Welcome the the wayback window of Sweet Maria’s green coffee bean reviews! From 2001-2 ?
This is how we used to publish our review archives, and just for the heck of it, we like to keep our old stuff online … you know, the dustbin of history and all that. Likely none of the links work or the images show up. But old web sites are like other old things: stuff breaks. So here it is, our Coffee Review Archive:
| GuatemalaGuatemalan coffee is considered a top quality coffee producer in Central America. Due to our proximity to Guatemala, some of the nicest coffees from this origin come to... |
| Guatemala Coban “Tanchi” | |||||||
| Country: | Guatemala | Grade: | SHB | Region: | Coban | Mark: | Tanchi |
| ProcessingThe removal of the cherry and parchment from the coffee seed.: Coffee is either wet-processed (also called washed or wet-milled) or dry-processed (also called wild, natural or natural...: | Wet ProcessWet-processing starts by removing the outer skin of the coffee cherry with a machine called a pulper, then fermenting the remaining fruit (with green bean inside) in water... | Crop: | 2002 | Appearance: | 0 d/300gr, 17 Screen | Varietal: | Typica, BourbonA coffee cultivar; a cross between Typica and Bourbon, originally grown in Brazil: Mundo Novo is a commercial coffee cultivar; a natural hybrid between "Sumatra" and Red Bourbon,... |
| Dry Fragrance (1-5) | 3 | Notes: Coffees from Coban are increasingly rare in the United States, perhaps because the Coban region is more remote than others, or that European brokers have deep relationships with the farmers in this region, and snare most of the coffee before any newcomers can have at it. But I have been determined to get my hands on a good Coban since I cupped it over 4 years ago at the SCAA Conference in Denver. That cup was mystifying, spicy and smokeyUsually a defect of roasting, or of green coffee processing, smokey notes are sometimes found as a positive flavor in a few exotic coffees; This smell and flavor... -not from the roast but from the originIn coffee talk, it refers to a coffee-producing region or country; such as, "I was just at origin." Of course "Origin" for most product we use is not... character of the coffee. Of course, the problem with cup samples at a conference is that the coffees do not exist: they are show samples, not from actual lots of coffee that folks like me can buy. So you can pick the best 50 cherries from your best tree, process it, brew it, have a great cup, and never reproduce it again. But I digress. This Coban is the only sample from this region of “cloud forests” -mountains permanently engulfed in mist – and while I get a hickory-smokiness from the cup as a secondary flavor in the aftertasteAftertaste refers to lingering residual sensations in the mouth after coffee has swallowed. It might be distinguished from "finish" which is the final sensations of the coffee while..., it is primarily a richly fruitedIn some coffee taster’s lexicon, “fruity” means the coffee is tainted with fruit, and “fruited” means a coffee is graced by positive fruit notes. We don't exactly see... cup with a raisiny flavor accented by a bright acidy snap. The fruits fade into bittersweetBittersweet is from the language of chocolate, and describes the co-presence of positive bittering compounds balanced by sweetness. It is directly related to caramelization, but has inputs from... quickly, with a surrounding spiceyness (allspice) to the cup from start to finishSimilar to aftertaste, but it refers to the impression as the coffee leaves the palate. Aftertaste is the sensations gathered after the coffee has left the mouth. We.... The finish is more bittersweet than sweet. It is unique among the Guatemalans: deep like an Antigua, fruited like a Huehuetenango, but not exactly like those or any other region. | |||||
| Wet Aroma (1-5) | 3.5 | ||||||
| BrightnessA euphemistic term we use often to describe acidity in coffee. A bright coffee has more high, acidic notes. : A euphemistic term to describe acidity in coffee.... – AcidityAcidity is a positive flavor attribute in coffee, also referred to as brightness or liveliness. It adds a brilliance to the cup, whereas low acid coffees can seem... (1-10) | 8.3 | ||||||
| Flavor – Depth (1-10) | 8.5 | ||||||
| BodyAssociated with and sensed by mouthfeel, body is sense of weight and thickness of the brew, caused by the percentage of soluble solids in the cup, including all... – Movement (1-5) | 3 | ||||||
| Finish – Aftertaste (1-10) | 8 | ||||||
| Cupper’s Correction (1-5) | 1 | Roast: A wide latitude of roasts for this coffee: City to Full City … or even darker and the origin character of the cup still comes through. I prefer it a few snaps into the 2nd crackAn audible popping sound heard during roasting. In coffee, one refers to "first crack" and "second crack," which come from two different classes of chemical reactions.: An audible... myself. This coffee is rusticA general characterization of pleasantly "natural" flavors, less sophisticated and less refined, but appealing. : What is Rustic? This is a general term we came up with... Dried... compared to Antiguas and Huehue’s, so expect a few light-colored beans in the roast. They are not necessarily bad, so I would recommend culling only mottled-color ones, not all lighter ones. | |||||
| add 50 | 50 | Compare to: Has qualities of other Guatemalan coffees, but is unique, see above. | |||||
| Score (Max. 100) | 85.3 | ||||||
| Guatemala El Injertal EstateA "coffee estate" is used to imply a farm that has its own processing facility, a wet-mill. In Spanish this is called an Hacienda. A Finca (farm) does... WP Decaf | |||||||
| Country: | Guatemala | Grade: | SHB | Region: | Huehuetenango | Mark: | FincaSpanish 101: Finca is the Spanish word for farm. Sometimes the term Hacienda is used to imply an Estate, which would mean the farm has its own wet-mill.... El Injertal |
| Processing: | Wet Process Coffee, Water Process Decaf | Crop: | 2001/2002 | Appearance: | 0 d/300gr, 16-17 Screen | Varietal: | Typica |
| Dry Fragrance (1-5) | 3 | Notes: The advantage of knowing exactly what coffee goes into your decaf is great, and surprisingly rare because a lot of decafs are sold simply with an origin name, and not even a regional designation to boot. But with this Guatemalan we know the exact region (Huehuetenango) and farm (El Injertal) and crop (mid-2002) … and in fact I cupped this coffee before decaffeinating and it was great. More remarkable is the cup after decaffeinating. It’s still great! I am astounded and a little bewildered by this: I regularly cupped the Central American coffees that had undergone the SWPSWP means Swiss Water Process is a patented water filtration decaf method, not a chemical solvent method. The plant is in Vancouver, Canada. process in Vancouver, Canada. They had little to no brightness of the original coffee in the cup, and since that’s what Centrals are about, no brightness means to origin character. But here we have a cup with remarkable brightness, almost Kenya-like brightness. And it has a backdrop of almond in the roast tasteThe set of flavors that result from the degree-of-roast.: Roast Taste is a term we started to distinguish it from "Origin Flavor". We use the "roast taste" term... to balanceSuggests a harmony and proportion of qualities, and implies mildness since no one quality dominates.: Balance is both an obvious and slippery taste term. It implies a harmony... out the cup. It is a lighter-bodied cup with short, pleasant aftertaste. Simply incredible decaf for an indirect-contact, non-chemical decaf method. | |||||
| Wet Aroma (1-5) | 3 | ||||||
| Brightness – Acidity (1-10) | 9 | ||||||
| Flavor – Depth (1-10) | 8 | ||||||
| Body – Movement (1-5) | 2.5 | ||||||
| Finish – Aftertaste (1-10) | 7.5 | ||||||
| Cupper’s Correction (1-5) | 1 | Roast: City+City+ roast is an ideal roast level that occurs roughly between 425 and 435 degrees Fahrenheit in many coffee roasters with a responsive bean probe where First Crack... to Full City. I prefer this coffee in a lighter roast stage to heighten the brightness in the cup, ut too light will result in a sourSour is one of four basic sapid (in the mouth) tastes: Sour, Sweet, Salty, Bitter (and possibly a 5th called Umami which indicates savory flavors). In coffee, sourness... character. | |||||
| Add 50 | 50 | Compare to: On par with really nice non-decaf, bright Centrals. | |||||
| Score (Max. 100) | 84 | ||||||
| Guatemalan -Arte Maya de Café | |||||||
| Country: | Guatemala | Grade: | SHB | Region: | Antigua and Huehuetenango | Mark: | HaciendaHacienda is used to imply an Estate that has a full processing facility (wet mill): Sometimes the term Hacienda is used to imply an Estate, which would mean... La Minita |
| Processing: | Wet Process | Crop: | 2002 | Appearance: | 0 d/300gr, 17 Screen | Varietal: | Typica, Bourbon, CaturraCatimor is a broad group of cultivars derived from a Hibrido de Timor (HdT) and Caturra cross, highly productive, sometimes with inferior cup flavor. The main issue is... |
| Dry Fragrance (1-5) | 3 | Notes: It’s not very often that we offer a coffee blended from two regions; but when the blenders are Hacienda La Minita -the renowned Costa Rican farm and importer- I can make an exception. The Arte Maya de Café is from Antigua and Huehuetenango growing regions, and borrows from the former a nice body and depth, from the later a mild fruitiness. It’s not a “first sip” cup like a KenyaKenya is the East African powerhouse of the coffee world. Both in the cup, and the way they run their trade, everything is topnotch.: Kenya is the East... -meaning that its a bit underwhelming right off the bat. But as it cools and as you get it thoroughly circulated around your palate and up into your nasal cavity, the sweetnessSweetness is an important positive quality in fine coffees, and is one of five basic tastes: Sour, Sweet, Salty, Bitter, Savory (Umami). In coffee, sweetness is a highly..., mildness and delicacy of this cup really grows on you (and it has a +1 cuppers correctionThe cupper's correction is a term we use to measure the "intangible" qualities of a cup: if, for instance, a coffee totals 88 points, but it is high... for that). The acidity is piquantMeaning pleasantly pungent or zesty in taste, spicy, provocative, sapid., clean; the body is medium, roast tastes are like slightly candied sugars (not heavily caramelized), and there’s a bit of lemon-rind zest in the finish. The aftertaste is suprisingly long. In this window of time before new cropRefers to fresh shipments of green coffee within the first month or two of the earliest arrivals ... not quite the same as Current Crop, which means the... Guatemalas arrive (good ones come in April and later usually), this late ’02 crop picking is really a nice companion. | |||||
| Wet Aroma (1-5) | 3 | ||||||
| Brightness – Acidity (1-10) | 8.4 | ||||||
| Flavor – Depth (1-10) | 8.6 | ||||||
| Body – Movement (1-5) | 3.5 | ||||||
| Finish – Aftertaste (1-10) | 8.4 | ||||||
| Cupper’s Correction (1-5) | 1 | Roast: I like the delicacy of this coffee best at City, but if roasted really light it has a bad baked flavor. | |||||
| add 50 | 50 | Compare to: Classic, refined Guatemala: A delicate, subtle cup with flavors that really emerge as it cools … | |||||
| Score (Max. 100) | 85.9 | ||||||
| Guatemalan OrganicGrown without the use of artificial fertilizers, herbicides, etc.: Organic coffee has been grown according to organic farming techniques, typically without the use of artificial fertilizers. Some farms... Huehuetenango FT -Asobagri Coop | |||||||
| Country: | Guatemala | Grade: | HB | Region: | Barillas, Huehuetenango | Mark: | Asobagri Co-op, OCIA Organic/Fair Trade Cert. |
| Processing: | Wet-processed | Crop: | 2002 | Appearance: | 0 d/300gr, 17/18 Screen | Varietal: | Bourbon, CaturraCaturra is an Arabica cultivar discovered as a natural mutant of Bourbon in Brazil in the first decade of the 20th century, but wasn't studied until 1937. It..., Catuaí |
