Selection: Ethiopia Tega & Tula

Date: Roasted 8/8, cupped 8/18

Flavor Profile: (From their website description.) The aroma of fresh apricot and black tea leaves transforms into complex flavors of transparent stone fruit juices, toasted sugar and distinct bergamot tea.

Other Cupping Notes: (Again from website) Membratu took a leap of faith when he purchased his two neighboring plantations, Tega and Tula. The Bonga subregion of the Djimma region in Southwestern Ethiopia is the original coffee producing zone in history. Once known as the Kaffa Kingdom, modern day Bonga is not known for excellence in quality. Our friend Membratu has changed all of that with his Ethiopian Heirloom varietals and advanced washed processing techniques that incorporate Penagos technologies.

Coffee Details:

Location
7º 25′ 33.90″ N x 36º 07′ 31.20″ E
Elevation
1850–1900 Meters
Varietal
Ethiopia Heirloom
Region
Africa

Rising even from the steeping crust, the aroma came dense and chocolately, in a “chocolate berry gingersnap” lure, complete with molasses. Upon breaking the crust, some of the bakery projections were concentrated into those of the spice rack specifically. A musty spice, reminding me of curry powder, sharpened out of the sweeter scents.

I found the Tega & Tula to have a medium body that deposited a faintly grainy texture on the tongue like a fine dust and imparted a dryness seeming almost papery.

There was, as advertised, a definitive black tea characteristic, the toasted component coming through soundly. Also immediately present was a fruit-skin quality, similar to the meat of a banana, or the surface of a peach, apricot, or otherwise fuzzy fruit.

The mouthfeel, after drinking, left a rather “dirty” cup. I mean that the textures and tastes, after all was said and done, resounded in a muddled experience remaining to the tongue.

Overall, a convoluted taste and texture experience that meandered through pantry and kitchen like a hungry sleepwalker. In a not unpleasant way, it partook of everything, merged them while dreaming, and awakened trying to remember why those teeth needed brushing already.

Selection: Finca Santa Teresa, from Panama

Date: Roasted 7/1, cupped 7/12

Flavor Profile: (From their website description, a page which has unfortunately been taken down. …This happens when you have small crops that go quickly in and out of season as well as stock.) Fragrance – Honey; Aroma – Caramel; Body – Medium; Nuances – Honey, slight spice, caramel, clean finish.

The aroma of the Finca Santa Teresa was immediately very light, sweet, and clean. There was a syrupy aspect and the first hint of nuttiness.

Upon tasting, the Teresa proved itself to be much as it smelled. Light, sugary, with a delicate, natural sweetness that made it into an easily clean and drinkable cup without so much as a limp of sugar or drop of cream in sight. It almost tasted as if it’d already had simple syrup added. I would call it a good morning cup of joe jane, a girl-next-door compliment to breakfast. Not complex or overwhelming by any stretch, only honey-sweet and neat.

I found just a pinch of raw hazelnut in the cup, and a slight tinge of spice.

I’ve cupped several other offerings from Novo, so I must say I was slightly disappointed in the regard that my stockings were at no point knocked off with this particular selection. I do, however, appreciate the integrity of the cup, the essence of sugarcane and honeysuckle, that the Teresa is dedicated to.

Overall, this Panama is the kind, in keeping with the prior female companion analogy, one might bring home to introduce to mother. But being a decidedly prim and sugary cup, perhaps not one to make a passionate fuss for.

“Cupping”, in general, is the process of tasting, smelling, feeling, and otherwise experiencing a coffee selection and then judging it.  This can be as simple or as complicated an endeavor as the cupper chooses it to be.  Anywhere from considering a cup of day-old gas station drip as you drink it, to international industry panels with highly trained palates and rigorous scoring methods.

For our purposes here, which is largely for my own personal experience, I’ll only be making some laid-back observations about some of the different varieties of coffee I come across.

