrot

Brightness: High, med-high, orange, light, muted citrus into super pop, sweet cherry tomato, initially, low and ramped as it cooled.

Flavor: Tinny-tomato, caramel, mulch, nutty, savory kombu, black peppercorns, popcorn, salty, lemons & citrus as cooled.

Body: Weak into chewy, silky, light, soft, thin, “feeling of a hand across a balloon–on my tongue.”

Aftertaste: Tobacco, greens, savory, well rounded, deliciousness, sour, longer as cooled.

Washed Shakisso–Sidamo, Ethiopia (5 fav)

Fragrance:  Cherry,oak, floral blossom, vanilla beans, orange blossom, plum, fresh linens, strawberry

Aroma:  All red fruits, cinnamon x2, raw hazelnuts, coffee liqueur, flowers, potpourri, green pepper, apricots, apple

Break: celery, sage, curry & caramel x 3, early morning dewy lake, roasted chestnuts.

Brightness: Dark red, medium, med-low, white outlined with yellow, warm, glowy, strawberry lemonade.

Flavor: Earth, dill, baked potato, roasted artichokes, honey, lime at cool, lemon-orange x 3, citrus, lime, pineapple.

Body: Thin x 2, old citrus dryness, medium x 2, blooming.

Aftertaste: MSG, Caramelly, nada, milk choc, lingered.

Natural Shakisso–Sidamo, Ethiopia (1 fav)

Fragrance:  Roasted apple/oak, grass, toasted sea weed, vinegar & raisins (malty mash sweetness), blueberry x 3, dried key-lime.

Aroma:  Blueberry citrus, cologne, black licorice, cereal, grains, fireplace, hops (pale ale), rubber, blood orange.

Break: Blueberry kamikaze, smoky cab, sav blanc

Brightness: Purple, low, medium, sharp into low smooth…sour as cooled.

Flavor: Walnut, durian, blueberry, woody, cocoa, brown sugar, berry clementine, whisky bitterness, chocolate, Cabernet.

Body:  Thick coating, waxy, more pop, malted, round, gritty

Aftertaste: Tannic, lingered, heavy/long, not as long lasting, deep fruity earthiness.

Hello everyone,

I will be on holiday from 12/23 and return to DC on 1/4/2010.  There will be no cupping on 12/25 nor on 1/2010.  We will be back to our regular Friday morning schedule on 1/8/2010 at 10am!

Happy Holidays

Alex

We cupped 3 coffees in the DCTC on Friday…

13 people cupped, and Los Luchadores won the favorites vote!

We began with Finca El Puente and dove right into some lovely fragrances and aromas:  caramel, vanilla, chocolate and earth.  The taste was sweet chocolate with nuts and it finished with a nice clean floral note.

Next up was Los Luchadores.  This coffee was beautiful today with lots of sweetness, some orange on the nose and a round body that satisfied all parts of the mouth in the aftertaste.

Finally, we tasted the Shakisso Natural.  This coffee had 2 diehard fans, 2 folks who couldn’t stand it, and about 6 who could take it or leave it…Such is the life of a natural coffee I guess!  The folks who loved it really enjoyed the blueberries and honey, the sweet milk chocolate, the full body, and the tobacco aftertaste.

Thanks to all who cupped with us!