| Dry Fragrance (1-5) | 3 | Notes: You can see by the numbers that I think this coffee is excellent. If follows through with the recent cuppingCupping is a method of tasting coffee by steeping grounds in separate cups for discrete amounts of ground coffee, to reveal good flavors and defects to their fullest.... history of Guatemalan coffees: if you want outstanding, fruityIn some coffee taster’s lexicon, “fruity” means the coffee is tainted with fruit, and “fruited” means a coffee is graced by positive fruit notes. We don't exactly see..., bright Central American you are probably going to find it in Huehuetenango. It is medium-bodied, with outstanding aromatics, delicate floralFloral notes in coffee exemplify the connection between taste and smell. Describing the taste of a specific flower is near impossible...we always default to “it tastes like it... notes in the acidity and fruitiness, and a good aftertaste. But please don’t let anyone add cream to this coffee or you will just kill it! This coffee comes from the 500 member/farmers of the Asobagri Co-op in Barillas, Huehuetenango. Each farmer belongs to a micro-coop of 10-25 members and they collectively wet-mill their own coffee to exacting standards taught by the co-op via technical volunteers. The organization is very sophisticated and successful to take the place of technified-centralized wet-milling, and result in such an excellent top-quality cup! The coffee is a fruitier Huehuetenango than the others we offer this year -the Huixoc and the El Injerto. I would recommend trying 2 of these coffees against eachother to see the range of coffees from this region, which I consider the rising star among Guatemala coffee producing areas. |
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| Wet Aroma (1-5) | 4 | ||||||
| Brightness – Acidity (1-10) | 8 | ||||||
| Flavor – Depth (1-10) | 8.4 | ||||||
| Body – Movement (1-5) | 3 | ||||||
| Finish – Aftertaste (1-10) | 8 | ||||||
| Cupper’s Correction (1-5) | 1 | Roast: City RoastCity roast is what we define as the earliest palatable stage that the roast process can be stopped and result in good quality coffee. City roast occurs roughly...: You lose the delicate bright flavors if you roast this too dark. In the extreme light roast there is a malty/barley roast taste. | |||||
| add 50 | 50 | Compare to: The bright and delicate acidity and strong aromatics remind me of Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, but this is truly a fruity, bright Central | |||||
| Score (Max. 100) | 85.4 | ||||||
| Guatemalan Huixoc Huehuetenango | |||||||
| Country: | Guatemala | Grade: | SHB | Region: | Huehuetenango | Mark: | Huixoc |
| Processing: | Wet-processed | Crop: | 2002 | Appearance: | 0 d/300gr, 17/18 Screen | Varietal: | Bourbon, Caturra, Catuaí |
| Dry Fragrance (1-5) | 4 | Notes: There are some incredible Huehuetenango coffees this year, and the Asobagri Fair TradeFair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach to empowering developing country producers and promoting sustainability.: Fair trade is an organized social movement and market-based approach... lot we had earlier this year and the Huixoc represent the bright, sweetly floral end of the spectrum when they are treated to a lighter City roast. As the roast progresses, I am so impressed with the tangyAn adjective modifying a flavor descriptor, describing a sharp effect; tangy citrus, tangy bittersweet flavor, tangy green apple. bittersweet of the Huixoc, especially a few snaps into 2nd crack. As with the Asobagri, you can see by the numbers that I think this coffee is excellent. If follows through with the recent cupping history of Guatemalan coffees: if you want outstanding, fruity, bright Central American you are probably going to find it in Huehuetenango. It is medium-bodied, with outstanding aromatics, delicate floral notes in the acidity and fruitiness, and a good aftertaste. It has qualities almost like Yirgacheffe in terms of a honeyed fruitiness, lighter body, and great aromaAroma refers to sensations perceived by the olfactory bulb and conveyed to the brain; whether through the nose or "retro-nasally": The aromatics of a coffee greatly influence its.... | |||||
| Wet Aroma (1-5) | 4 | ||||||
| Brightness – Acidity (1-10) | 8 | ||||||
| Flavor – Depth (1-10) | 9 | ||||||
| Body – Movement (1-5) | 3 | ||||||
| Finish – Aftertaste (1-10) | 9 | ||||||
| Cupper’s Correction (1-5) | 0 | Roast: City Roast: You lose the delicate bright flavors if you roast this too dark. | |||||
| add 50 | 50 | Compare to: The bright and delicate acidity of a lighter roast reminds of this coffee from last year, but at Full City it is more sharply chocolatey and bittersweet, like certain high-altitude Antiguas. | |||||
| Score (Max. 100) | 87 | ||||||
| Guatemalan Huehuetenango – El Injerto Estate | |||||||
| Country: | Guatemala | Grade: | SHB | Region: | Huehuetenango | Mark: | Finca El Injerto |
| Processing: | Wet-processed | Crop: | 2002 | Appearance: | 0 d/300gr, 16/17 scr | Varietal: | Bourbon, Caturra, Catuaí (mostly Bourbon) |
| Dry FragranceIn the cupping procedure for tasting and scoring coffee, this is the smell of the dry, ground coffee before hot water is added. The term fragrance is used...: | 84 | Notes: As mentioned, Huehuetenango (pronounced Waywaytenango) had the best coffees to offer this year. While I cant speak for Coban (because so little of it is offered), the Antiguas were mild and some samples were downright flat. So here we have a Huehue that doesn’t cup like one. It really has the chocolateA general flavor or aroma term reminiscent of chocolate. But what type? Usually described with more specifics.: Chocolate is a broad, general flavor or aroma term reminiscent of... and spicy flavors of a true Antigua …and a very good one at that. Ironic that a very nice Antigua doesn’t come from there …but then again brokers are talking about mass coffee fraud in the high-priced Antigua region anyway. Last year we stocked the 100% Bourbon coffee from the farm, meaning that all the trees are of the coffeaThe botanical genus colloquially referred to as the “coffea genus,” which is comprised of over 120 individual species. These are generally opposite-leaved, evergreen shrubs or small understory trees... arabicaArabica refers to Coffea Arabica, the taxonomic species name of the genus responsible for around 75% of the worlds commercial coffee crop.: Arabica refers to Coffea Arabica, the... var. bourbon that was a spontaneous mutation of the arabica species first brought to the New World. (Incidentally, it was brought by the French to Reunion Island which was then called Bourbon). The seed is small and rounded, the trees grow in a way that is great for quality but not as sun-tolerant or easy to pick as other modern hybrids. This year you will see about 40% Bourbon. Why? Because the coffee of mixed cultivars cupped better! Just as a vineyard will blend grapes grown from different parts of the farm, a coffee Finca that grows each cultivarCultivar is a term used interchangeably with Varietal in the coffee trade to indicate plant material, although there are distinctions.: The naming of a cultivar should conform to... separately can then blend the different arabica types in a controlled way to produce the best cup. I know of few farms that grow in this way …only El Injerto and the respected PanamaPanama coffee ranges from medium quality lower altitude farms to those at 1600 - 1800 meters centered in the area of Boquete in the Chirqui district near the... Lerida Estate come to mind. This is because the third generation owner, Sr. Aguirre, is an agronomist, performs every act of coffee processing from the nursery to the wet milling and dry milling, to the composting and vermiculture right on the farm! The pride is great, and justified: his grandfather started the farm in 1902. The cup is moderately bright with a grape-raisin fruitiness that is not overbearing. The finish is not heavy-handed but the aftertaste definitely returns as you work your way through a cup or two. Its spicy and develops a good milk chocolate roast taste. | |||||
| Wet AromaIn cupping, wet aroma refers to the smell of wet coffee grinds, after hot water is added. It can involve smelling the "crust" (floating coffee grounds) on the...: | 84 | ||||||
| Brightness- LivelinessAnother euphemistic term to describe acidity in coffee. A lively coffee has more high, acidic notes. Not to be confused with the brighter roast flavors of light roast...: | 84 | ||||||
| Body- Movement: | 82 | ||||||
| Flavor- Depth: | 86 | Roast: City. At this point you have maximized the great flavors and complexity without allowing roasty tastes to dominate them too much… | |||||
| Finish- Conclusion: | 84 | ||||||
| Score: | 84.0 | Compare to: This coffee rates more with the Antiguas, not with the other Huehuetenangos. It shares the spicy / chocolatey character of an Antigua. | |||||
| Guatemalan Antigua SHB -Los Volcanes | |||||||
| Country: | Guatemala | Grade: | SHB | Region: | Antigua | Mark: | Los Volcanes BeneficioIn Kenya, a "Factory" is actually a coffee wet mill (called a washing station in other parts of Africa) where the fresh cherry is brought for wet-processing. It... |
| Processing: | Wet-processed | Crop: | 2002 | Appearance: | 1 d/300gr, 16-17 scr | Varietal: | Typica |
| Dry Fragrance (1-5) | 4.0 | Notes: Once again it’s been hard to find a good Antigua this year. While the most high profile region from Guatemala, the anticipated quality seems a little lower in general. That doesnt mean there isn’t great Antigua coffee out there, it just means you have search harder to find it. Ironically, I cupped 3 different Chop Marks (these are the lot markings on the bag that have 2 forward slashes in the format and have been called “chops” in the coffee trade since antiquity) from the Los Volcanes BeneficioIn Latin American countries, a wet mill is called a Beneficio, where fresh coffee cherries are brought for pulping, fermentation, and drying.: In Latin American countries, a wet... and found that this one: 11/13/45 has a bit more on the top end of the cup and has better overall roast results. This Los Volcanes is a mid-crop picking and these are the highest altitude coffees from this origin, and the last coffee cherryOriginally coffee literature referred to the fruit of the tree as a "berry" but in time it became a cherry. It is of course neither. Nor is the... to ripen is the highest altitude. So what we get here is a slow-maturing, dense coffee seed. That said, the best Antiguas this year are not the caliber of other years. They have great balance and good complexity but really lack power. The Los Volcanes has really nice acidity and a good chocolate note to back it up; this is the Antigua cup character, different from the fruitier Huehuetenango cup profile. Its strong suit is balance, and it is certainly a crowd pleaser in that respect! | |||||
| Wet Aroma (1-5) | 4.0 | ||||||
| Brightness – Acidity (1-10) | 7.0 | ||||||
| Flavor – Depth (1-10) | 8.5 | ||||||
| Body – Movement (1-5) | 3.5 | ||||||
| Finish – Aftertaste (1-10) | 8.0 | Roast: City. At this point you have maximized the great flavors and complexity without allowing roasty tastes to dominate them too much… This coffee has a nice milk chocolate taste that is part of the carmelization/browning roast reactions (Malliard), so you can get this flavor in the lighter City roast. | |||||
| Cupper’s Correction (1-5) | 0.0 | ||||||
| add 50 | 50 | Compare to: Other Antiguas, which are in general not fruity like Huehuetenango, and not as sweet as other Guatemalan appellations but have that nice chocolate note and great balance. | |||||
| Score (Max. 100) | 84.0 | ||||||
| Guatemala Antigua – La Tacita Estate | ||||||
| Guatemala | Grade: | SHB | Region: | Antigua | Mark: | La Tacita Estate |
| Wet-processed | Crop: | 2001 | Appearance: | 0 d/300gr | Varietal: | Bourbon, Typica |
| 16/17scr | ||||||
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Dry Frag./ Wet Aroma: |
84/84 |
