Counter Culture Coffee Washington, DC

Today we cupped 3 coffees from Africa…

Bwayi,

Kayanza, Burundi

This coffee collected all of the favorite votes from cuppers.  It began with beautiful floral and savory fragrances that turned into sweet aromas with hints of perfume, nuts, and chai spices.  The break wrapped up our smelling with notes of cooked veggies and chocolate fruits.

The brightness for this coffee was amazing!  it was a sweet lemony citrus brightness with a slight tomato acidity coming in underneath.   The flavors starting rolling through with buttery cashews, raw green beans, and chocolate-covered nuts.  The weight of the coffee in the mouth was soft and thin with a smooth and quick citrus finish.

This coffee reminded me of eating a hearty breakfast where the sweet maple syrup, the savory bacon, the buttery toast, and fresh squeezed orange juice all come together and make really wonderful flavor combinations.

Shakisso,

Sidamo, Ethiopia

The fragrance hit us with intense jasmine, gardenia, lemon, and fruits.  I was surprised at the intensity of the fragrance considering this coffee’s age.  We noticed more bready/papery notes coming out in the aromas but also a good helping of fruits (acai, lemon, and strawberry) married with some warming spices (cinnamon, clove).  The break brought savory, vegetal flavors like rhubarb and celery with a lemon candy overtone.

The brightness in this coffee was medium, reminding us of an unripe peaches or strawberries.  When we began looking for flavors, we felt that we lost a lot of the perfume and fruit in the aromas and now were experiencing a flatness, or muted savoriness (we could almost taste spices and veggies) with a hint of sweetness (caramel? stone fruits?) poking through.  The body was unanimously thin, flat and pleasant.  The taste of this coffee finished fast and clean leaving only the slightest taste of honey behind.

Based on the fragrances and aroma, everyone expected this coffee to really be bursting with citrus and fruit, but when we began tasting it, we felt we had set our hopes too high.  The coffee did turn out as a pleasant and drinkable (great smooth body that would lend itself to cup after cup),  maybe to replace the tea in your 4 o’clock tea service every afternoon.

Idido Misty Valley,

Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia

Great summer coffee!  We started out smelling bright blueberries, chocolate and mulch and perceived a transformation (with hot water) to blueberry pie, blackberries, and sweet wood.  We all took a moment and fondly remembered camping, yard work, and the cobblers that grandma used to make from freshly picked berries…

…then we snapped back into cupping and focused on the brightness of this coffee:  Medium-low, medium, and medium-high.  The entire stove-top spectrum!  We also noticed that it was bright like an unripe berry, had a tangy-ness like yogurt, and seemed muted.  Flavors for this coffee were lemon, blueberry pie, cheap chocolate (like Rolos), and cream.  The body felt somewhere between thin and full, but definitely oily and clingy.  Misty Valley finished with lingering berries, cream and chocolate that resonated well after we finished our cup.

We all enjoyed this awesome coffee and really appreciated the berry pie and chocolate flavors.  I think it is more of a one cup drink, but would be a great dessert coffee to bring closure to a wonderful meal.

-Alex