I encourage you, always, to try and taste your coffee for the first time without fixating on any descriptions or recommendations that you’ve been fed from an outside source.  (This totally includes your truly.)  In professional cupping etiquette, it is considered all but criminal to go blurting out your opinions on the brew in question before everyone participating has evaluated it for themselves.  All of this is because each palate is different, and the tongue and mind can, in fact, be trained to enhance and relate one’s raw sensory data beyond the average chug.  If you rely on what you’ve been told, it’s quite possible that you will let that change your tasting technique in some way, even if subconsciously.

“Oh, I always like Sidamo…  Well, Danae said it tastes like chocolate, so it must be in there…  No one else seems to enjoy this coffee, so I bet I won’t either…”  You get the idea.

I will be updating this blog, all things willing, with at least one entry of cupping notes a month from here on out.  If life is kind to me, more.

That said, on to the good stuff.

Roaster: Zoka Coffee

Selection: Sumatra Lake Tawar

Date: Roasted 6/8, cupped 6/18

Flavor Profile: (From their website description, a page which has unfortunately been taken down. I assume this is no longer available.) Characteristic Indonesian heavy body along with a surprising fruit forward complexity. Notes of sweet pipe tobacco, new leather, red bell peppers, and cardamom spice.

Other Cupping Notes: (Again from website) Lots of body, less acidity, medium fragrance and sweetness.

When I cup at home, I typically use this preparation: I grind about one ounce of beans between drip and percolator coarseness. In an 8 oz French press, I put in two tablespoons of the ground coffee. I use hot water from a tea kettle, pouring just as it whistles, before it can reach full boil. Place the lid on, plunger retracted. Wait four minutes, then – push!

After pouring the water for the Tawar, I noted that the aroma of the crust was medium-dark, earthy. As it cooled, it became not unpleasantly musty.

Once it had cooled enough to drink, I slurped on in. I mean this – slurping will suck the fluid into your mouth in such a way as to coat not just your tongue, but the rest of the mouth with coffee, in a way that allows you to experience more of the characteristics of the flavor. But not too greedily quickly, either, so that it has a chance to sink in. If you’re not making a funny noise, ur doin’ it wrong.

The Tawar had a rolling smoothness to its body, ripe and supple. More medium body than heavy.

The first, most distinct flavor was a slight twist of citrus rind. The cup was initially somewhat murky in the mouth, tastes merged together, but the complexities began to come through after swallowing, most present on the tongue. Hints of mild spice, a certain roundness, a vegetable quality.

The texture was somewhat silky, and malty, leaving behind a dry, powdery cocoa-like texture, and a full mouthfeel after drinking.

Overall, dark, but sweet. Smoky, but playful.

For the moment, I spotlight what I hope will grow into a hot coffee-drinker trend – cup “sleeve” or “cuff” bracelets. The beautiful concept is that instead of using a disposable paper product holder (by which I mean that removable band of thin cardboard used to keep a hot paper coffee cup from scalding your fingers as you hold it), you can opt to buy a lovely bracelet that will look as great on your wrist as it will protect your fingers whilst you drink your coffee.  The planet thanks you.  Your fingers thank you.  Your barista…  Is amused, promise.

Foremost and most beloved comes a handmade wooden bracelets by Bentwood designs that’s just downright sexy. 2 1/4″ wide, you can get one of these coffee cuffs in your choice of current wood varieties: bird’s eye maple, black walnut, benge, or ebony.

They are perhaps a bit steep for a wrist bangle at $68 Canadian or almost $58 American – all prices in this segment are before shipping – but they are very handsome and seemingly well-made that you ought to get many years of use out of them. (If you’re looking to butter me up, this is how to do it, folks. <3)

Another lovely option is Megan Auman’s heavy-duty felt design with a very modern, floral sort of chic.

They come in a variety of colors, from this “turquoise” to shades of green, gray, or the ever classic black. Each is $38 from her Etsy shop.

See also this so-dubbed Unisex Upcycled Cuff by nspire, with sneaky velcro under those eyes-only buttons. Simple, but sweet, and just $11 to boot.