Notes: Guatemalan coffees are very highly regarded, often rated better than all other Central American coffeeCentral American coffee is known for its "classic," balanced profile.: Central American coffee is known for its "classic," balanced profile. Centrals are primarily wet-processed since the climate is.... Antigua is the oldest coffee growing region in Guatemala, located around the original capital city by the same name. Antigua is the most recognized name for Guatemalan coffee but in recent years other regions have out-cupped the Antiguas… and the presumption that a coffee is good just because it is an Antigua should be dumped with the dirty dishwater. Yes its good, but not just because it has Antigua in the name (and there is quite possibly a lot of “Antiguas” out there that are not Antigua at all). True Antiguas can be very good. Grown at altitudes between 5200 and 6500 feet, the La Tacita estate produces one of the higher grown coffees on the market. This Guatemala coffee is known for their traditional growing methods using old arabica varieties rather than new hybrids. La Tacita has only Bourbon, and Typica arabica trees. Rich flavors and a big, complexThe co-presence of many aroma and flavor attributes, with multiple layers. A general impression of a coffee, similar to judgments such as "balanced" or "structured", spicy cup character distinguish La Tacita’s excellent cup quality. In the lighter roasts it has wonderful Lavender flavors, darker brings out sharp Dutch Chocolate notes. Many people are suprised to find that Antiguas are not fruity coffees: get a Huehuetenango for that. Rated #1 Guatemalan over other well-known estates by a panel of cuppers for The Tea and Coffee Trade Journal and The Coffee Review. The PeaberryA peaberry is a green coffee "bean" that has a rounded form: Coffee is the dried seed from the fruit of a flowering tree - each fruit having... won the Nov. 99 Coffee cupping too. For this reason, it sells at a slightly higher price than other Antiguas. This is new crop 2001 purchased from the family that owns the farm, the Fallas
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Brightness- Liveliness:
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85 | |||||
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Body- Movement:
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85 | |||||
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Flavor- Depth:
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88 | |||||
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Finish- Conclusion:
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87 | Roast: City or Full City. While roasting this Guatemalan into 2nd crack produces nice chocolate roast tastes and mute acidity, you will be missing out on the flowery flavors of this coffee | ||||
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Score:
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86.5
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Compare to: Other high-grown Centrals that have complexity and balance: best quality Panama and Costa Rican | ||||
| Guatemalan Atitlan Organic/Shade -La Voz Co-op FT | |||||||
| Country: | Guatemala | Grade: | SHB | Region: | Lake Atitlan | Mark: |
La Voz Co-op, OCIA Organic Cert., Fair Trade Cert. |
| Processing: | Wet-processed | Crop: | 2001 | Appearance: | 0 d/300gr, 17/18 Screen | Varietal: | Bourbon, Caturra, Catuaí |
| Dry Fragrance: | 86 | Notes: The fragrance from the dry ground coffee is lush. The La Voz has a cleary fruity aromatics with a fullness that borders on sweetly wineyA taste term to describe a wine-like flavor with a similar perceived acidity and fruit, and some level of acetic acid. It is found most commonly in East... (as opposed to citrusyQualities in coffee that are reminiscent of a citrus fruit; orange, lemon, grapefruit, kumquat, etc.: Qualities in coffee that are reminiscent of a citrus fruit; orange, lemon, grapefruit,...). But in the cup the flavor is more of fresh raspberry, passing into a slightly winey aftertaste. The body is medium to light and the cup has an overall clean character with apparantly moderate aftertaste … but an uncanny way of staying around a lot longer than you expect it to! I have had this before where an aftertaste fades, then seems to return …particularily after you have had quite a few sips. Maybe its just a symptom of “coffee drunkenness” or something… | |||||
| Wet Aroma: | 87 | ||||||
| Brightness- Liveliness: | 86 | ||||||
| Body- Movement: | 82 | ||||||
| Flavor- Depth: | 86 | Roast: City Roast: You lose the delicate bright flavors if you roast this too dark. But if you want a tangy dark roast with a light body …go for it. | |||||
| Finish- Conclusion: | 84 | ||||||
| Score: | 85.2 | Compare to: Fruity Guatemalan coffes, such as Huehuetenango. This coffee was excellent last year too, and we sold out of it very quickly | |||||
| Guatemala Antigua -Finca Bella Carmona | |||||||
| Country: | Guatemala | Grade: | SHB, EP | Region: | Antigua | Mark: | Finca Bella Carmona |
| Processing: | Wet-processed | Crop: | 2001 | Appearance: | 0.2 d/300gr, 17-18 Screen | Varietal: | Bourbon Typica |
| Dry Fragrance: | 84 |
Notes: Antigua is the well-known premier growing region in Guatemala, but I have always found this a bit confusing. You can’t say Antigua is better than Huehuetenango, Atitlan, or any other region; only that it is different. While other Guatemalan coffees are fruitier, the Antigua character is moderate acidity, and hints of chocolate and spice. The Bella Carmona had some problems last year, and I thought it was due to evidence of slight frost damage I saw in out green coffeeGreen coffee refers to the processed seed of the coffee tree fruit. Coffee is a flowering shrub that produces fruit. The seeds of the fruit are processed, roasted,... samples from the 99/00 season. But this year it is incredibly good, a superior example of the Antigua cup character. It has such great balance between moderate acidity (with no discernable fruitiness, neither citrusy nor winey), and milk chocolate flavors developing at the City stage and turning more bittersweet as the coffee enters the Full City stage. Roasted a few snaps into second crackAfter First Crack, a roast reaction around 440 to 450 degrees that is distinguished by a snapping sound. Second Crack is the second audible clue the roaster-operator receives... it also develops excellent pungency and its long aftertaste. You might need to wait until the cup cools to reveal the quality of this coffee, but that’s the fun of discovery with an excellent coffee: the changes that occur over time, both in the cup and on your palate. Try this coffee a bit lighter, and a bit darker …I think you will agree that both roasts are excellent! For every lb. of this coffee sold, we are donating .20 to Coffee Kids projects in Guatemalan farming communities |
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| Wet Aroma: | 84 | ||||||
| Brightness- Liveliness: | 86 | ||||||
| Body- Movement: | 86 | ||||||
| Flavor- Depth: | 90 | Roast: City to Full City . The cup is butteryA mouthfeel description indicating thickness and creaminess, and can also be a flavor description.: Buttery is primarily a mouthfeel description indicating thickness and creaminess. It indicates a high... and milk chocolate at the City stage. The bittersweet develop at Full City, right at the verge of 2nd crack. | |||||
| Finish- Conclusion: | 87 | ||||||
| Score: | 86.2 | Compare to: Truly great Antigua character | |||||
| Guatemalan Organic Huehuetenango FT | |||||||
| Country: | Guatemala | Grade: | HB | Region: | Barillas, Huehuetenango |
Mark: |
Asobagri Co-op |
| Processing: | Wet-processed | Crop: | 00/01 | Appearance: | 0 d/300gr, 17/18 Screen | Varietal: | Bourbon, Caturra, Catuaí |
| Dry Fragrance: | 85 | Notes: You can see by the numbers that I think this coffee is excellent. If follows through with the recent cupping history of Guatemalan coffees: if you want outstanding, fruity, bright Central American you are probably going to find it in Huehuetenango. It is medium-bodied, with outstanding aromatics, delicate floral notes in the acidity and fruitiness, and a good aftertaste. But please don’t let anyone add cream to this coffee or you will just kill it! This coffee comes from the 500 member/farmers of the Asobagri Co-op in Barillas, Huehuetenango. Each farmer belongs to a micro-coop of 10-25 members and they collectively wet-mill their own coffee to exacting standards taught by the co-op via technical volunteers. The organization is very sophisticated and successful to take the place of technified-centralized wet-milling, and result in such an excellent top-quality cup! | |||||
| Wet Aroma: | 88 | ||||||
| Brightness- Liveliness: | 88 | ||||||
| Body- Movement: | 84 | ||||||
| Flavor- Depth: | 89 | Roast: City Roast: You lose the delicate bright flavors if you roast this too dark. In the extreme light roast there is a malty/barley roast taste. | |||||
| Finish- Conclusion: | 86 | ||||||
| Score: | 86.7 | Compare to: The bright and delicate acidity and strong aromatics remind me of Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, but this is truly a fruity, bright Central | |||||
| Guatemalan SHB Natural Decaf | |||||||
| Country: | Guatemala | Grade: | SHB | Region: | Pooled | Mark: | Coffein Natural Decaf |
| Processing: | Wet-processed | Crop: | 2000 | Appearance: | 0 d/300gr, 16/17scr | Varietal: | ? |
| Dry Fragrance: | 84 | Notes: This is an excellent central American Decaf that retains its distinctive Guatemalan character despite being decaffeinated. Its pooled from various regions, but all are SHB (Strictly Hard BeanA classification used in some countries in Central America (Guatemala, Costa Rica) indicating the coffee was grown at an altitude above 1200 feet/4000 meters: In Costa Rica, a... —high altitude) coffees. Natural Decafs are a newer ‘chemical’ process that use a safe fruit-derived type of Ethyl AcetateA chemical decaffeination process, but one using a mild type with low toxicity. It sometimes imparts fruity flavors to the coffee. This is a "direct contact method" of... to extract the caffeineAn alkaloidal compound that has a physiological effect on humans, and a bittering taste. It is found throughout the coffee plant but is more concentrated in the seed... from the green coffee. The Ethyl Acetate process is this case performed in Germany by the decaffeinator Coffein who brands their own process …presumably because they think they do a better job than others. One thing for sure, any decaffeination performed in Germany is done under the strictest regulations in the world …in terms of environmental impact, plant safety and highest standards for the coffee itself. | |||||
| Wet Aroma: | 83 | ||||||
| Brightness- Liveliness: | 84 | ||||||
| Body- Movement: | 78 | ||||||
| Flavor- Depth: | 82 | Roast: City to Full City: Roast it to your preference. | |||||
| Finish- Conclusion: | 80 | ||||||
| Score: | 81.8 | Compare to: Costa Rican Natural Decaf | |||||
| Guatemalan Organic SHB Finca San Rafael | |||||||
| Country: | Guatemala | Grade: | SHB | Region: | Fraijanes | Mark: | San Rafael Farm |
| Processing: | Wet-processed | Crop: | 2001 | Appearance: | 0 d/300gr, 16/17scr | Varietal: | varied |
| Dry Fragrance: | 84 | Notes: This is an early new 2001 new crop Guatemalan. You have to be careful about buying early crop coffees. The earliest coffees offered from Central American origins are most often lower-grown (coffee cherryEither a flavor in the coffee, or referring to the fruit of the coffee tree, which somewhat resembles a red cherry.: Either a flavor in the coffee, or... matures earlier in lower altitude regions, such as HB grade coffees.) They can also be rushed through processing in the pergamino (parchmentGreen coffee still in its outer shell, before dry-milling, is called Parchment coffee (pergamino). In the wet process, coffee is peeled, fermented, washed and then ready for drying...) stage using mechanical drying rather than patio drying. Mechanical drying isnt necessarily bad when done properly, but there’s a telltale smokey scent to the green coffee when it is botched. Anyway, this estate coffee shows no sign of being lower-grown or rushed to markey. It’s an SHB (Strictly Hard Bean, highest altitude) coffee that cups like an Antigua by gum, and a very very good one at that. While not a sweet or fruity coffee, it has a sharp pleasant bittersweet flavor with a twist of hazelnut in it, and a long aftertaste. It is medium-bodied as most Guats are, and medium in terms of acidity too. ***We’re having a little debate over this: the answer is coming soon! | |||||
| Wet Aroma: | 83 | ||||||
| Brightness- Liveliness: | 83 | ||||||
| Body- Movement: | 82 | ||||||
| Flavor- Depth: | 87 | Roast: City. Let it go all the way through the first crackFirst crack in one of two distinct heat-induced pyrolytic reactions in coffee. It is distinguished by a cracking or popping sound in the coffee, and occurs between 390..., wait for that silence between the first and second cracks, smell the roast smoke turn from toasty to pungentRefers to an aggressive, intense aroma or flavor, often related to spices (pepper) or roast tastes. Pungent foods are often called "spicy", meaning a sharp or biting character,... and stop it there… | |||||
