# The glasgow tasting pack



## robashton (May 9, 2015)

So... In the longstanding tradition of assuming I'm wrong and I'm entirely misguided about objectively looking at coffee and its taste, I want to send some coffee out to upstanding citizens of the forums. Also @garydyke1 actually has this properly nailed as an idea so...

it'll all be from glasgow and I'll send enough for a cupping and a brew, from a selection of roasteries and a selection of beans that I both like and don't like (and have my own notes on).

I'll just need a postal address

they'll not not be labelled other than the standard 1,2,3 etc

I will send to five people, all you need is some cupping bowls (no need to do them all side by side unless you want to) and a preferred brew method and the desire to write stuff in this thread once you have the beans (no waiting required). I'd prefer if the recipients are from the side of "light coffee"









what im looking for: a comparison of what I've written down vs what you chaps write down (I'll dump my notes in here, and if you're interested I'll reveal what the coffees were at the end.

this will sate my curiousity until I get myself booked onto a sensory course...

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

Am I eligible?


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## robashton (May 9, 2015)

Haha - I bet you'd be able to pick them out - you're eligible if you make an attempt at that as a bonus round.


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

1. Jeebsy


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## jlarkin (Apr 26, 2015)

1. Jeebsy

2. jlarkin


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## Neill (Jun 26, 2013)

Does Northern Ireland rule me out? My brothers over at the weekend so we could cup together.


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## robashton (May 9, 2015)

Nope, happy to ship wherever - it's only pennies


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## Neill (Jun 26, 2013)

1. Jeebsy

2. jlarkin

3. Neill


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## c_squared (Jun 26, 2013)

Neill said:


> Does Northern Ireland rule me out? My brothers over at the weekend so we could cup together.


That does not read well!!!!


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## Neill (Jun 26, 2013)

c_squared said:


> That does not read well!!!!


And just for that, you're not invited anymore


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## fluffles (Sep 4, 2012)

Neill said:


> 1. Jeebsy
> 
> 2. jlarkin
> 
> 3. Neill


4. Fluffles


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## Rompie (Apr 18, 2015)

Yeah why not, I'd be up for this.

5. Rompie


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## robashton (May 9, 2015)

Right chaps, postal addresses via Pm and I'll sort this out tomorrow!


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

Want to just hook me up on Thursday?


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## Neill (Jun 26, 2013)

Done, cheers.


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## risky (May 11, 2015)

I'm interested to see the results. I seem to recall a while back you were really fraustrated with the local offerings, Rob?


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## robashton (May 9, 2015)

Ta folk, doing the "rounds" this morning and picking up fresh beans which I'll then send out and then cup myself.

note: if you don't like at at the cupping table please don't feel obliged to drink it as a brew, the extra beans are for a bonus round if you actually enjoy the coffee.

im going to stick at least one proper "goodie" in there


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## robashton (May 9, 2015)

Out it goes..

View attachment 15925


I'll be doing it myself later entirely blind and I'll dump my tasting notes here without the numbers.

You can try and work out which coffee matches my tasting notes


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## Neill (Jun 26, 2013)

If they arrive in time I'll hopefully taste on Sunday. Think I'll avoid reading any notes until I've tasted.


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## robashton (May 9, 2015)

They should arrive on time - they'll be going 1st class


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## Neill (Jun 26, 2013)

robashton said:


> They should arrive on time - they'll be going 1st class


Sorry, didn't mean it to sound like I was impatient! Post to here takes a bit longer.


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## robashton (May 9, 2015)

Nah - I want them to arrive sooner rather than later - some of the beans are more than a couple of days already thanks to roasters all having different roast days..


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## fluffles (Sep 4, 2012)

Thanks Rob, looking forward to giving this a try.

Once everyone has tasted, would be fun to see the roaster's own description of each one too.


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## robashton (May 9, 2015)

I'll post the roasters notes once we are all done


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## robashton (May 9, 2015)

Right - all sent, 1st class postage at about 10am so good chance of being there on Friday or Saturday for most people


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## Rompie (Apr 18, 2015)

Great stuff. If mines here by Saturday I'll be doing mine then, could be interesting.