Clearly, Etsy is a marvelous place to find handcrafted goodies for sale by artists, including reusable coffee sleeves such as the charming example below by 60bugs, only $15.  (Not necessarily bracelet quality material, which I recommend to get as many possible applications out of a single item, but who’s gonna stop you?)  I highly recommend a browse there over your daily brew.

And for a more quaint, classic, and even rustic look, there is the knitted or crocheted bracelet sleeve, such as this by Faye.  Homespun cute, particularly with the (functional!) buttons on the side.  Buy one or better yet, make your own.  Hello to the perfect quick, easy gift craft for your bevvy chugging beloved.

There are sure to be more coffee fashion posts in the future.  I like to coffee geek out with my chic out.

I may as well come out and say, in case there is any doubt as to the point: I have something of an anything-goes coffee philosophy. I’m not the die-hard single-origin purist, though I can appreciate that aspect, certainly. I don’t subscribe to any one specific roaster, processing method, espresso machine maker, and so on, the way some baristas devote themselves to one school of the bean. I have preferences like anyone else, but I’m at a very developmental stage in my coffee career, and I’m attempting to be open to everything. I consider coffee a strong influence in my lifestyle, not just a job obligation, nor science project, nor my religion by far. It has its own serving in my service, and that’ll serve for now.

If anyone cares to recommend a coffee or coffeesque product to put to the test, please send ‘em my way.

Good, now that we’ve cleared that… On to the review!

Review – Joe Fizz Coffee Soda
12 Fl oz glass bottle for $1.99
Order & Inquire at http://www.purjava.com/

“Made with 100% Real Honduran Coffee,” the retro-cute brown and white label proudly informs. Still cool from the fridge, I twisted off the golden bottle cap and took that first swallow.

For a moment, my mouth wondered what I’d done to it, because there was certainly conflict between the mind and tongue. That initial sip was strange, the darkness of the coffee and crispness of the chilled carbonated water seeming foreign and astringent. To tell the truth, this was likely more a psychosomatic discord than a quality of the drink – I saw a soda bottle, I felt those tiny soda bubbles in the murky body, and caught the punch of the cane sugar sweetener, which left me unprepared for the powerful, robust coffee whammy. The brisk temperature at which it was imbibed (the cheery label also chirps orders to “serve ice cold!”) clearly added to the impact.

Subsequent tasting, however, better unified the texture and flavors on the palate. The brew was creamy, rich, and decidedly dense despite the micro-bubbles, with solid notes of caramel and molasses. Honduran can be a very complex coffee, but I couldn’t discern those complexities with these few elements at their loudest, something I attribute to the roast, cold brew, and cane sugar. It was as if natural rootbeer had gone on a full-tilt bender and drunkenly mated with coffee, down to the delicately slippery foam wash where the surface of the liquid met the surfaces of glass, then cheek. After swallowing, the residue clung to my tongue, the pungent aroma of the drink filling the back of my mouth with an impression of tobacco.

Throughout drinking Joe Fizz, I thought that it tasted like a toddy (cold-brewed coffee concentrate) Italian soda (soda water drink typically made with a flavored syrup), mixed with turbinado sugar (more commonly known as Sugar in the Raw). It didn’t surprise me to find that PurJava’s specialty is their Honduran dark roast coffee concentrate. The low acidity and relatively mellow caffeine of toddy is also present in Joe Fizz. Later, I put my toddy notion to the test, mixing a double portion of toddy with soda water and melting some turbinado sugar in hot water before mixing it with the rest. Well, the toddy I used wasn’t made from Honduran beans, but sure enough… A markedly similar result.