| Finish- Conclusion: | 85 | ||||||
| Score: | 84.0 | Compare to: Antigua really. | |||||
| Guatemalan Organic Fraijanes -La Montana Estate | |||||||
| Country: | Guatemala | Grade: | SHB | Region: | Fraijanes | Mark: | La Montana Estate |
| Processing: | Wet-processed | Crop: | 2000 | Appearance: | 0 d/300gr, 16/17scr | Varietal: | Typica |
| Dry Fragrance: | 86 | Notes: This is a suberb, clean cupClean cup refers to a coffee free of taints and defects. It does not imply sanitary cleanliness, or that coffees that are not clean (which are dirty) are... that isn’t going to rock your world, bring down the wall or make you fluent in Latin. It will quietly and methodically make you a believer in the notion that the “other” Guatemalan growing regions deserve a lot more attention, and that perhaps Antiguas are not the only Guatemalan coffee worht paying an extra nickel for… Raisin flavors are dominant here (I know, raisin is not really a fruit flavor we talk about much in coffee, but thats really what I get from the La Montana) and undoubtedly great balance. This is a crowd-pleasers for sure, not so long in the aftertaste to make it obtrusive, but with a very refined mild acidity and complexity that will make you wish it DID have a long aftertaste! Not to worry, as long as there’s more in the cup… | |||||
| Wet Aroma: | 86 | ||||||
| Brightness- Liveliness: | 85 | ||||||
| Body- Movement: | 85 | ||||||
| Flavor- Depth: | 87 | Roast: City. At this point you have maximized the great flavors and complexity without allowing roasty tastes to dominate them too much… | |||||
| Finish- Conclusion: | 85 | ||||||
| Score: | 85.7 | Compare to: | |||||
| Guatemalan Antigua SHB -Los Volcanes | |||||||
| Country: | Guatemala | Grade: | SHB | Region: | Antigua | Mark: | Los Volcanes Estate |
| Processing: | Wet-processed | Crop: | Late 2000 | Appearance: | 1 d/300gr, 16 scr | Varietal: | Typica |
| Dry Fragrance: | 85 | Notes: It’s been hard to find a good Antigua this year besides the always-excellent La Tacita estate coffee. This Los Volcanes is a mid- to late- picking and that bodes well for Antiguas: these are the highest altitude coffees from this origin, and the last coffee cherry to ripen is the highest altitude. So what we get here is a slow-maturing, dense coffee seed. That said, the best Antiguas this year are not the caliber of other years. They have great balance and good complexity but really lack power. The Los Volcanes has really nice acidity and a good chocolate note to back it up. Its strong suit is balance, and it is certainly a crowd pleaser in that respect! | |||||
| Wet Aroma: | 84 | ||||||
| Brightness- Liveliness: | 86 | ||||||
| Body- Movement: | 84 | ||||||
| Flavor- Depth: | 83 | Roast: City. At this point you have maximized the great flavors and complexity without allowing roasty tastes to dominate them too much… | |||||
| Finish- Conclusion: | 83 | ||||||
| Score: | 84.2 | Compare to: Other Antiguas, which are in general not fruity like Huehuetenango, and not as sweet as other Guatemalan appellations but have that nice chocolate note and great balance. | |||||
| Guatemalan Huehuetenango – El Injerto Estate Bourbon | |||||||
| Country: | Guatemala | Grade: | SHB | Region: | Huehuetenango | Mark: | El Injerto Estate |
| Processing: | Wet-processed | Crop: | 2000 | Appearance: | 0 d/300gr, 16 scr | Varietal: | 100% Bourbon |
| Dry Fragrance: | 82 | Notes: As mentioned, Huehuetenango (pronounced Waywaytenango) had the best coffees to offer this year. While I cant speak for Coban (because so little of it is offered), the Antiguas were mild and some samples were downright flat. SO here we have a Huehue that doesn’t cup like one. It really has the chocolate and spicy flavors of a true Antigua …and a very good one at that. Ironic that a very nice Antigua doesn’t come from there …but then again brokers are talking about mass coffee fraud in the high-priced Antigua region anyway. It is also interesting because it is 100% Bourbon coffee, meaning that all the trees on the El Injerto estate are of the coffea arabica var. bourbon that was a spontaneous mutation of the arabica species first brought to the New World. (Incidentally, it was brought by the French to Reunion Island which was then called Bourbon). The seed is small and rounded, the trees grow in a way that is great for quality but not as sun-tolerant or easy to pick as other modern hybrids. | |||||
| Wet Aroma: | 84 | ||||||
| Brightness- Liveliness: | 84 | ||||||
| Body- Movement: | 82 | ||||||
| Flavor- Depth: | 86 | Roast: City. At this point you have maximized the great flavors and complexity without allowing roasty tastes to dominate them too much… Alpenrost owners: this small bean coffee will be difficult to roast in the ALP drum! | |||||
| Finish- Conclusion: | 84 | ||||||
| Score: | 83.7 | Compare to: This coffee rates more with the Antiguas, not with the other Huehuetenangos. It shares the spicy / chocolatey character of an Antigua, not the fruitiness of a Huehue. | |||||
| Guatemala SHB Huehuetenango – MaragogypeMaragogype is a mutation of Typica coffee and was discovered in Brazil. The Maragogype is a large plant with big leaves, low production and very large fruits (and... | |||||||
| Country: | Guatemala |
Grade:
|
SHB | Region: | Huehuetenango | Mark: | “Desola Superior” |
| Processing: | Washed (wet-processed) |
Crop:
|
’00 | Appearance: | 2d/300gr18 to 21 sceen | Varietal: | Maragogype |
|
|
84/86
|
Notes: Maragogype is a distinct cultivar of Arabica coffee, more specifically it is a subtype of Typica. It is called the “elephant bean” for its large size. The argument for Maragogype is that the tree produces fewer cherries and flavor is more concentrated. I have tasted some very bland Maragogype, so this isnt always true. And hey, once you grind it up it all looks the same. On the other hand I have had some coffees that had outstanding cup qualities, surpassed all the rival samples in bling cupping, and just happened to be Maragogype. That is the case with this Huehuetenango (say “way-way”) that outcupped 4 other Guatemalans that all happened to be Antiguas. I think that is partially because many coffees sold as Antigua are over-rated, and its a good year for Huehue to boot. This coffee has a medium body and a bright fruity acidity that tastes much like the coffee cherry itself, a honeyed sweetness. You tastes this more as the coffee cools down. What struck me was that when I cupped it, and upon brewing it in a French PressA simple coffee brewer also called a Press Pot: grounds and hot water are added to a carafe, allowed to sit for several minutes, and then a filter... several times after, there was a very fleeting but clear aniseAnise seed is highly aromatic and has a flavor similar to fennel and licorice, used to flavor various foods and liquors: Anise is a flowering plant in the... / licorice taste in the cup! Very nice… As is often the case with a Maragogype, about 75% of the coffee is truly extra large, some is just average large. | |||||
|
|
87
|
||||||
|
|
84
|
||||||
|
|
87
|
||||||
|
|
86
|
Roast: Beware, Maragogype takes a little longer to roast. It is easy to underroast it. Also, cut down on the size of the batch slightly if you are using an air roaster. These suckers are heavy and it takes more air flow to move them around the roast chamber. I like to hear a few snaps of second crack when I stop this. It tastes a little underdeveloped at City roast —go with Full City | |||||
|
|
85.6
|
Compare to: Fruity fine Guatemalas | |||||
| Guatemalan Huehuetenango -Organic, Fair Trade | |||||||
| Country: | Guatemala | Grade: | SHB | Region: | Huehuetenango | Mark: | Certified Organic, Fair Trade |
| Processing: | Wet-processed | Crop: | 2000 | Appearance: | 0 d/300gr, 16/17scr | Varietal: | Typica |
| Dry Fragrance: | 83 | Notes: I think technically I am not supposed to advertise a coffee as Fair Trade until we at Sweet Maria’s are Fair Trade certified. Well, that’s a very laborious process and we are in the midst of it, so I will bend the rule a bit. The coffee is indeed Fair Trade certified and OCIA Organic certified and most importantly its a very nice, fruity cup that you would expect from a high quality Huehuetenango. | |||||
| Wet Aroma: | 85 | ||||||
| Brightness- Liveliness: | 84 | ||||||
| Body- Movement: | 82 | ||||||
| Flavor- Depth: | 85 | Roast: Fruity coffees are best roasted through first crack, wait a bit, and stop before you hear any second crack. Why? Because if you roast darker that nice fruity brightness is gone! | |||||
| Finish- Conclusion: | 84 | ||||||
| Score: | 83.8 | Compare to: Good Huehue! | |||||
| HawaiiThe Kona district on the big island of Hawaii produces the best coffee from this state - clean, sweet and mild. : Ah, Hawaii... what a nice place.... |
| Hawaiian Kauai Estate PeaberryThe Spanish-language term for Peaberry is the same for "snail". See Peaberry for more information on the single bean fruit of the coffee tree. A peaberry is the... No. 1 | |||||||
| Country: | USA | Grade: | No.1 Peaberry | Island: | Kauai | Mark: | Kauai Estate |
| Processing: | Wet Process | Crop: | Late 2002 | Appearance: | 1 d/300gr, 16 Screen | Varietal: | Yellow Typica |
| Dry Fragrance (1-5) | 3 | Notes: Historically, I have avoided coffees from outside the KonaKona coffee comes from farms along the Kona Coast on the Big Island of Hawaii: Kona coffee comes from farms along the Kona Coast on the Big Island... growing region on the big island. The exceptions have been the Moka seedstock grown on Maui. The Kauai coffees have always tasted low-grown to me and lacked acidity to give some life to the cup. The mechanical harvesting techniques employed at this large farm also are a concern: they are usually employed in operations that emphasize quantity over quality: Each coffee branch has a mix of ripe and unripe coffee cherry and hand-picking is the only way to chose only the ripe cherry. The mechanical technique picks less discriminately and then resorts to high tech color sortingSorting coffee by removing beans that have a color that indicates a defect. Color coffee sorting is often done by an optical sorting machine, which has a high... to correct the errors and remove unripe coffee cherry. All that said, a broker called my attention to a lot of the Kauai Peaberry that seemed to be an exception, or perhaps (hopefully) a new level of cup quality for this coffee. With a specific degree of roastDegree of Roast simply means the roast level of a coffee, how dark it has been roasted.: Degree of Roast simply means the roast level of a coffee,... (not too light) the roast taste and mild brightness reach a really attractive balance and create a nice, medium bodied cup with attractive nuttiness. Of course, the price of Kauai coffees is much more in-line with other origins, and that’s a plus for those who find the Konas a bit spendy. |
 |
||||
| Wet Aroma (1-5) | 3 | ||||||
| Brightness – Acidity (1-10) | 7.75 | ||||||
| Flavor – Depth (1-10) | 8 | ||||||
| Body – Movement (1-5) | 3 | ||||||
| Finish – Aftertaste (1-10) | 8 | ||||||
| Cupper’s Correction (1-5) | 1 | Roast: Full City+. It’s easy to overroast a peaberry: it roast faster. But in this case, you don’t want a lighter city roast: the coffee really comes into its cup character by letting it enter 2nd crack briefly, 10 seconds, or less. This “thorough” Full City roastA coffee that has been roasted to the brink of second crack.: A coffee that has been roasted to the brink of second crack. The internal bean temperature... brings out the best roast tastes in this coffee. | |||||
| Add 50 | 50 | Compare to: More like a really nice Mexican Oaxaca than anything else. | |||||
| Score (Max. 100) | 83.75 | ||||||
| Hawaiian Kona – Purple Mountain Farm | |||||||
| Country: | US, Hawaii | Grade: | Estate Grade: 1/F/XF | Region: | Kona | Mark: | Purple Mountain Farm |
| Processing: | Wet-processed | Crop: | ’02 | Appearance: | 1 d/300gr, 18-19 screen | Varietal: | Kona TypicaA variation on Typica grown in the Kona region of Hawaii.: Kona is a special cultivar, Kona Typica, a traditional varietal that cannot be grown at low elevations. |
