Many thanks to David Fritzler of Tryst Coffee for leading the cupping in the DC Training Center while I was away!
“Six people came to the DCTC and we were pretty much all on the same page with the coffees. La Golandrina was favored by the less experienced cuppers and the Pajoy was favored by the more experienced. I think that makes sense since the Golandrina is so pleasant and the microlot is so dynamic. I had decided that this was the year of the Kenyan but the Ariel Pajoy and Bwayi have me reconsidering. These two coffees have made a big impression on me and one cupper, who is a coffee importer, was certain that the Pajoy was a Kenyan until I told him.
As for the Kuta… This doesn’t seem anything like the Kuta of yore, and the last two times we’ve cupped it, it has seemed different from people’s experiences drinking it in shops. We didn’t perceive any vanilla or citrus. There is none of the red fruit or savoriness that I loved in this coffee in the past. It cups like a Sumatran, not a coffee that’s hard to pin down. I also picked out a couple beans that looked like they may have been scorched. Drinking it from a Café Solo was pleasant – chocolaty, toasty, syrupy body – but not the dynamic coffee that I remember.”
(fr) dark brown sugar, caramel, clove spiked oranges, malt, Chinese brown sauce, misc. tree fruit
(ar) ripe plum, fig, milk chocolate, hazelnut, brown sugar
(bk) nutty, tangy, muted orange
(bt) med, med-hi, red fruit, malic, tangy, not driving
(fl) sassafras, chocolate, honey, nutmeg, citrus, misc. tree fruit
(bd) soft, round, balanced
(af) sweet, choc, fruit, quiet.
(fr) spice, citrus, red fruit, grapefruit, tropical fruit, floral, sweet
(ar) tangerine, lemon, cherry, sea air, tootsie roll
(bk) meringue, citrus, tomato soup, roasted root veg
(bt) med-hi, very, lemon, grapefruit
(fl) effervescent, red fruit, citrus, chocolate, light savory, teak, dark rum, all spice, rich, juicy
(bd) nice
(af) zesty grapefruit
Kuta:
(fr) pencil wood, sweet, peat, earth, teachers’ lounge
(ar) wood, dark chocolate, smoke, tree bark, fermenty-sweet
(bk) sweet corn, vinegar
(bt) med low
(fl) earth, smoke, rich, burnt toast, seared beef, root beer, green pepper, muted fruit
(bd) syrupy, thick
(af) lil’ drying