The staunch blackness of the coffee and the potency of the cane sugar were just smooth enough for a pleasant experience, but it wasn’t really refreshing. I’d recommend nursing it with a glass of water at hand to truly savor the bottle. Ice may also improve the experience by diffusing some of the sugary and stern as it melts. If you want a flavorful jolt, not jurisprudence, pounding the bottle back like a frat pledge would certainly open your eyes and give you a bit of a headrush with much more class than any energy drink. The caffeine itself in this brew, however, is as smooth as it is bracing, which is a charming aspect of its own. The more I drank, the more I came to like Joe Fizz, but I’d had my fill by the end of the bottle. I could see how you could acquire a regular taste for Joe Fizz, but you’d need to have a sweet tooth and a strong stomach.

Buzz Level: Firm But Gentle Eye-Widener
Overall: A surprisingly endearing product that grew on me, but also a rather heady beverage that makes it an unlikely candidate for daily drinking.

PurJava also makes liquid-center chocolates and coffee-flavored caramel corn, which clearly need further investigation… I may contact the company directly to see if I can learn more about them, as their (ugly if functional) little web page suggests that there’s more to their company – much like that first awkward sip of Joe Fizz – than the immediate impression.

The informative portion of this one’s a relative quickie. Appropriate, as one would need to move fast in order to take full advantage. Also appropriate in the sense that there are many acronyms ahead, which follow that ironic tendency of acronyms to take longer in their repeated explanation than would be spent simply relaying the entirety of their abbreviation.

(…Perhaps I lied about your quickie.)

The Ristretto (short shot; espresso prepared with less water/time to exaggerate flavor): For the professional barista passers-by, please note that the Barista Guild of America, AKA the BGA, is having a “Recession Special” until the first of May. New members can join for one year at the cost of $25, as opposed to the usual rate of $45. Renewals are free!

Run along and join, or stick around for…

The Full Pull: No doubt many readers, by this point, will have exclaimed to themselves – “There’s a barista guild?” To which I proudly say, “mai guildz, let me show u it”.

Founded in 2003, the BGA became an official trade guild of the SCAA (the Specialty Coffee Association of America, which is the world’s largest coffee trade association). There was a certain amount of shrugging on behalf of the community itself as to if a guild of the notoriously non-conformist would stand solid. As the BGA website states quite poetically,

It’s not necessarily intuitive that a grassroots organization which intends to weather the winds of change requires a solid infrastructure built on a foundation that will last the tests of time.

Since its inception, however, the BGA has made several notable contributions to the craft, all of which are reasons to consider signing aboard if you haven’t already. This includes running ongoing skill-building workshops, officially sanctioning regional barista jams (the “barista jam” is an informal gathering of coffee-peers to share knowledge, a beloved barista event!), offering members discounts with training schools and on training products, as well as deals on equipment and even a network of coffee houses which provide members with free drinks and discourse. (For a full listing of member discounts, see here.) As one would hope, the BGA has fostered the sharing of knowledge and a sense of solidarity between its motley members. But perhaps most importantly of all, the BGA contributes to something which coffee craftspersons are well due for yet is amazingly short in supply: recognition of legitimacy.

It boggles me that for as much training, talent, hard work and pure love that coffee preparers pour into their trade, even with the coffee industry being as large as it is, the general public has little concept of what a barista is or what they really do. A bartender or sommelier command their varying respect by their traditions, yet a barista is often confused for the fast-food worker of coffee. True, I would gauge the process of making a pre-conceived single batch of drip coffee as demanding a chore as dunking a basket of french fries. There, however, the similarities thin.

Drink recipes are, for anyone who has witnessed a dozen-syllable beverage order, more malleable and custom-made than even the most having-it-their-way McCustomer. A barista, in the strictest sense, is a master of hardware and gadgets, a smooth small-talk operator, a host, a performer, a scientist, a foodie, a translator, a fashion plate, an artist, and an agent of counter-culture. Even those with push-button espresso machines in the most corporate regimented coffee establishments are required to maintain standards of sociability and product knowledge well above that of a burger chain. It’s a bit more elaborately caffeinated interpersonal mandala than the answer-null, sufficiently mind-emptying “fries with that?” koan. (And here, I bolster for McDebate. McChuckle.)