| Dry Fragrance (1-5) | 3.0 | Notes: This is a coffee that is uniquely Kona, distinct from any other coffee origin in the world. There are flavors very specific to Kona coffees grown on the handful of farms that actually have the right altitude and the right soils to grow coffee that demands the premium Kona price. The biggest problem with Hawaiian island coffeeIsland Coffee is our term for coffees from various islands (Hawaii, Jamaica, Australia, etc.). Island coffees typically have a mild profile. They are typically wet-processed and grown at... is not that these few small-farm Konas command a high price, it’s that alot of poor quality coffees and non-Kona coffees are priced according to the reputation of the deserving ones. Some excellent Konas are sold directly by the mills in Kona and they can be quite good too, but they vary to a greater degree than actual farm specific lots. Judging by the cup, Purple Mountain immediately struck me as the kind of coffee that is first tier Kona, where the coffee is clearly farmed for quality and not quantity, and the altitude is clearly there. In fact, at 2000 feet in the well-drained volcanic soils of Honaunau region of Kona, and the farm has certainly hit its stride in this their 25th year. The coffee is pesticide-free (not organic certified but all by all measures they practice organic farming), hand-picked and totally sun-dried. The farm is limited to 8 acres, and the Stiles family that own and farm it are active participants in the Kona cupping competitions. The coffee is expertly milled by the well-known Tom Greenwell of Greenwell Farms. Note that this is the late-crop picking from 2002 and there is a more variegated color to the coffee, and even an occasional dark bean (remove it before roasting if you have one). This coffee was stored in parchment on the farm until it was milled, the day before it shipped! This is an ideal way to preserve cup quality for later shipments, and the color of green coffee says nothing about cup quality in this case. This cup is consistent with the excellent Purple Mountain from last year, 2001. In a very light City roast, the acidity and pineyA slightly resinous pine sap flavor, unusual but attractive in some cases. flavors are at full strength. Some may find it too bright at this stage, but not to fear because this coffee takes a wide latitude of roasts. At Full City the piney acidity is diminished and nuttyNutty is a broad flavor term, reminiscent of nuts ... but what kind exactly?: Nutty is a broad flavor term, reminiscent of nuts. It is tied intrinsically to... roast flavors are underscored. And in fact this Kona is still unique at the Vienna stage where a stronger pungency emerges that is bittersweet and long-lived on the palate. | |||||
| Wet Aroma (1-5) | 4.0 | ||||||
| Brightness – Acidity (1-10) | 7.5 | ||||||
| Flavor – Depth (1-10) | 8.0 | ||||||
| Body – Movement (1-5) | 3.5 | ||||||
| Finish – Aftertaste (1-10) | 8.0 | ||||||
| Cupper’s Correction (1-5) | 0.0 | Roast: See notes above. This coffee has a wide latitude of roasts that produce excellent results, and I suggest you try to roast it differently each time to find where you like it best. A very light City roast is my favorite but may require restingEither the resting of parchment coffee after drying, or for the home roaster, post-roast resting.: Resting might refer to "reposo", the time after drying the parchment coffee, when... the coffee 2 days in a sealed glass jar to allow the body to develop and other flavors to settle. | |||||
| add 50 | 50 | Compare to: First tier Kona, small-farm estate Kona coffee. Other islands need not apply! | |||||
| Score (Max. 100) | 84.0 | ||||||
| Maui Kaanapali Moka | |||||||
| Country: | USA, Hawaii | Grade: | N/A | Island: | Maui | Mark: | Kaanapali Estate |
| Processing: | Wet-processed | Crop: | 2001 | Appearance: | 0 d/300gr, 14/15 Screen | Varietal: | YemenYemen has a coffee culture like no other place, and perhaps some of what we enjoy in this cup is due to their old style of trade...: Technically,... Moka |
| Dry Fragrance: | 80 | Notes: From the perfect little (miniscule!) seeds to the fruity acidity in the cup, this coffee is like a Yemen without the edges. Its a refined cup, and delicate. It shows no signs of sourness when roasted light, which is how this coffee begs to be roasted. I think it is best in an air type roaster between AgtronA machine and a color matching system used for quality analysis generally in the food industry, and specifically in coffee: Agtron spectrophotometers are used in the coffee industry... 70 ( I said Light!) and Agtron 55. That means you roast it through first crack and stop. Best when rested 2 days… nice after 12 hours too. Kaanapali Estate is Maui’s largest commercial coffee plantation at 500 acres. The elevation is 350 to 1,800 feet above sea level with volcanic soil conditions The harvest begins in September and goes through January. This coffee doesnt score high in the numbers but is an intriguing cup not to miss! The cup is mildly sweet with just a hint of Yemen wildness, light-bodied cup with definite Maple Syrup flavors. You can certianly detect hints of the Yemen seedstock, but so greatly muted by the island growing environment that I don’t believe I could trace the lineage of the Moka cultivar only by cupping …without knowing in advance that the a Yemen Moka and a Maui-grown Moka are botanical brothers. The coffee is mechanically harvested so it requires extra attention in the wet-milling process. There is a lot of time and equipment investment in the flotation-separation process where the underripe sours and overripe cherries are removed from the ripe coffee. | |||||
| Wet Aroma: | 80 | ||||||
| Brightness- Liveliness: | 84 | ||||||
| Body- Movement: | 83 | ||||||
| Flavor- Depth: | 84 | Roast: I prefer it very light (through first crack, then stop!) and rested 24 hours. Alpenrost alert: This coffee is too small to roast in the Alpenrost drum! | |||||
| Finish- Conclusion: | 82 | ||||||
| Score: | 82.2 | Compare to: More intriguing than the other non-Kona Hawaii coffees! Don’t expect it to taste like a Yemen …its more Hawaiian than Yemeni. | |||||
| Hawaiian Kona -Kowali Blue Mountain | |||||||
| Country: | US | Grade: | Extra Fancy | Region: | Kona | Mark: | Kowali Farm |
| Processing: | washed | Crop: | 2001 | Appearance: | .5 d/300gr18+ scr | Varietal: | 100% JamaicaJamaica coffee can be excellent mild, lush coffee... sometimes. Like Kona and Puerto Rican coffee, it is soft, mild, clean and well balanced when it is good.: Ah... Blue Mountian Seed Stock |
|
|
86/86
|
Notes: Kowali (which means Morning Glory in Hawaiian) is a smaller, more remote Kona farm with the right kind of altitude to produce exceptional Kona coffee. There is a lot of interest in Hawaii now with experimental planting of non-Kona varietal seed stock. Some create coffees that would best be called “coffee grown in Hawaii” because the influence of the cultivar has more influence on the cup than the origin. This is the case with the Moka seed stock grown in Maui. The University of Hawaii assisted the Kowali farm in planting 100% Jamaica Blue Mountain seedstock and the results have been suprising: in my opinion the seedstock is not determining the cup here (as with the Moka) but this truly cups like excellent Kona Coffee. In fact, I would call this cup more typically Kona than the Kowali Extra Fancy: it is sweeter and fruitier than the later. I would also say the cup far exceeds standard cup quality from true Jamaica Blue Mountain coffees such as Wallenford and Mavis Bank. Its not suprising. Kona coffees are grown with great care and meticulously prepped and processed. Despite its proximity, we have seen Jamaicas arrive here, selling at $5-$8 lb more than the Koawali green and probably $15+ more per lb roasted, that have berry-boring insect damage and appear very “past crop” in appearance. Here we have farm-specific coffee (Wallenford and Mavis Bank are mills) grown in ideal soils and tendered with great care. The cup is true to island profile: mild, sweet, clean. The pleasant suprise is that the coffee flavors are enhanced as the cup cools, and the aftertaste is quite long for a mild coffee! | |||||
|
|
85
|
||||||
|
|
84
|
||||||
|
|
83
|
||||||
|
|
84
|
Roast: I prefer this lighter, City roast stopped before 2nd crack. I found the cup greatly enhnaced after a full 48 hours of resting after roasting. | |||||
|
|
84.6
|
Compare to: Good mild coffees, top grade small-farm Kona | |||||
| Hawaiian Molokai Malulani No. 1 | |||||||
| Country: | US, Hawaii | Grade: | No. 1 | Region: | Molokai | Mark: | Malulani Farm |
| Processing: | Wet-processed | Crop: | 00/01 | Appearance: | 0 d/300gr, 17/18 Screen | Varietal: | Typica |
| Dry Fragrance: | 78 | Notes: Molokai clearly qualifies as one of those “other” Hawaiian coffees, other than Kona. While Kona is the queen of Hawaiian coffees, most of the islands are capable of decent coffee production but not often is the cup quality high, and never can it compare to the best Kona farm or mill coffees. Some coffees gain distinction by exploring the array of Arabia varietals, such as the Maui Moka we had 2 years ago. Kauai does a lot of experiments in varietals but as a mechanically picked, technofied operation they have a lot to overcome in terms of quality (not in terms of volume.) The island of Molokai has promising coffee lands in the hills of Kualapu’u. Molokai is a traditional-processed coffee, both wet-process and dry. The Malulani No.1 is wet-processed, mild medium-bodied cup with moderate acidity and (depending on the degree of roast) nice nutty flavors with a bit of astringency that makes the flavors seem “dry”. It reminds me of some Mexican Oaxaca Plumas but when I put them side-by-side I found distinct differences, and in blind cupping I preferred the Malulani over any Pluma in the lineup. | |||||
| Wet Aroma: | 82 | ||||||
| Brightness- Liveliness: | 82 | ||||||
| Body- Movement: | 83 | ||||||
| Flavor- Depth: | 82 | Roast: This can take a wide range of roasts, from City to Vienna. Allow it to rest 1 day, and I find that the flavors are more predominate when the cup cools… | |||||
| Finish- Conclusion: | 81 | ||||||
| Score: | 81.3 | Compare to: Mexican Oaxaca Pluma, mild Island coffees | |||||
| Hawaii Kona -Captain Cook Extra Fancy | |||||||
| Country: | USA: Hawaii | Grade: | Extra Fancy | Region: | Kona | Mark: | Captain Cook Mill |
| Processing: | Wet-processed | Crop: | 2001 | Appearance: |
0d/300gr 18 Screen |
Varietal: | Kona |
| Dry Fragrance: | 83 | Notes: New crop Kona for the new year. This coffee is from the Captain Cook Mill: many of the top Kona coffees are sold under the mill name, pooled from the best small farms that would not have enough coffee to offer commercially on their own. Its all up the mill, and the relationships they have with the farmers that produces the outstanding top-grade Konas under the mill name: Greenwell Farms and Honaunau are both top-notch mill “brands” as well as Captain Cook. So you evaluate them cup by cup to find who has the best offerings at any given time. They don’t have the rarity of a limited smallfarm lot but can be as good, or better. Last year we bought Greenwell, but I think this Captain Cook lot really has the Kona character I look for: it is a particular piney flavor in the acidity and an almost almondy flavor in the aftertaste that I enjoy in great Konas. | |||||
| Wet Aroma: | 83 | ||||||
| Brightness- Liveliness: | 85 | ||||||
| Body- Movement: | 84 | ||||||
| Flavor- Depth: | 87 | Roast: City. Do not go into second crack with these, but don’t underroast it either. In fact, with a large-bean coffee like this that has higher moisture content, its easy to underroast: it might need a little more time in the roaster than your average batch. | |||||
| Finish- Conclusion: | 85 | ||||||
| Score: | 84.5 | Compare to: Excellent Kona, what else? | |||||
| HondurasHonduran coffee was absent from the top ranks of the Specialty market, but that has changed. It has all the environmental factors on its side: soil, altitude, climate.... |
| IndiaS-795 is a variety based on the " S-Line" coffees of India, and stands for Selection 795, It has a very fine cup, one of the best in... |
| Country: | India | Grade: | AA | Region: | S. India | Mark: | Monsooned! |
| Processing: | dry-processed | Crop: | 98/99 | Appearance: | 0d/300gr16scr | Varietal: | Coffea Canephora- |
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n/a
