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There's a pretty interesting story in the New York Times about the prevalence of coffee "cuppings" - basically wine tastings for java, minus the spitting. Aficionados sit around discussing different roasts, trying to find the right words to describe the subtle flavors of a cup of Kenyan or Guatemalan roast.
Now, I drink coffee every day, usually multiple cups, black. Aside from water, it's probably the single consumable I have most regularly. But while I can certainly taste the difference between the watery, acidic, sewage brown stuff sold in most gas stations and a good French roast, that's about where it ends. When people tell me they drive half an hour for special beans or they 'hate' the (to me) perfectly ordinary cappuccinos at my local cafe, I just shrug. I mean, I'm willing to believe that other people have the ability to discern flavors I can't sense. But is a bag of beans from a single farm lot discernibly different than beans from a handful of farms in the same region? In a town with dozens of independent coffee shops, is it really plausible that one has the absolute 'best' coffee?
What do you think? Do you have sensitive coffee palates?
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5-29-2008 @1:15PM Todd said... Is a bag of beans from a single farm lot discernibly different than beans from a handful of farms?
In a word - YES.
Just the same as wine, coffee can exhibit a terrior
Todd
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5-29-2008 @1:24PM Monika said... The whole cupping phenom is not so much about sensitive palates, but about learning about the areas that grow beans, and how that affects flavour and experience. It's also a great way to see just how much better fresh coffee is. (By fresh, I mean freshly roasted, not any of the pre-roasted, so-called fresh varities.)
I've never taken part in farm-specific beans, but I have done a cupping workshop that focused on the main areas -- Africa, South America, South Asia... The flavour not only changes, but also how it feels on the mouth. The acidity changes by area, and by the end of 2 hours, I could tell what area a specific bean came from by how it hit my tongue.
And yes, one place can have the best coffee, if they're doing all the things necessary for the best cup -- good, fresh roasting, proper use of espresso machines, right water temps, etc.
It's like the different between a crispy baguette and a soft and chewy one. Both are bread, but their miles apart if made properly.
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5-29-2008 @1:27PM Adan said... As a former longtime barista for both Starbucksand a local cafe, i can say with certainty that there is a difference in beans. Cupping was a weekly exercise at the local store, not only to inform the baristas but to make sure the roasts were up to par (we roasted in-store). Even Starbucks had a watered down cupping exercise when a new blend came out. Believe me when I tell you that a complex bean like Sumatra tastes much better coming from a small producing farm rather than even a good quality mass-producer.
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5-29-2008 @1:48PM chaosotter said... By carefully studying the tastes of different varieties of coffee as intensely as the commenters above, you can train yourself to dislike almost every cup of coffee you're offered and appreciate only more expensive brews that are difficult to find. Sure, you've made yourself less happy with your life, but at least you're prepared to propagate the pain by making others feel inadequate about a drink they enjoy.
(Most coffee tastes pretty good to me. Starbucks tastes burnt. We buy whole beans and grind at home because it's fun.)
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5-29-2008 @2:07PM Chris said... Truly spoken by someone who's never tried fresh-roasted coffee or explored beyond their local Starbucks.
"French" roast is largely a US term that denotes a very dark roast. This actually causes many of the flavours to be destroyed. Starbucks' French roast is actually burnt coffee beans that they've convinced people is "good". It's actually an excuse to hide substandard beans and stale coffee. Nevermind that it also reduces the caffeine considerably. At this level, the origin of the beans almost becomes moot, as the roasting flavour overwhelms the beans.
Kenyan or Guatamalan roasts - huh? Beans, not roasts come from Kenya and Guatamala. Roasts are essentially light, medium, or dark. They don't have a specific "roast" for Kenya. And I assure you, there's a WORLD of difference between the two regions. Do you think espresso beans are a specific type of bean too?
And yes, just like wine, a different farm in the same region as others can produce different flavours. Exposure to sun, soil quality, elevation, rainfall, drainage, and care by the growers all make significant differences to the beans. Even so, the article barely mentions the idea of individual farms. Overall regions have vastly different flavours.
As for "ordinary" cappuccinos, I suggest finding a place that does a proper hand-pulled espresso. There are specific times, pressures, temperatures, and other factors that are required for an espresso to truly be called an espresso. That's not snobbery, that's the conditions set out by the inventor of espresso. I have yet to find a cappuccino in North America that comes close to what can be found in a roadside restaurant in Italy.
Cuppings also educate people as to the importance of roast, freshness, ground, and other brewing aspects. I have yet to meet someone who has had a fresh-roasted, fresh-ground coffee made the proper way (to extract maximum flavours and avoid bitterness) who hasn't been amazed at the difference between that and your run-of-the-mill cafe coffee.