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## robashton (May 9, 2015)

We have cupped and rated and noted (blindly, although we were able to pick out the roasters really easily)

the interest of fairness I will not post our results until next week, we have tasting notes and a rating out of 10


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## robti (Mar 27, 2013)

Really looking forward to see the results of this as I used to try the locals then purely for cost I went Internet beans

thanks

robert


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## Neill (Jun 26, 2013)

Arrived today. Thanks robashton, should get this done on Sunday.


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## jlarkin (Apr 26, 2015)

Thanks mine arrived today. I'll probably do this Sunday morning as well.


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

Mine arrived . Something is VERY roasty in one of those bags


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## robashton (May 9, 2015)

Sorry about that in advance - it's not roasty gary, you're just over extracting


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

robashton said:


> Sorry about that in advance - it's not roasty gary, you're just over extracting


I have an efficient nose


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## robashton (May 9, 2015)

Use different air


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## robashton (May 9, 2015)

On a serious note I will be anonymously collating the feedback from this thread back to the roasters - there is always a chance they will end up here so um, be aware of this!


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## robashton (May 9, 2015)

Especially if you're in industry *cough*


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## jlarkin (Apr 26, 2015)

Rob when you're back do you fancy trying some of these packs?

http://thecoffeeroasters.co.uk/collections/tasting-packs

There are a few roasters doing a selection of 100g bags for about £10. I'd be happy either to split with you or you +2 others. I could order them and send on half or whatever the split. I'd like to get more tasting under my belt and this seems like a way to get a few done along with other coffee channels.

I know you said you're away for a bit so could start when you're back.


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## Rompie (Apr 18, 2015)

Got mine yesterday and will have a go today. Are we posting notes on this thread or sending directly to you rob?


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## robashton (May 9, 2015)

Dump them in the thread, I don't want to influence because I have ideas about the roasters already that even in a blind cupping still no doubt crept in..


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## Rompie (Apr 18, 2015)

robashton said:


> Dump them in the thread, I don't want to influence because I have ideas about the roasters already that even in a blind cupping still no doubt crept in..


Righto. Have just cupped 1, 2 and 3, will do the others later but just thought I'd put my notes up while the thoughts are still fresh.

1. Aroma: lots of funky fruitiness, leathery aged smells, malty, winey. Natural African?

Tasting: long smooth acidity of green grape skins, winey and spirituous. Funky berry notes throughout with sweet finish. Very tasty, leaves me wanting more, will definitely be making a brew from this one...

8/10

2. Aroma: fruity, subtle citrus, smoky. Can almost smell lemsip!?

Tasting: still funky fruitiness but subdued somewhat when compared to 1. Woody, ashy, smokey notes lurk behind citrus or apple sweetness. Smooth and mellow with little acidity.

6.5/10

3. Aroma: sweet not fruity, nuttier and bold. Fairly subdued aromas here.

Tasting: woody, nutty, hazelnuts? Very mellow with short lived notes of forest berries that gives way to something that's almost chocolaty. Underwhelming really.

5/10

Sorry if the notes are a bit slapdash and not super informative, I'll add to them once the others have been tasted.


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## robashton (May 9, 2015)

I don't have my reference of what is what to hand, but I recognise those from the notes - so not bad.


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## robashton (May 9, 2015)

Well that's half of one person's done - where are the other 4/5.5


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

robashton said:


> Well that's half of one person's done - where are the other 4/5.5


Its sunny!


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## robashton (May 9, 2015)

Oh, carry on then

but don't leave it too long, age is the great equaliser


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

They all age at the same rate , but poor coffees will fall away faster


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## Rompie (Apr 18, 2015)

Well I was cheekily waiting on others' notes so I didn't seem so keen









Here's my notes for coffee's 4 and 5:

4. Aroma: Roasty, fairly nutty with muted chocolate. No defining smells here.

Taste: Bright roastiness throughout, burnt sugary/burnt toast notes. Blackcurrant sourness at the end. I came back to this later and the fruitiness was much more pronounced as it cooled. This was a pretty standard, no-frills coffee for me but I still found myself enjoying it.

6/10

5.

Aroma: Lots of bubblegum, lemon sherbet. Fruity sweetness, synthetic cherry (like cherry chapstick).

Taste: Bright blueberries, plum/stoned fruitiness. Lingering and complex acidity with smooth bubblegum and floral finish. Very tasty.