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Notes: This coffee starts with a top-grade AA dry-processed RobustaAteng is a common name for Catimor coffees widely planted in Sumatra and other Indonesia isles.: Ateng, with several subtypes, is a common name for Catimor coffees widely...., which is referred to as Cherry RobustaRobusta usually refers to Coffea Robusta, responsible for roughly 25% of the world's commercial coffee. Taxonomy of Robusta is debated: some sources use “Robusta” to refer to any... in Indian grading methods (washed is called Parchment Robusta). The coffee is processed as usual after harvesting, but then a portion is held in the dry regions awaiting the monsoon season when it is moved to the West Coast of India. The bags are opened and spread on coastal warehouse floors 4-6 inches thick. The sides of the warehouse are opened the moisture-laden monsoon winds are allowed to circulate around the coffee. The coffee absorbs moisture, swells in size and mellows significantly. This is wonderful for Robusta because it takes the hard edge off the coffee, and adds unique peppery flavors too. | |||||
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Roast: Northern Italian EspressoA small coffee beverage, about 20 ml, prepared on an espresso machine where pressurized hot water extracted through compressed coffee.: In its most stripped-down, basic form, this is... is roasted to the darker side of Full City. Southern italian Espresso is basically in the French stage. | |||||
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| Indian Plantation A -Pearl Mountain Estate | |||||||
| Country: | India | Grade: | A | Region: | Chikmagalor | Mark: | Pearl Mountain Estate |
| Processing: | Wet-processed (Plantation) | Crop: | 2001 | Appearance: | 0d/300gr, 17 Screen | Varietal: | KentsA selection of Typica, originally resistant to Coffee Leaf Rust (CLR). Kents was the first useful CLR-resistant cultivar. It was developed on the Kent estate in Mysore, India.... Varietal, Cauwery |
| Dry Fragrance: | 84 | Notes: Coffees like this can convince you that India is overlooked as a growing origin, and those who like Indonesian coffees of cleaner cup character should try Indian coffee. We have consistenly found the Indian coffees fromk the Pearl Mountain Estate of Chikmagalur to be the best Plantation (Indian grade designation for wet-processed arabica) to be the best in the cup. In fact, coffee was introduced to India in the Chikmagalur District of the Karnakata State by Muslim pilgrim Bababudan Sahib in the year 1610! In the past we have stocked the Peaberry from this estate, but found this particular lot of “flatbean” to be excellent. The cup is very pleasant: It is a mild coffee overall, full-bodied, with low acidity, but enough to provide balance in the cup. The flavors are well-defined: a tad earthyEarthy is a flavor term with some ambivalence, used positively in some cases, negatively in others.: Sumatra coffees can have a positive earthy flavor, sometimes described as "wet... and a bit of parchment/paper and spice. There’s a nice nutty roast taste that develops in the Full City stage. My favorite roast for this is a few snaps into 2nd crack, so keep your ears open. | |||||
| Wet Aroma: | 84 | ||||||
| Brightness- Liveliness: | 82 | ||||||
| Body- Movement: | 87 | ||||||
| Flavor- Depth: | 85 | Roast: Full City, see above. This coffee is also excellent in espresso! For this use, roast it to a Vienna stage. | |||||
| Finish- Conclusion: | 84 | Compare to: Indians, maybe some wet-processed Indonesians like TimorTimor-Leste (East Timor) is a tiny island between Australia and Sulawesi, annexed by Indonesia and liberated in a referendum several years ago. Small scale coffee farming was jump-started... and Papua New GuineaPapua New Guinea (PNG) occupies the eastern half of the island it shares with the Indonesian province of Irian Jaya, part of Indonesia. The two primary areas for.... | |||||
| Score: | 84.3 | ||||||
| Blend: | Malabar Gold Espresso Blend | Grade: | AA Arabica, AB Robusta | Region: | Indian Coffees | Mark: | |
| Processing: | Wet and Dry processes | Crop: | 00/01 | Appearance: | 0d/300gr16 to 19scr | Varietal: | Arabica and Robusta |
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Notes: Malabar Gold espresso blend is entirely comprised of coffees from India. It includes Washed and Dry-processed coffees, Monsooned coffees and arabica coffees too. It also includes premium Robusta which has specific function in the blend to add cremaCrema is a dense foam that floats on top of a shot of espresso. It ranges in color from blond to reddish-brown to black. Blond crema may be... and body, and a positive organolepticOrganoleptic refers to any sensory properties of, in this case, the coffee beverage. It involves flavor, color, odor and mouthfeel. Organoleptic testing involves inspection through visual examination, smelling... feature: a biting flavor thats a bit hard and earthy but properly employed in a blend such as this results in a distinctly Italian character. Robusta also averages about 2.2% caffeine to arabicas 1.2% to 1.4%. So expect a little more from this one. It is that note that helps it “cut through” milk in espresso based milk beverages. ince it is cupped as espresso only, traditional cupping mbers are not provided.This blend is not a Sweet Maria’s creation … it is blended by the importer. The blend includes AA Monsooned Arabica, non-Monsooned Arabica from Mysore, and Indian Robusta. | |||||
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Roast: Your favorite espresso roast. or Full City +, not quite Vienna RoastVienna roast occurs at the beginning of second crack. The Vienna stage is where you begin to find origin character eclipsed by roast character.: Vienna roast occurs at.... This works well at French too. In other words, I like N. Italian espresso, but you may like S. Italian Espresso (Scuro, dark) Allow this blend to rest 48 hours after roasting for better results: I have excellent results after resting 4+ days! | |||||
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Compare to: Potent espresso. It cuts through milk in CappuccinoAn espresso-based beverage with steamed silky milk on top, averaging 150-190 ml: Cappuccino is an espresso-based beverage with steamed silky milk on top, averaging 150-190 ml. and LatteAn espresso-based beverage with steamed silky milk on top, averaging 190-220 ml with 20 ml espresso, served in a ceramic cup or bowl, or a giant giant paper cup. very well. It produces a lot of crema. | |||||
| Indonesia (for each specific island, see that section e.g. SumatraIndonesians are available as a unique wet-hulled or dry-hulled (washed) coffees. Giling Basah is the name for the wet-hulling process in Bahasa language, and will have more body..., SulawesiSulawesi coffees are low-acid with great body and that deep, brooding cup profile akin to Sumatra. The coffee is sometimes known as Celebes, which was the Dutch colonial..., Timor, etc.) |
| Indonesian Organic Komodo Blend Swiss Water Decaf | |||||||
| Country: | IndonesiaUSDA is (obviously) the United States Department of Agriculture. USDA also had coffee plant breeding programs in the past and one variety they distributed to Indonesia and was...: Timor, Sumatra, Papua New Guinea |
Grade: | 1, A | Region: | see below | Mark: | Swiss Water Process Decaf, Organic |
| Processing: | Washed/Semi | Crop: | 2001 | Appearance: | 0d/300gr16/17scr | Varietal: | Varies |
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81/83 | Notes: This is a Indonesian Komodo Blend of coffees in 3 equal parts: Organic Timor Maubese, Organic Sumatra GayoGayo is ethnic group from the area of Aceh Sumatra around Lake Takengon. They use the name Gayo Coffee to market their production. The Acehnese are a different... Mountain, and Organic Papua New Guinea A. All are Certified and Swiss Water Process decaffeinated. You can see that I buy mostly Indonesia SWPs, because I think this process is very damaging to the cup quality of acidy coffees (Central Americans, etc) but quite nice with low-acid Indonesians. So blending these three was just another way to bring our more dimension in the cup. All share deep flavors, full body and minimal acidity, but compliment eachother well too. Also, they can take a varietyA botanical variety is a rank in the taxonomic hierarchy below the rank of species and subspecies and above the rank of form (form / variety / subspecies... of roasts from City through French! The Komodo Blend is also great for decaf espresso! You could use it 100%, or use it as the base of a low-caf espresso or filter coffee. As with the decaf Sumatra, the blending strategy is to have your decaf provide body and depth (which the Sumatran and Indonesian Komodo do well) and then have your non-decaf coffees add the high, bright notes …something many decafs cannot do well! (with the exception of MC decafs like the Kenya or Yirgacheffe) | ||||
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81 | ||||||
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87 | ||||||
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85 | ||||||
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84 | Roast: City, Full City, Continental, French. Remember, SWPs are dark in color, so roasting is best done by listening to the cracks, smell and time. | |||||
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83.5 | Compare to: Straight Indonesians: this cup is unique but will bear more resemblance to straight Timor than to straight Sumatra ..its more balanced. | |||||
| Jamaica |
| Jamaica Blue Mountain Mavis Bank Estate #1 | |||||||
| Country: | Jamaica | Grade: | 1 | Region: | Blue Mountain | Mark: | Mavis Bank |
| Processing: | Washed | Crop: | 2002 | Appearance: | 1d/300gr18scr | Varietal: | Jamaica |
 Mavis Bank barrel |
Dry Fragrance
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81
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Notes: Well … I have to eat my words because here is a really nice lot of coffee from the Mavis Bank farms! True Blue Mountain is an unusual coffee; it has good body, and some very interesting mild nutty flavors with interesting herbalA flavor descriptor in coffee reminiscent of herbs, usually meaning aromatic, savory, leafy dried herbs. Usually, more specific descriptions are given, whether is is a floral herb, or... falvors that remind me sometimes of chamomile, sometimes of spice. There are only 4 trade names that can legally call their product Blue Mountain coffee: Wallenford, Mavis Bank, Old Tavern and one other I can never remember. So beware of imposters. Its fun to roast Blue Mountain and find out what this highly touted coffee is all about when it is fresh … and why it ranks among the better Mexican coffees in terms of cup quality. But remember, this is an “island profile” coffee; smooth, mild, balanced …and oh so so so expensive. Not huge fireworks here… I think this lot of Jamaican is the best I have ever had in terms of up quality and preparationPreparation refers to the dry-milling steps of preparing coffee for export: hulling, grading, classifying, sorting.: Preparation refers to the dry-milling steps of preparing coffee for export: hulling, grading,... of the green coffee. Personally, I will not consider offering any other Jamaican coffee, especially Wallenford. I have seen too many insect-damaged coffees from that source, and cabbage-like flavors in the cupping samples. | ||||
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81 | ||||||
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82 | ||||||
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84 | ||||||
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83 | ||||||
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83 | Roast: This has a lot of body, and I am suprised that it can take a real Full City roast; a few pops into 2nd crack. No darker though… | |||||
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82.2
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Compare to: Island coffee profile –mild but with depth and complexity. | |||||
| Jamaica Blue Mountain -Moy Hall Estate | |||||||
| Country: | Jamaica | Grade: | One | Region: | Blue Mountain | Mark: | Moy Hall |
| Processing: | Wet-processed | Crop: | 01/’02 | Appearance: | 0 d/300gr, 18 Screen | Varietal: | Blue Mountain |