An encapsulation of the after-school special moral to be found within this post is: by supporting the BGA, a barista propagates the infrastructure of their trade, opens new avenues of learning for themselves, enhances public perception of barista-kind via the demonstration of their organization, and thereby improves the lot of all coffee brethren.

And right now, you can get in on the cheap.

Have at it, spro pros.

For next time, I have reviews of canned and bottled coffee products I’m buzzing to share.

Let me introduce myself, your bariste blogger, as Danae.  I’ve been involved with various aspects of the barista community for the past six years.  That includes working for giant coffee corporations and tiny family-run shops.  Yet within only the last six months, I’ve begun counting myself as a born-again bean brewer, and it has nothing to do with my religious alignment.

What’s the difference between liking coffee, and loving it?

I’ve liked coffee since I was sixteen.  I used to drink the cheapest lukewarm brown water that dingy senior citizens restaurants had the brazen balls to call coffee.  It tasted more like the re-used filter it’d been brewed in than the bean-chaff that had been percolated, but everyone ordered it regardless.  I used to make the self-professed “best” American coffee, and took the over-roasted, pre-ground cup of mass-marketed yuppie propaganda for what it claimed it was worth.  And when I visited my first high-quality, small-batch roaster, it was as if I had never really tasted  coffee before.   That unpretentious, pure cup of complicated black woke me the hell up.  I think I fell in love.  I say “think”, in the same way you can call something love only because it’s a kind of passionately devoted awe you have no other name for.

Coffee begins like a tiny miracle.  From the lush green grows a humble  seed of endless possibility, a red cherry ripe with untouched hope.  When stripped of the flashy, fleshy packaging, when washed, when the best and brightest aspects have been selected, have been left to ruminate, have been thrown into the crucible, when the finished product is released at the height of its development – even that’s just a start.  With these beans of highest virtue, we perform ritual, we give heart, we grind and brew and judge the remains for everything they are.

Of course, these things taste the best when shared.

And that’s when I thirsted for more.

I decided after much over-extracted thought on the name “Seed2Cups”, for a handful of reasons.

I’ll tell you right from the start that I certainly didn’t coin the phrase “seed-to-cup”, and I’m still investigating where it might’ve begun.  (If any of you readers has a lead, please let me know!)  The words are familiar in the coffee industry, illuminating the concept of following coffee production from its very origins through to the final beverage reaching the consumer.  It’s become a slogan for transparency, for accountability, for responsibility, sustainability – and other “-ilities” besides, generally making a statement about dedication to the highest quality for all aspects of that coffee’s development.

So what’s with that numeric up in there?  Has internet-slang “1337 speak” already made me incapable of writing two letters?  Not quite yet…  Aside from “to” as referenced above, “2″ further signifies the sharing component that I see as being essential to coffee.  It also explains why “cups” is plural, not singular.

It takes a long chain of dedicated workers from vastly varied disciplines to make a typical cup o’ joe (jane?) happen.  The act of drinking coffee, much like eating, has become a very significant social feature.  If I have a cup, and you have a cup, it gives us something to discuss, something to bond over, a shared experience, doesn’t it?  And for a more whimsical reason from a source I don’t put much weight upon, the two of cups has meaning within a tarot deck that echoes the sense of connection that I’m trying to get across.

To conclude this long-winded hello, I’ll tell you that this is only the seed, not the cupped result.  I learn more every day I’m behind the bar, and with that learning, recognize how ignorant I was before it.  I’m going to make mistakes, I’m going to be wrong, I’m going to burn myself and have to start again.  But out of that blood, sweat, and grounds, I expect to pull some black gold.  I invite you to read along as I post everything from laughable pictures to deep-digging technical research, tiny tidbits to run-away trains of thought, silly finds to intensely engaging reports, big-name events to no-name occurrences.  I don’t know where my new found passion will take me, but I know that I’ve just begun to brew.  And I’ve got a spare cup.

(Please excuse the grinds as I move into this blog; more to come as I familiarize myself with WordPress.)