8/10


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## robashton (May 9, 2015)

Interesting...


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

OK Shut up your moaning.

I cupped these with a benchmark. Specialty begins at 85. 90 is very good and 95+ is killer.

Bench Mark (Has Bean Costa Rica Finca La Casa Vista Al Valle Yellow Honey Villa Sarchi)

Damson, plum, Clean bright, touch of funk. 91/100

1. Blend roasted on a 2kg-10kg roaster??

Smell was roasty initially . Surprisingly clean. Caramel, milk chocolate , fairly bright, bit thin, on the fence. 86/100

2. Washed Ethiopian ? Yirg?

Bergamot, lilac, faded quickly, boring for the origin. 84/100

3. Washed Guate?

Aroma was baggy, choc, walnuts, digestives, spicy. OK. 85/100

4. Washed Kenya?

Bright zingy, Cherry, Blackcurrant - chews, creamy mouthfeel. Nice. 89-90/100

5. Natural Ethiopia , Guji?

Yuck. Gooseberry meets liqourish but in a trash can. Dirty. Poor. 80/100

Am I close?

EDIT I think Im being harsh on 3. Perhaps 86 pts


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## risky (May 11, 2015)

garydyke1 said:


> Yuck. Gooseberry meets liqourish but in a trash can. Dirty. Poor. 80/100


Who could resist such a description! You are a poet, Sir!


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## Neill (Jun 26, 2013)

Got stuck in to this today. Notes to follow shortly. Expect amateur comments not up to the above but we enjoyed it.


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## Neill (Jun 26, 2013)

The chocolate cake was not consumed during cupping, just to reassure everyone.


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## Rompie (Apr 18, 2015)

Cake looks tasty.


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## Neill (Jun 26, 2013)

Ok, the notes I'm posting are a combination of @c_squared s and mine. Another brother also commented but didn't write anything down. Sorry, we didn't score them.

1. Aroma was nutty with some chocolate. First taste was brights with raspberry/red fruits. As it cooled more nuts and chocolate came through with the red fruits lingering in the background. We enjoyed this one.

2. Aroma was blackberry/darker fruits. I thought it smelt a bit roasty. First taste was of Apple/cherry. But funky. Probably a natural. As it cooled it got a bit muddy and indistinct.

3. This smelt roasty and of dark chocolate. This tasted of liquorice and blackcurrant but it was a bit bitter and there was a hint of rubber. Sorry.

4. This one smelt and tasted of tomato and basil soup. All three of us agreed on this. As it cooled it the herb part of it faded but still tasted of juicy ripe tomato, we didn't particularly enjoy this.

5. Nutty, biscuity, floral aroma. Tasted a bit too much of vegetable, cucumber in particular. We're both not particularly practiced at this but it seemed underdeveloped.

In summary, number one and two were the most drinkable but number 1 took it for us. My Dad had a quick taste once it has cooled and seemed to enjoy 3. Would not have need our choice.


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## c_squared (Jun 26, 2013)

This is the first time I have cupped different coffee all at the same time. I'm very new to cupping but I really enjoyed doing this as each coffee stood out as being very different. Big thanks to @robashton for organising this, it was great fun!


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

forgot my proof picture !


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

Neill said:


> Got stuck in to this today. Notes to follow shortly. Expect amateur comments not up to the above but we enjoyed it.


Next time you cup, fill the vessel right to the rim


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

Also , I was using Spences magic water , this seems to hide roasty notes compared to less ideal waters.....


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## Neill (Jun 26, 2013)

garydyke1 said:


> Next time you cup, fill the vessel right to the rim


I blame c_squared for that. Shouldn't have let him pour


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## robashton (May 9, 2015)

garydyke1 said:


> Also , I was using Spences magic water , this seems to hide roasty notes compared to less ideal waters.....


Cheating! But you're dead wrong about most of them haha


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## robashton (May 9, 2015)

Absolutely bang on @Neill - at least with what I have written down and your guesses - 4 is indeed a kenyan hence the crazy savory notes, definitely my highest rated one there (it would be 1 but its roasty)


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## Neill (Jun 26, 2013)

robashton said:


> Absolutely bang on @Neill - at least with what I have written down and your guesses - 4 is indeed a kenyan hence the crazy savory notes, definitely my highest rated one there (it would be 1 but its roasty)


It's interesting, we didn't really enjoy 4 that much. It was very clean and the flavours came through. Probably had the most flavour coming through and maybe shows that the roast was spot on but we just didn't really like the bean.


