Decaf Ethiopian on the Cupping Table

Cupping class participants.

May 11, 2012 - Day 2 of the Michigan Coffee Conference
On Day 2 of the Michigan Coffee Conference I assisted the instructors of the cupping class, Allen Leibowitz, Zingerman's Coffee, and Sally Rivera, Cafe Imports. They had lined up 7 fine coffees for the the classes that day. We labeled each with the origin: 2 Colombian, 1 Nicaragua, 1 Sumatra, 1 Ethiopia, 1 Kenya and 1 Brazil. But there was still an element of blind cupping -- "there are 2 surprises on the table" they hinted.

Turns out the Ethiopia was a decaf and one of the Colombians was a $24/lb (green) geisha grown in Colombia. Unfortunately, the decaf Ethiopia distinguished itself in the cup has "going flat" very quickly, disappointing after it's bright fragrance and initially satisfying flavor of nuts and berries. The geisha went off the charts in the other direction. It was off the charts in juicy berries and apples, mixed with chocolate and nutty toast with a bold, rich body and finish. All in all the coffees were a great way to teach cuppers about the unique qualities of different origins and at the same time, see how cupping really highlights the best and worst of any coffee.

Single Origin Decaf Cupping

Sunday, April 22

Cuppers at the "labeled" table

The Single Origin Decaf Cupping hosted by my company, Artisan Coffee Imports, took place Sunday morning in a traditional conference room. (No tents or other adventures in a park!)  We had lower than expected attendance -- could it be that the very warm and clear night (after days of rain) kept most attendees out much later than originally planned? Very, very likely, I think!

Cupping the "blind" table

Nate Palmer - BJ's Coffee

Anyhow as the Germans say, the event was "klein aber fein" -- in other words small but high quality with about 8 guest cuppers. We cupped Bolivian, Ethiopian, Colombian and Sumatran coffees -- both the regular and the decaf. One table had the coffees labeled, the other was blind. I was surprised how difficult it was for me to pick out which was which on the blind table (I think I got < 50%). One of the Q-Grader cuppers who came said he was surprised by how little difference there was between the regular and the decaf versions of each offering.