| Dry Fragrance: | 83 | Notes: Moy Hall is the coffee of the Blue Mountain Coffee Cooperative, a co-op of smaller farmers who mill their coffee collectively. Moy Hall wasn’t always a co-op coffee. The name itself implies Scottish roots, and the 1898-99 census of Jamaican coffee farms over 50 acres listed the owner as Capt. G. G. Taylor. The farm land is located at the end of the Cedar Valley, a lush green valley lined by verdant, terraced hills. The co-op revitalized the Moy Hall name, one of just 4 original Blue Mountain brands accredited under the 1951 organization of the Jamaican Coffee Board. The co-op is interested in overall economic improvement of the surrounding communities and minimizing environmental impact of coffee farming. Many of our faithful customers will know of our avoidance of Jamaica for several years now. We just think it is overpriced for a mild cup, and in fact we have found many Jamaican coffees to be consistently poor in the cup, with cabbagey defective flavors. But we swore that if we found a Jamaican with the “right” cup character, true to its origin as a unique cultivar that was used to plant coffee throughout Africa and Indonesia, we would stock it. This is it. We feel Moy Hall is better than any Wallenford or Mavis Bank samples we have seen for the past 2 years. It has no insect damage that the others have, has excellent preparation (JBMJBM is short for Jamaica Blue Mountain, which is both a trade name for certain Jamaica coffee, and a Typica cultivar. As a cultivar, it is one of... always has a very light green, pale opaque color) and the screeningRunning coffee through a screen with holes of a fixed size to sort beans for size.: Running coffee through a screen with holes of a fixed size to... of the size is very good. It is more expensive than other true JBM. Jamaican is expensive! It is 5x the price of other excellent green coffees. Is it 5x as good in the cup. No! Is the Moy Hall unique? Yes. Is it a waste of money? Well, that is up to you, but if you can afford a Jamaican, I feel that you might completely waste your money on another one, and probably spend more (even though the Moy Hall costs us more than other JBM). So if you want to experience this coffee, I would recommend that you take this opportunity to do it. | |||||
| Wet Aroma: | 82 | ||||||
| Brightness- Liveliness: | 85 | ||||||
| Body- Movement: | 86 | ||||||
| Flavor- Depth: | 85 | Roast: The coffee resist the roast a bit and may require more time in the roast cycle that comparable-sized seeds. It requires 24 hours of resting to develop its body. But we also note a drop-off in cup quality after 7 days. Full City develops more intense pungency. | |||||
| Finish- Conclusion: | 85 | ||||||
| Score: | 84.3 | Compare to: Good Jamaican like the Moy Hall is a very mild coffee, not sweet, not fruity, not delicate either. It has medium body, spicey background secondary flavors, and just a touch of a wild noteA "wild note" in coffee is a general characterization that connotes something foreign or exotic in a flavor profile, usually somewhat unclean. This can be found in some... in the aftertaste. | |||||
| JavaThere are several types of Abyssinia variety coffee, but they are not from Ethiopia but rather Indonesia. Abyssinia 3 = AB3. PJS Cramer, a Dutch plant researcher, introduced this variety... |
| Country: | Indonesian Java | Grade: | 1 | Island: | Java | Mark: | AGED! |
| Processing: | Semi-WashedAn uncertain term to describe a coffee processing technique somewhere between wet-process and dry-process: Semi-washed has been used, most commonly in Brazil, to describe a hybrid coffee process...., Aged | Crop: | 96/97 | Appearance: | 2d/300gr18/19scr | Varietal: | ? |
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76 /76 | Notes: oh my, this is really what I expect from Aged coffeeAged coffee is not the same as old coffee. Aged coffee typically has very strong earthy flavors, and can be very pungent, leather or tobacco aromas and flavors.:.... It is powerful, pungent, smokey and complex. I have roasted it and noticed acidity! But then the next time I brew it it seems to have changed its character, and the strong smokey aged tastes prevail. I chose this coffee for its complexity, alternating tastes that form a twisty narritive when you try to tell someone what this cup is about. Its aged at least three years now, and is definitely enlarged from the process and lighter (like our monsooned malabar). But its moisture still tests at 10.8% so it has very normal behavior in the roaster in terms of crack times and temperatures. | |||||
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70 | ||||||
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90 | ||||||
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78 | ||||||
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74 | Roast: I like it best at “an aggressive Full City Roast” stage …let it go a few snaps into 2nd crack. Allow this coffee to rest 2-3 days (if you can wait!) for fully developed flavors in the cup. | |||||
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77.3
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Compare to: This is a powerful, smokey, earthy coffee with low acidity and lots of body. It is not for everyone! | |||||
| Java Washed Robusta | |||||||
| Country: | Java | Grade: | – | Region: | ? | Mark: | – |
| Processing: | Wet-processed | Crop: | ’00 | Appearance: | 1 d/300gr, 17 Screen | Varietal: | Coffea Canefora |
| Dry Fragrance: | n/a |
Notes: This is a premium Robusta that is on par with Indian Kaapi Royale. I say that only based on my experience: I can’t tell the difference between 12.5% of this in my espresso blend and 12.5% of that. It is extremely well prepared and has almost no chaffChaff is paper-like skin that comes off the coffee in the roasting process. Chaff from roasting is part of the innermost skin (the silverskin) of the coffee fruit.... Remember, we offer Robusta only for use in espresso! I do not recommend ever using robusta in filter coffee (it also has at least double the caffeine as coffea arabica) …and I barely recommend it for espresso. I prefer most of my espresso without robusta. But I do find that 10-15% of this added the to our Espresso Monkey Blend adds that certain bite to the cup. |
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| Wet Aroma: | n/a | ||||||
| Brightness- Liveliness: | n/a | ||||||
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| Flavor- Depth: | n/a | Roast: For espresso blends: roast to your personal preference. | |||||
| Finish- Conclusion: | n/a | ||||||
| Score: | n/a | Compare to: Premium washed Robusta | |||||
| Kenya |
| Kenya MC Decaf -German KVWA decaf plant in Germany specializing in the methylene chloride solvent method. KVW stands for Kaffee Veredelungs Werk: A decaf plant in Germany specializing in the methylene chloride... | |||||||
| Country: | Kenya | Grade: | AB | Region: | Pooled | Mark: | KVW Decaf |
| Processing: | Wet-processed | Crop: | 00/01 | Appearance: | 0 d/300gr, 16 screen | Varietal: | Typica /Riuri |
| Dry Fragrance: | 84 | Notes: This Kenya is the second incredible decaf we have found after the Ethiopian Methylene Chloride processed decaf, and we do it because this has the most remarkable cup character of any decaf I have ever encountered. It’s one of those “I can’t believe its not regular” type coffees, and DARN GOOD regular at that! The coffee originates with a pooled lot of Kenya AB. It is processed in Germany by the highly-regarded company KVW under the strict EU environmental guidelines (4x as strict as USDA and OSHA guidelines). To read about the pluses and minuses of the different decaffeination methods, please check out our Health and Ecology web page. It is truly remarkable decaf that has the character near the non-decaf Kenya coffees. | |||||
| Wet Aroma: | 83 | ||||||
| Brightness- Liveliness: | 86 | ||||||
| Body- Movement: | 78 | ||||||
| Flavor- Depth: | 83 | Roast: City – Full City. I prefer the lighter roasts on this to highlight the bright notes | |||||
| Finish- Conclusion: | 85 | ||||||
| Score: | 83.2 | Compare to: Regular Kenya; light body but excellent brightness. Be sure you like bright coffee before buying this! | |||||
| Kenya AA Top | |||||||
| Country: | Kenya | Grade: | AA | Region: | Mt Kenya | Mark: | None |
| Processing: | Wet processed | Crop: | mid – 02 | Appearance: | 0 d/300gr, 18 Screen | Varietal: | Not Known |
| Dry Fragrance (1-5) | 3.5 | Notes: The Kenya Auctions start in early January, but the coffees don’t arrive in the U.S. until late March or April. So December thru the arrival of new Auction Lots is slim pickings for really good Kenyas. In fact all of 2002 was slim pickings: there were some really nice lots that we stocked, but there weren’t any that are going to get etched on my mind for reference in the 2003 auction cuppings. So I was resigned to the fact that we would be out of stock on a decent Kenya during the December-April window, once the Kiawamururu sold out. But lo and behold a really nice sample came in, under the guise of a generic Kenya AA. This was not an auction lot coffee; it’s only name disitinction is the redundant marking “Top” on the reference sample, and that simply means its a top AA grade. I immiediately noticed that the cup lacked the highly elevated notes that the really good Auction Lot Kenyas will have -acidity is not subtle in a Kenya and the best of them are markedly citrusy. But it is indeed bright and balanced, with a really attractive caramelly roast flavor developing at Full City, and (if you don’t roast too dark) a blackberryBlackberry flavor in coffee sometimes relates to slightly more developed roast levels.: Blackberry is found as a fragrance, aroma or flavor in some coffees. I find that it... finish to the cup. There’s a creamy-buttery flavor I get early in the cup too, that compliments the balckberyy very nicely! In fact, it occurred to me that the really nice Kenya origin-character in this cup and the lower acidity might appeal to people who find the puckering Auction Lot examples to be over-the-top. So here it is, a Kenya without the pedigree but with a fair amount of punch. Enjoy! | |||||
| Wet Aroma (1-5) | 3.0 | ||||||
| Brightness – Acidity (1-10) | 8.2 | ||||||
| Flavor – Depth (1-10) | 9.0 | ||||||
| Body – Movement (1-5) | 3.0 | ||||||
| Finish – Aftertaste (1-10) | 9.0 | ||||||
| Cupper’s Correction (1-5) | 1.0 | Roast: Full City: the cup can be a bit sour at the light end of city, and definitely holds up to a heavier roast. In fact, this cup is excellent well into the Light French stages. | |||||
| add 50 | 50 | Compare to: A subtle low-toned Kenya, not harshly acidic or citrusy. PS: there’s no better way to get to know these Kenya coffees than to get a Lb. of each and cup them for yourself! | |||||
| Score (Max. 100) | 86.7 | ||||||
| Kenya AA Kiawamururu Auction Lot ’02 | |||||||
| Country: | Kenya | Grade: | AA | Region: | Aberdare | Mark: | Kiawamururu |
| Processing: | Wet processed | Crop: | 2002 Main crop Auctions | Appearance: | 0 d/300gr, 18 Screen | Varietal: | Typica |
| Dry Fragrance (1-5) | 4 | Notes: Ok … this must be the longest, most difficult name for a Kenya Auction Lots we have ever had. It’s so difficult that the broker who offered the coffee laughs at me when I actually try to say it (Kee-ah-wa-mu-ru-ru) because nobody over at their brokerage even tries. They just get to Kee-ah … and they quit. But I didn’t pick this lot for the name -I picked it because the cup is powerful, and develops a very attractive caramel-butterscotch roast taste as the roast enters the 2nd crack. That’s right where I stop the roast -2nd crack. You will notice a remarkably dark roast color at this point, and roast color that corresponds to a roast about 5 to 10 Agtron points darker than the roast actually is. (This is due to higher concentrations of the proteins and other constituents that react to form the chlorogenic acidsMany acids contribute to coffee flavor: acetic, malic, citric, quinic, tartaric, phosphoric, etc.: Many acids contribute to coffee flavor; malic, citric, quinic, tartaric, phosphoric, etc. See Acidity or... and are part of the browning of the MaillardAn important reaction in coffee roasting that results in the browning of the green coffee seed.: The Maillard reaction is a chemical reaction between an amino acid and... reaction). I don’t find the Kiawamururu to be exceptionally fruity (fresh fruit -raspberry, currant, etc) , nor dried or roasty fruit as Kenyas sometimes can be. It is most reminiscent of the 2001 “Lot 82” we offered -balanced but potent, and most striking when roasted a bit heavier than other Kenyas, slightly into 2nd crack. It’s a bullish cup, not subtle. | |||||
| Wet Aroma (1-5) | 5 | ||||||
| Brightness – Acidity (1-10) | 8 | ||||||
| Flavor – Depth (1-10) | 8 | ||||||
| Body – Movement (1-5) | 4 | ||||||