I know I come off as a total coffee snob, but that's because I am. If you enjoy your daily cup of joe and ordinary cappuccinos, that's fine. But you should really try some properly-done coffee at a cupping or "third-wave" coffee shop before dismissing it so easily.
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5-29-2008 @2:08PM Astin said... Truly spoken by someone who's never tried fresh-roasted coffee or explored beyond their local Starbucks.
"French" roast is largely a US term that denotes a very dark roast. This actually causes many of the flavours to be destroyed. Starbucks' French roast is actually burnt coffee beans that they've convinced people is "good". It's actually an excuse to hide substandard beans and stale coffee. Nevermind that it also reduces the caffeine considerably. At this level, the origin of the beans almost becomes moot, as the roasting flavour overwhelms the beans.
Kenyan or Guatamalan roasts - huh? Beans, not roasts come from Kenya and Guatamala. Roasts are essentially light, medium, or dark. They don't have a specific "roast" for Kenya. And I assure you, there's a WORLD of difference between the two regions. Do you think espresso beans are a specific type of bean too?
And yes, just like wine, a different farm in the same region as others can produce different flavours. Exposure to sun, soil quality, elevation, rainfall, drainage, and care by the growers all make significant differences to the beans. Even so, the article barely mentions the idea of individual farms. Overall regions have vastly different flavours.
As for "ordinary" cappuccinos, I suggest finding a place that does a proper hand-pulled espresso. There are specific times, pressures, temperatures, and other factors that are required for an espresso to truly be called an espresso. That's not snobbery, that's the conditions set out by the inventor of espresso. I have yet to find a cappuccino in North America that comes close to what can be found in a roadside restaurant in Italy.
Cuppings also educate people as to the importance of roast, freshness, ground, and other brewing aspects. I have yet to meet someone who has had a fresh-roasted, fresh-ground coffee made the proper way (to extract maximum flavours and avoid bitterness) who hasn't been amazed at the difference between that and your run-of-the-mill cafe coffee.
I know I come off as a total coffee snob, but that's because I am. If you enjoy your daily cup of joe and ordinary cappuccinos, that's fine. But you should really try some properly-done coffee at a cupping or "third-wave" coffee shop before dismissing it so easily.
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5-29-2008 @2:08PM Greg Sherwin said... Let's be clear about the difference between "cupping" and "comparative tasting" here. Counter Culture Coffee is notorious for bastardizing the "cupping" term for their own marketing purposes.
Actual "cupping" is a far cry from "tasting". It's not what coffee buyers do to enjoy coffee per se, but rather primarily what they do to taste for defects in unroasted coffee before buying it. With an actual cupping, there's a lot of spitting, rude slurping noises, and no swallowing. Sound like a fun night on the town with friends?
To be brutal, cupping is actually closer to meat inspection than "wine tasting" -- and when you want to enjoy bacon with friends, do you really want to check the pig carcass for abscesses, tuberculosis, and hog cholera?
Peet's Coffee & Tea, for example, offers "comparative tastings" but not public "cuppings". That's the reason.
Coffee is not wine. Unfortunately, there are many who believe the only way you can get people to appreciate the varieties and qualities of coffee is to shoehorn wine tasting ideas and constructs upon coffee. Treating coffee like wine just makes coffee a second-rate, shoddy substitute for wine, and not at all appreciated for its unique qualities wholly different from wine.
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5-29-2008 @2:18PM Greg Sherwin said... @ Astin who wrote: "Cuppings also educate people as to the importance of roast, freshness, ground, and other brewing aspects"
Actually, cuppings do no such thing. A comparative tasting, maybe. An actual cupping attempts to eliminate as many variables as possible so that coffees are evaluated side-by-side on the same criteria.
If you're learning something about variations in roast, freshness, grinding, etc. in the process, you're introducing way too many variables that are getting in the way of your ability to objectively evaluate the flavors of the coffee.
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5-29-2008 @2:56PM Liam H said... Tossers making something pleasurable into something elitist.
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5-29-2008 @2:31PM ac said... Apparently, sprinkle it with a little condescendance for flavor, right Astin?
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5-29-2008 @2:52PM Greg Sherwin said... But seriously, Liam, why should people be so insecure as to act threatened by what someone else does with a beverage?
It seems that one man's cup of coffee, manga comic, or vacation destination is another man's reason for venemous contempt. Talk about ridiculous.
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5-29-2008 @2:55PM Chris Hudson said... As someone who roasts and sells coffee on a small scale, I roast coffees that I like, but I'm not someone who sits and drinks coffee and talks about the subtle nuances in the brew. I just like good, fresh roasted coffee.
