I guess now is a good time to discuss how we evaluate our coffees.
BLIND CUPPING
First off, all of the coffees are cupped “blind” by our staff. Meaning that those actually tasting and evaluating the coffees do not know any details about the coffees other than the bean sample tray and cups presented on the table.
SAMPLE SIZE
Our staff cups three (3) samples of each coffee. We use Gibraltar 9 ounce glasses from Libbey Foodservice as our cupping vessels. Each sample utilizes fourteen (14) grams of coffee ground to the “4″ setting on our Mahlkonig Kenya grinder, or equivalent.
PROTOCOLS
Our catadors follow industry accepted cupping protocols and cup in silence. First, dry ground coffee is checked for fragrance, then hot water is added to the brim of each cup. Next, wet aroma is checked as the coffee steeps for four (4) minutes.
Each samples’ crust is broken, smelled, then skimmed before the actual cupping begins. Once cleared of excess coffee, each catador takes a sample from the cup and samples the coffee, rinsing their cupping spoon between samples. The coffee is tasted repeatedly over a half hour to evaluate the flavor as the coffee cools.
CUPPING FORMS
Each catador uses our in-house cupping form that was derived from the consumer cupping form used by Counter Culture Coffee. Our form promotes subjectivity not objectivity and features the following categories:
Fragrance – identifies dry fragrances of the ground coffee
Aroma – identifies aromas of the wet coffee
Break – identifies aromatic characters during the breaking of the crust
Brightness – identifies brightness in the cup
Flavor – identifies the flavors inherent in the cup
Body- identifies the “fullness” or body of the cup
Aftertaste – identifies lingering flavors on the palate
The form also provides for secondary characteristics that are completely subjective in nature:
Likes – what this catador liked specifically about this coffee
Dislike – what this catador did not like about this coffee
The third section is a subjective description of the coffee. Initially, catadors were encouraged to write “nice” descriptions of the coffee, highlighting the best aspects while downplaying the low notes. Starting on December 4, 2009, I lifted that restriction and allowed the catadors to write their thoughts verbatim. Whether they liked or disliked the coffee, their description should reflect that position.
I understand that it may seem harsh but I wanted to see the real thoughts of the catadors in their evaluation of the coffees. It’s not meant to be malicious but rather a truthful description of their evaluation. Undoubtedly, some of these descriptions will ruffle some feathers but I encourage everyone to remember that people are different and not all people will react the same way to each coffee.
Upon reading the un-restricted evaluations, some certainly were brutal and harsh, but while some were harsh, others found the same coffee to their liking. To me, this is what is real. What is one person’s favorite coffee is another’s most dreadful. And I think by reading through the descriptions, everyone will see that a balance occurs when reading the various descriptions as a whole.
SCORES
For the production cuppings starting on December 4, 2009, I instituted a subjective scoring scale. Each coffee will be subjectively rated by each catador on a scale of one (1) to ten (10), with ten being the most desirable and one being the least.
It’s a simple scale that most people can clue into without coaching or definition. So far, I’ve decided to leave the points without definitions – even when a catador limits himself within a certain range, say 5-9 instead of 1-10. After considering it further, I decided that as long as that catador limiting the range remains calibrated throughout the cupping, then the results are still reflective of the group.
We’re not using the scores as an absolute. They are used as a tool to help me determine which coffees our staff liked more than others, nothing more. They’re not designed as some sort of promotional tool a la Ken David’s Coffee Review scores and to consider them in that manner would be an error on your part. With so many coffees to cup, evaluate and consider, the ten point scale is a measure to help us identify which coffees to have a closer look as the weeks progress.
DISCUSSION
Once the cupping has been completed, our catadors sit down for an open discussion on the coffees. We detail our likes, dislikes and discuss anything and everything about the coffee.
EVALUATION AND SELECTION
From there, I discuss with the staff which coffees they would like to see on our menu and we proceed from there. Certainly a coffee that a large percentage of baristas loved has an excellent chance of being selected, but the final decision on which coffees make it to our menu remains my choice, and my choice alone.
The idea is to offer a variety of coffees for our customers. Ideally, these are coffees that our baristas are excited about, which is why I think it is important for their feedback. I prefer our baristas to champion the coffees selected rather than it be some arbitrary choice. This is why our baristas are involved in the complete process.
Rather than merely reciting a flowery description provided on the bag, the hope here is that our process will give the barista the experience to advocate the coffee to our customers, instead of reciting from rote. They tasted this coffee, they evaluated this coffee, they proofed this coffee and now they will brew this coffee for you.
BREW EVALUATION
We request one (1) pound samples of coffee to allow not only for our cupping session but also for the brew evaluation once the coffee is selected for our menu. Each selected coffee is brewed with each of the following brew methods:
- French Press
- Vacuum Pot
- Pour Over
- Eva Solo
- Chemex
- Aeropress
- Clever
The brew samples are then tasted and evaluated to determine which brew method best exemplifies that coffee. Once that brew method has been determined, that method then becomes the “default” brew for that coffee.
This means that when the customer comes to the cafe and asks for that particular coffee, we will automatically brew it via its’ “default” brewing method. However, the customer may request that we brew that same coffee for them in any other method as well. I believe this allows for maximum flexibility and exploration of our coffees.
CLOSING
I hope this sheds some light into our processes and methods. And while we do not have regularly scheduled cuppings, all of our roasters, vendors and suppliers are more than welcome to come in and join us in one of our production cuppings or to merely act as an observer to see our processes in person.
If there are any questions or concerns, please feel free to email me or leave your thoughts in our comments here.
Jay