| Finish – Aftertaste (1-10) | 8 | ||||||
| Cupper’s Correction (1-5) | 0 | Roast: This coffee develops a very dark roast color as 1st crack finishes. So you need to pay attention to the sounds and smells if you are trying to keep control of the degree of roast. I like it a little into 2nd crack, because it develops a strong caramelly roast taste. With the preshipment sample we did brew a few bitterBitterness is one of 5 basic tastes: Sour, Sweet, Salty, Bitter and Umami (savory flavors). There are many types of bitterness, hence not one avenue to tracking down... cups when roasted lighter – so go a bit longer with this coffee, and if you see any noticeably light seeds after roasting, cull them out (a possible source of the bitter cup we had). | |||||
| add 50 | 50 | Compare to: Deep Kenyas; not subtle, not citrusy, not overwhelmingly fruity. | |||||
| Score (Max. 100) | 87 | ||||||
| Kenya AA -Auction Lot No. 82 | |||||||
| Country: | Kenya | Grade: | AA Auction Lot | Region: | Kiricho | Mark: | Lot 82 |
| Processing: | Wet-processed | Crop: | Late 2001 | Appearance: | 0 d/300gr, 17-18 Screen | Varietal: | Bourbon |
| Dry Fragrance: | 85 | Notes: Kenyan coffees range from citrusy to winey, from mild to intense, and from straightfoward to complex. Our auction lot No. 82 is intoxicating and intense … sounds like I am writing marketing languuage but I am not. Lot 82 has a bright and powerful acidity, and there is no subtlety in the first sip: this is incredibly flavorful coffee by any standard. But it is no one-note wonder: Lot 82 has dimension in the sweet cream-soda flavors and rather thick mouthfeelHow a coffee feels in the mouth or its apparent texture, a tactile sensation : A major component in the flavor profile of a coffee, it is a... (body) for a wet-processed coffee. This rich creamyCreamy is a mouthfeel description indicating thickness and soft, rounded texture. See also buttery. body is a perfect counterpoint to the alto notes of the citrusy brightness. Roasted a bit darker and this coffee becomes mintyA flavor hint of mint found in coffee, which could indicate a clean and brisk mint hint, or a more rustic dried mint. It might even suggest a... and pungent … interesting but not really the kind of roast that highlights what is so special about great Auction Lot Kenyas. Ironically, this excellent lot has no other designation than its Auction Lot number . Usually the name of the “Society” (micro-group of small farmers-neighbors that bring their coffee to the Auction pooled as one lot) is the name given to each lot. Well, it is of no matter because this coffee is great with or without a fancy name on the bag! | |||||
| Wet Aroma: | 86 | ||||||
| Brightness- Liveliness: | 89 | ||||||
| Body- Movement: | 85 | ||||||
| Flavor- Depth: | 89 | Roast: City to Full City: (see review). | |||||
| Finish- Conclusion: | 88 | ||||||
| Score: | 87.0 | Compare to: Excellent complexity/depth and a unique origin flavors that shift greatly depending on roast… | |||||
| Kenya AA Kirigara Farm -Auction Lot ’01 | |||||||
| Country: | Kenya | Grade: | AA Auction Lot | Region: | Kirinyaga subregion | Mark: | Kirigara Society |
| Processing: | Wet-processed | Crop: | Late 2001 | Appearance: | 0 d/300gr, 16-17 Screen | Varietal: | Bourbon caturra |
| Dry Fragrance: | 85 | Notes: Why so many Kenyas? …The reason we stock multiple coffees from Kenya is that each has a very different character. With the lower grown, non-Auction Lot coffees they all cup nearly the same, but these top auction coffees have greatly varied personality. With the Kirigara we have a light-bodied, spicey, not too sour, not citrusy. It is a litte astringentAstringency is a harsh flavor sensation, acrid flavor, that provokes a physical reaction on the toungue, the tactile feeling of papery dryness. It can have saltiness, sourness and... and when roasted to Full City it develops a very interesting puncency: a bit peppery. Like most Kenya, it has fruty aromatics but the finish is not so fruity in the cup. Allow the coffee to rest 24-48 hours after roasting and there is an incredibly pleasant aftertaste to the cup, not overpowering but very nice. Expect more fruitiness and brighter acidity at a lighter, City roast (all the way through 1st crack, but not into 2nd crack). Roasted a bit darker, the fruitiness gives way to sharply pungent, spicey, almost minty flavors. Overall, it is a little milder than the Gakui Auction Lot, and akin to the Gichugu we had earlier this year (which is why the review is based on that one). | |||||
| Wet Aroma: | 86 | ||||||
| Brightness- Liveliness: | 83 | ||||||
| Body- Movement: | 78 | ||||||
| Flavor- Depth: | 87 | Roast: City to Full City …see the review above… | |||||
| Finish- Conclusion: | 86 | ||||||
| Score: | 84.2 | Compare to: Spicey, peppery at a Full City + roast, and Brighter and fruitier at a City roast: either way it is very aromatic and milder than the Gakui Auction Lot. | |||||
| Kenya AB -Gakui Farm -Auction Lot ’01 | |||||||
| Country: | Kenya | Grade: | AB Auction Lot | Region: | Mt Kenya Plateau | Mark: | Gakui Society |
| Processing: | Wet-processed | Crop: | Late 2001 | Appearance: | 0 d/300gr, 16-17 Screen | Varietal: | Bourbon Caturra |
| Dry Fragrance: | 85 | Notes: A remarkable Kenya that is truly a chameleon in terms of the flavors in the cup! I think of it as a completely “customizable” coffee because it has very different character that emerges and different “degrees of roast.” A lighter roast (City) is bright, with high-toned acidity. It’s almost effervescentA combined mouthfeel and flavor sensation, hinting at a dynamic and lively cup: While coffee is not a carbonated beverage, at times a combination of factors (brightness/acidity with... and very lively! But you can get a very different cup character out of the Gakui by roasting it to a “Full City +” roast – allowing it to enter 2nd crack just a little bit. The Gakui becomes pungent, the citrusy character is gone, and fruity hints are only found in the background as the coffee cools. The main flavors that emerge are intriguing: a piney-resinous quality laced by a piquant peppery flavor. After a few days resting after roasting, the cup had a clear sassafras flavor. So do what you will with Gakui, but nomatter what roast you lay on it, you are going to get great character in the cup. | |||||
| Wet Aroma: | 86 | ||||||
| Brightness- Liveliness: | 86 | ||||||
| Body- Movement: | 83 | ||||||
| Flavor- Depth: | 89 | Roast: City to Full City+: (see review). | |||||
| Finish- Conclusion: | 88 | ||||||
| Score: | 86.2 | Compare to: Excellent complexity/depth and a unique origin flavors that shift greatly depending on roast… | |||||
| Kenya Peaberry ’00 | |||||||
| Country: | Kenya | Grade: | PB | Region: | Mt Kenya | Mark: | None |
| Processing: | Wet-processed | Crop: | 2000 | Appearance: | Peaberry 17 screen | Varietal: | varied |
| Dry Fragrance: | 82 | Notes: Peaberry represents just 2% of the total Kenya coffee production and rates with AA as the highest grade. A peaberry results when one of the two seeds in the coffee cherry aborts, and the other fills out into the rounded form normally take by two “flat beans”. Peaberries are fun to look at, and fun to roast (they roast a little faster, be warned!) but they don’t necessarily have greater or lesser qualities than the corresponding lot of flat beans they were sorted our from. After all, you grind them and drink the liquid percolated through it …who would know what the shape of the bean originally was? In this case, the cup was impressive. It has great body for a Kenya, balance, strength, and is a good choice for those who like to roast Kenyas a little heavy -Full City or light Vienna. This is from the 200 Main Crop— we don’t normally buy from the second picking, called the Fly CropFly Crop is a term used in chiefly in Kenya to mean the second, smaller harvest. There are no flies in the "Fly Crop"! But the term is... in Kenya. It just never produces the intense quality Kenyas we are looking for… | |||||
| Wet Aroma: | 84 | ||||||
| Brightness- Liveliness: | 86 | ||||||
| Body- Movement: | 86 | ||||||
| Flavor- Depth: | 84 | Roast: City. I like Kenyas roasted light, and very bright. But this Peaberry is a good candidate for those who like to take Kenya a bit into 2nd crack. It has great body and develops intense, liquory roast tastes… | |||||
| Finish- Conclusion: | 85 | ||||||
| Score: | 84.5 | Compare to: Strong, straightforward Kenyas, a bright acidy coffee in general. | |||||
| Kenya AA Auction Lot – Kiungu Farm | |||||||
| Country: | Kenya | Grade: | AA | Region: | Mark: | Kiungu Farm | |
| Processing: | Wet-processed | Crop: | 2000 | Appearance: | 1 d/300gr, 16/18scr | Varietal: | Bourbon, Kents |
| Dry Fragrance: | 87 | Notes: While the Kiungu isn’t going to assault you with sharp citrusy acidity, the prized flavor in this coffee is fresh berry. Its my favorite Kenya of the year and I (hopefully) bought enough of it to last through March ’01 …when new crop sampels start to drift in. We had a big, big “discussion” at the shop about the particular character of this berry flavor. I feel strongly that is between red raspberry and black raspberry. Others claim there is no such thing as black raspberry. Anyway, you get the idea … its a great flavor. Some Kenyas have thise cherished berry flavor but it is more winey: the Kiungu has a distinctly fresh berry taste. Remarkably, the flavor softened after 5 days resting and was more peach, with vanillaVanilla notes in coffee are often related to caramelization notes, as butter and vanilla can be found in flavors and aromatics of roast reactions from reducing of sugars.. Really! Either way it was a great cup and we even cupped a sample at 2 weeks and it was amazing! It is a powerful coffee, and its real height of power is at a lighter City roast. You can actually make the cup milder by roasting it just a bit into second, noting that this has profound effect on the character of the cup as bittersweet roast tastes start to dominate over the bright fruitiness. | |||||
| Wet Aroma: | 86 | ||||||
| Brightness- Liveliness: | 89 | ||||||
| Body- Movement: | 85 | ||||||
| Flavor- Depth: | 87 | Roast: City. Keep it light. If you like the sharp dark roast tastes or wineyness of Kenyas, chose a different one than this. You will see quite a few pieces of parchment (the outer husk of the coffee seed) in the green coffee. It really has no bearing on the quality. You can remove it before or after roasting. | |||||
| Finish- Conclusion: | 90 | ||||||
| Score: | 87.3 | Compare to: Powerful citrusy coffees. | |||||
| Kenya AA Auction Lot – Mweiga Farm | |||||||
| Country: | Kenya | Grade: | AA | Region: | Mark: | Mweiga Farm | |
| Processing: | Wet-processed | Crop: | 2000 Main Crop | Appearance: | 1 d/300gr, 16/18scr | Varietal: | |
| Dry Fragrance: | 87 | Notes: Mweiga is one of the few coffees we have had in previous crop years. You really can’t buy Kenyas from year to year by farm name. The chances you will even see the same farm name offered is rare. Mostly this is a result of the incredibly small lots of coffee from each farm (10-40 bags is common) and the restrictions of the highly competitive Kenya auction-lot bidding system. Anyway, it was a suprise to see Mweiga again, and our past experience with it was so good we put in a little furtures contract (which you are allowed to reneg on if the coffee isnt up to snuff). The arrival sample was though …it was really good! Mweiga is more of a balanced and winey Kenya, not a full-on citrusy/bright like Kathangariri. It has more subtle blackberry flavors, and wont bite your tongue off with acidity. It is a little milder than the Mweiga from last year but a stellar cup …and still has very much of the same cup character than made it a hit in our 1999 main crop auction lot offerings. | |||||
| Wet Aroma: | 85 | ||||||
| Brightness- Liveliness: | 87 | ||||||
| Body- Movement: | 86 | ||||||
| Flavor- Depth: | 84 | Roast: City. Keep it light. If you like the sharp dark roast tastes or wineyness of Kenyas, chose a different one than this. | |||||
| Finish- Conclusion: | 85 | ||||||
| Score: | 86 | Compare to: Winey Kenyas, not so citrusy | |||||
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2001-2002
Reviews |
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Sweet Maria’s Coffee Cupping Reviews Archive: 2001-2002 Archive G to L |
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