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5-29-2008 @2:58PM Liam H said... Oo look one of them has a camera for posting his unique insights to his blog. Thank the maker. In Italy and France good coffee just is.
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5-29-2008 @3:07PM Liam Hemmings said... Yawn. Not made insecure, just passing by and passing some snarky comments. Don't care too much, and not enough to be hooked into some trollish debate anyhow. Venomous? Doubt it, unless of course your desire is to cast every opinion that does not match yours as bad so as to stifle opinion.
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5-29-2008 @3:27PM Astin said... @Greg - you are correct. I shouldn't be propagating the misuse of the term. Although, to nitpick, nobody's testing the unroasted beans in a cupping - the beans are still roasted, since you can't pull flavour from an unroasted bean. It is done as uniformly as possible though.
@AC - I believe the word you're looking for is "condescension". Condescendance isn't an English word, but it does have the same meaning in French. Good effort though.
As for those who are offended by the fact there are people who actually want to experience the complexity that properly-made coffee offers - would you have the same attitude if the post was about wine? The simple fact is that coffee is a complex beverage with many flavours and layers, and is affected by growing conditions and region. I'm not begrudging anyone their Starbucks, Folgers, or any other mass-produced brand of coffee. You, however, are begruding my like of fresh-roasted, properly-brewed coffee. If anything, the "you're so elitist" attitude is greater from those who refuse to even TRY a better quality of brew. I've had the regular commercial brands. I disliked Starbucks when I was drinking hours-old coffee from my school cafeteria, long before I started with green beans and home-roasting. At least I can honestly say I've experienced that which I dislike.
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5-29-2008 @4:36PM Greg Sherwin said... @ Liam: the Web is all about snarky. We're all guilty. And your post was tepid beyond the pale on that account.
But I've regularly noticed there's something about people reaching for adjectives to describe their coffee that sets some people completely on edge. As if Sanka was good enough for grandpa and it should be good enough for everyone. And, "What was so wrong with a world where cheese only came in "orange" and "yellow" flavors?"
There's something bizarrely ubiquitous about people who take deep personal offense just because some guy they don't even know likes to use adjectives to describe his beverage.
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5-29-2008 @5:02PM Nick Cho said... @Greg Sherwin, re: "Let's be clear about the difference between "cupping" and "comparative tasting" here. Counter Culture Coffee is notorious for bastardizing the "cupping" term for their own marketing purposes."
That's absolute B.S.
Cupping is a process to evaluate coffees. The purpose of cupping coffee can vary: defect analysis, quality evaluation, palate development, comparative evaluation, "getting to know how to taste coffees," etc.
"Notorious for bastardizing?" Holy trolling!
Your definition of "cupping" is your own. Cupping is a process. You can absolutely cup different roasts, or evaluate roasts. It's not just about evaluating green-coffee.
It is you who attempts to "bastardize" the term "cupping."
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5-29-2008 @5:03PM chaosotter said... Everybody is welcome to like whatever they please and I'm not going to argue. My point is simply that it's of no benefit whatsoever to me to learn to dislike something I currently enjoy. (And, yes, I'd say the same thing about wine. Cue the shock and/or outrage.)
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5-29-2008 @7:53PM Greg Sherwin said... Certainly, Nick, you of all people should know the importance of being precise with words and their meanings. After all -- it wasn't long ago that I witnessed you respond in raging fits because you refused to accept how people took your "Third Wave" moniker and to mean something rather different than you originally intended.
Yes, there certainly is a deliberate cupping process -- and you can evaluate characteristics sied-by-side, such as a "vertical" (in wine taster speak) that can compare roasting effects on the same blend. But if these people aren't making obscene noises slurping coffee off a spoon at the roof of their mouth... if they aren't spitting it out ... if they aren't doing what coffee cuppers have always done to evaluate lots of coffee to go thumbs up or down on the purchase -- then it's not coffee cupping. It's something else. What's so objectionable about "comparative tastings"?
That Counter Culture wants to force a wine drinking metaphor onto coffee has always been in their marketing plans. But it's inaccurate, and, IMO, misguided -- consumers expecting the wine experience are going to be disappointed, and coffee will never earn its rightful place for its own merits and not as some second-rate, wannabe wine.
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5-29-2008 @8:51PM Peter Lynagh said... Regarding, "...coffee will never earn its rightful place for its own merits and not as some second-rate, wannabe wine."
Trying to interpret this, but my english sucks sometimes. Are you saying coffee would only earn its rightful place as some second-rate, wannabe wine?
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