Counter Culture Coffee Washington, DC

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.