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## robashton (May 9, 2015)

It is a very classic kenyan


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

robashton said:


> It is a very classic kenyan


its the only one which tasted like it should too


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## Rompie (Apr 18, 2015)

Ha that's funny. 4 was the one I was having most trouble defining. Was nice though.

Edit: made a brew with 1 this morning and thoroughly enjoyed it.


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

I'll do mine tonight


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## fluffles (Sep 4, 2012)

OK here are my notes. I'm doing this without having read anyone else's as I didn't want to be influenced by the opinions of others. Also, this is the first time I've done a cupping like this - it was really interesting but I couldn't say for sure I had the technique nailed or that I am necessarily looking for the "right" things. Anyway...

I followed the SCAE cupping guide, which is 6.9g coffee and 125g water at 93C. I ground with a Hausgrind on setting 2.9.0 (mine zero's at 0.3.0, so that's 2.6.0 from absolute zero). Brewed for 4 mins then broke the crust. I used Nottingham tap water filtered through a BWT Bestmax Premium.

1. Whilst brewing it smelt quite dark and chocolatey and possibly a bit roasty for my tastes. Flavours - the first flavour to hit me was peanuts, then a sort of caramel and chocolate thing. At first I thought it tasted like a Lion bar, but with the peanuts it brought it into Snickers territory. It didn't taste as roasty as I thought it was going to. Mouthfeel was relatively thin. Acidity was fairly low and whilst I generally go for fruity coffees, I thought this was reasonably well balanced for what it was. As it got really cool I then started to get a hit of something that reminded me of Chinese takeaways right on the front of the palate - soy sauce! Wasn't keen on this bit! I'd say we were in South America with this one.

2. This definitely had the unmistakable smell of Natural processing. Had a fruity (I thought blueberry) and boozy aroma. On the palate it was really sweet and tasted like blueberry muffins - I always think the blueberries in muffins taste very different to fresh ones and it was definitely the muffin sort. There was a creaminess to it as well. Guessing an Ethiopian Natural.

3. Very little aroma to speak of whilst brewing and I found the same with the flavours. Possibly got a bit of toffee. Other than that it was really boring and struggled to find anything to write. Very little going on, this one's not for me.

4. This one threw me a bit. The beans looked quite dark but the aromas and flavours didn't really match with this. Under aromas I noted "fruit" and "ripe fruit". My initial flavour notes were "ripe fruits" and "unusual in a good way". As it started to cool the acidity really started to ramp up. I liked it, but I couldn't for the life of my put my finger on how to describe it. I started out thinking orange/clementine, then went to white grapes and then strawberry. I'm definitely going to brew this as v60 to have another look.

5. This one was crazy. Smelt *really* boozy and funky, obviously a natural. It has the most distinctive aroma. The first flavour note I had was those chewy banana sweets and banana flavouring (as opposed to real bananas). As it cooled I noted down over-ripe and brown fruit flavours. The mouthfeel was unusual - the flavours made me think it should have a big body but it actually seemed quite thin. As it cooled I was getting something else distinctive that I couldn't quite put me finger on - floral, lavendar maybe? Maybe a whisp of liquorice too. Whilst I do like naturals, this was probably a bit too overwhelmingly funky for my tastes.

This was really enjoyable and I'd love to do more of this. If I get round to it I will return the favour with some coffees from this neck of the woods.


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## fluffles (Sep 4, 2012)

Sorry, forgot photo. Deploying the old iPad in exchange for 20 minutes peace technique with daughter.


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## fluffles (Sep 4, 2012)

Very interesting reading back at everyone else's notes. Rob are you sure you numbered them all the same?!!


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## c_squared (Jun 26, 2013)

fluffles said:


> View attachment 15992
> 
> 
> Sorry, forgot photo. Deploying the old iPad in exchange for 20 minutes peace technique with daughter.


I love the iPad exchange scheme with my kids. Like you, this was my first proper cupping experience. I thought it was great fun and have been enjoying reading everyone's notes.


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## risky (May 11, 2015)

Well it certainly proves, as with the Has Bean cupping, how different people's palettes can be.


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## fluffles (Sep 4, 2012)

I think the water will make a pretty big difference too


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## fluffles (Sep 4, 2012)

I find it hard to give ratings, but in terms of what I'd be happy to brew again I'd say 4 and possibly 1. Number 2 was ok-ish, but I think not clean enough. Number 5 was a mess and number 3 I think had roasted any character out of the bean.


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## fluffles (Sep 4, 2012)

I've just brewed number 4 in v60. I'm really happy with this - it's clean and juicy. I couldn't place the acidity when cupping, but I'd now go with redcurrants and cranberries.


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## DoubleShot (Apr 23, 2014)

@garydyke1 and @fluffles

What size cups are those that you've both used as cupping bowls?

Most of my cups are pairs plus a couple of singles. Purchasing say a set of 6 cups of the same size that could double up as cupping bowls would kill two birds with one stone and is a great idea! ?


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## robashton (May 9, 2015)

fluffles said:


> Very interesting reading back at everyone else's notes. Rob are you sure you numbered them all the same?!!


Heh, fraid there is no doubt of this - I bagged each coffee one at a time along with the piece of paper, I can see how most of the notes map to the coffee - once @jeebsy has reported back and perhaps @Xpenno I'll dump my own blurb in here


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## fluffles (Sep 4, 2012)

DoubleShot said:


> @garydyke1 and @fluffles
> 
> What size cups are those that you've both used as cupping bowls?
> 
> Most of my cups are pairs plus a couple of singles. Purchasing say a set of 6 cups of the same size that could double up as cupping bowls would kill two birds with one stone and is a great idea!


The red cups are my flat white cups - they hold about 150-160ml.


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## Xpenno (Nov 12, 2012)

robashton said:


> Heh, fraid there is no doubt of this - I bagged each coffee one at a time along with the piece of paper, I can see how most of the notes map to the coffee - once @jeebsy has reported back and perhaps @Xpenno I'll dump my own blurb in here


Should be on it this lunch or later PM.


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## robashton (May 9, 2015)

Neat - Love that we've had some extra participants through sharing, should make the final aggregation of results that much more interesting


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## Rompie (Apr 18, 2015)

I feel I might have mixed up 1 and 2 from reading everyone else's notes?!


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## robashton (May 9, 2015)

Nah, they're both naturals - and both of them are defective in their own way


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## Neill (Jun 26, 2013)

I'm just trying number 4 as a kalita wave. Moved locations so water is different. I'm still getting tomato. It's juicy. Seems to have more body. Drinkable.


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

DoubleShot said:


> @garydyke1 and @fluffles
> 
> What size cups are those that you've both used as cupping bowls?
> 
> Most of my cups are pairs plus a couple of singles. Purchasing say a set of 6 cups of the same size that could double up as cupping bowls would kill two birds with one stone and is a great idea! ?


200ml / 12g


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

Neill said:


> I'm just trying number 4 as a kalita wave. Moved locations so water is different. I'm still getting tomato. It's juicy. Seems to have more body. Drinkable.


Tomato is sometimes found in columbian and Kenyan coffees. Not always desirable


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## robashton (May 9, 2015)

garydyke1 said:


> Tomato is sometimes found in columbian and Kenyan coffees. Not always desirable


I've not had a lot of tomato this year, I think this is the first Kenyan I've had this year where it really sprung out at me!


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

robashton said:


> I've not had a lot of tomato this year, I think this is the first Kenyan I've had this year where it really sprung out at me!


Didn't get any with magic water : (

Was blackcurrant-gummy-chews for me


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## robashton (May 9, 2015)

At the point where Magic water is covering up roasty flavours (not that the Kenyan has any) and giving you a different coffee to what you'd get in the shop where it was roasted, are you really drinking the same coffee?


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

robashton said:


> At the point where Magic water is covering up roasty flavours (not that the Kenyan has any) and giving you a different coffee to what you'd get in the shop where it was roasted, are you really drinking the same coffee?


Well Spence will be using exactly the same water. Lets see if he gets Tomato, Blackcurrant, Cranberry ........or Onions.


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## robashton (May 9, 2015)

This is coffee, not pasta


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

robashton said:


> This is coffee, not pasta


You should tell that to some of the coffees/roasters in your pack ; )


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## robashton (May 9, 2015)

"Ooft"

This will be a fun writeup, and will test my ability or lack of to balance tact and honest feedback..


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

Going to do it again tomorrow - had to start cooking my dinner halfway through and everything started tasting of beef.

1. Wasn't keen on it at first, smelled like it was going to be really roasty but settled as it cooled, choc, nuts, nice, easy drinking

2. Ended up drinking most of this but couldn't find very much to say about it. Smelled good though

3. Don't like it very much, roasty, bitter, struggling for any positive adjectives

4. Blackcurrant, nice balanced

5. Best smelling, initially at least but a bit tart on the finish when cooling


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## robashton (May 9, 2015)

jeebsy said:


> Going to do it again tomorrow - had to start cooking my dinner halfway through and everything started tasting of beef.
> 
> 1. Wasn't keen on it at first, smelled like it was going to be really roasty but settled as it cooled, choc, nuts, nice, easy drinking
> 
> ...


not bad for beefy breath


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## jlarkin (Apr 26, 2015)

OK did this today. Stopped looking at the thread to avoid bias. Did this cupping with my girlfriend she isn't as into coffee but has better palate than me. Enjoyed it, thanks Rob!

Found them all hard to write much about, my favourite was 2 but I wasn't wild about any.

1. Toasty smell. Tasting: dryness but not toasty. Not much to say slightly nutty. Cooled with more acidity in evidence, slight hint of fruit.

2. Smell of Almonds, bakewell tart. Tastes very funky boozy, dark berries. Not quite right somehow but my favourite. Quite balanced on cooling but very funky fruit still.

3. Smell, meagre. Like dust on a hot lamp. Tastes thin, sour, like nothing much. Cooling more acidic, little dark fruit.

4. Assume it's washed coffee from chaff bits. Smelled bit like broccoli. Taste initially beetroot, slightly earthy aspect. Cooling got more tomato soupy. My girlfriend's favourite.

5. My girlfriend said it smelled like the Jorvik Viking Centre. I was thinking kind of mouldy smell. Taste; GET IN THE SEA. Not good.

Picture below but I binned 5 off after a second slurp that tasted like bile.


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## robashton (May 9, 2015)

I laughed at 5

Your girlfriend has good taste


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## robashton (May 9, 2015)

In coffee*


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## jlarkin (Apr 26, 2015)

robashton said:


> In coffee*


No need for the addition, just all round.


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## robashton (May 9, 2015)

Is that a reading real ale festival pint glass?


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## jlarkin (Apr 26, 2015)

Yes it is indeed.


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## Rompie (Apr 18, 2015)

Just did an aeropress of 4 and definitely getting the tomato soup now - would have never thought of it before ha. 'tis the beauty of these things I suppose.


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

jlarkin said:


> OK did this today. Stopped looking at the thread to avoid bias. Did this cupping with my girlfriend she isn't as into coffee but has better palate than me. Enjoyed it, thanks Rob!
> 
> Found them all hard to write much about, my favourite was 2 but I wasn't wild about any.
> 
> ...


I was at a beer competition once and called Viking Centre as a tasting note. Suffice to say the creator of said beer was not amused.


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

I noted today in the garden , Blackcurrant leaves and Tomato leaves (when rubbed) have very similar aromas.


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## Rompie (Apr 18, 2015)

Interesting! Love the smell of tomato plants, can't say I've ever really had much to do with Blackcurrant plants though.


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## risky (May 11, 2015)

So who are we still waiting on? I'm interested to find out the results!


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## Xpenno (Nov 12, 2012)

Suspension bust on my car and I've been running around getting that sorted before heading off on hols.

Just got home from work and a recording sesh with my band so it ain't happening tonight. Maybe tomorrow. You guys crack on, I'll keep out of this thread and play along on my own


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## jeebsy (May 5, 2013)

4. http://avenue.coffee/shop/thiriku-ab-kenya/


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

Xpenno said:


> Suspension bust on my car and I've been running around getting that sorted before heading off on hols.
> 
> Just got home from work and a recording sesh with my band so it ain't happening tonight. Maybe tomorrow. You guys crack on, I'll keep out of this thread and play along on my own


Was it moving the r120 that did it??


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## robashton (May 9, 2015)

jeebsy said:


> 4. http://avenue.coffee/shop/thiriku-ab-kenya/


nope!


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## robashton (May 9, 2015)

Although if that actually is good then I'll have to just never know, I've spent so much money on that ****ing company and not got good beans yet.


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## robashton (May 9, 2015)

Okay anyway, @Xpenno I've stuck the results here so feel free to ignore further updates until you've done your own cupping - I'm waiting for your results before I do my aggregation and blog entry.

We did the cupping blind in a completely different order.

1) Papercup Coffee - Galana Abaya

it's a natural Ethiopian, one of my favourite espressos this year from Square Mile and I'm pretty pleased to see it locally.

*Roaster says: *Blueberries, sticky, complex, known roasting defect (it's a bit overdone)

*We said:*On the nose this immediately comes across as quite a complex coffee, deep smells (possibly of summer fruits), it is also a little dark. This tasted sweet and fruity although slightly dry in the mouth (increasing as it cooled) - slightly roasty on the tail

*Rating*: 7/10

2) Avenue Coffee - Costa Rica - Finca Santos

It's a natural Costa Rican (!!), and theoretically up my alley - I was disappointed when I got this home and it's one of the coffees that spawned this whole idea (am I crazy or is this actually not all that good)

*Roaster says: *A really special Costa Rican coffee. Rum and chocolate notes give way to raspberry sweetness and a fruity fermented plum finish

*We said: *On the nose this had a curry/spice/dark/bad smell and it was quite drying in the mouth - while not roasty it has a popcorn element to it that is distinctly unpleasant. It did have some sweetness but that came with quite a cloying mouth feel.

*Rating*: 3/10

3) Avenue Coffee - Skyscraper Espresso

Yeah sorry folks, I sneaked an "espresso roast" in there and it's super roasty, it's a washed caturra from Colombia

*Roaster says:* This espresso is remarkably complex, with notes of chocolate, orange, peach and spices. Wonderful on its own, but with enough body to cut through milk drinks

*We said: *Immediately woody aromas, a bad dark smell. On the tongue it is immediately roasty and dry which gives away to a little sweetness as it cools whcih if you were being forgiving would be reminiscent of oranges

*Rating*: 2/10

4) Papercup Coffee - Githiga AB

So we all got this was a kenyan right? This is seriously good stuff which I was surprised by because up until this point I'd had a jaded view of Papercup's offerings (I was clearly buying the wrong coffee and when people ask me why I keep trying with Avenue - this is why). It's washed SL28/34

*Roaster says: *Complex acidity, lime/blackcurrant/apricot with marmalade sweetness and a crisp mouthfeel

*We said:*On the nose this didn't immediately stand out - light with hints of fruit and slightly sweet, when tasted it came across as savoury (I said tomato, James said Sweetcorn) - if squinting at an angle black currant could be applied. I personally found something at the very tail end that I didn't like (I experienced this in shop too on v60 and initially chalked this down to roast because that's what I was expecting - now I'm not so sure - I suspect it's an aspect of the coffee that I'm not used to and I'd not notice it after a few cups. I've always had a hard time with Kenyans)

*Rating*: 8.5/10

5) Dear Green - Wahana Natural

Yip, it's a sumatran natural and one of the roaster's favourites - I had it in shop and I must admit I enjoyed it on the v60, in hindsight this was more because of the novelty rather than actually enjoying the flavour. It's a weird coffee that I'd like to try from another roaster to compare with.

*Roaster says: * Parma Violet aroma. Ripe Sweetness. Tangy. Intense.

*We said:*WTF WTF WTF - smells sweet and fruity (this was cupped right after the Avenue lot), slightly piny perhaps. In the mouth it was super funky, funky funky - slightly woody at the start although this eased into some sort of earthiness. It has a light mouthfeel all the way through. We have no idea what is going on here.

*Rating*: 6/10

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So there you go. What I find interesting is that while we used different descriptors, I found it easy to work out which coffee you were describing. I'll generate some tag clouds with your raw text and see what comes out next to each coffee once spencer's data is in. Also I want some of that magic water so I too can replace roastiness with "there is very little flavour", it'd be less offensive.


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## risky (May 11, 2015)

Yes very interesting!

Just to be clear on the Papercup Galana Abaya, known defect is under 'roaster says'? So did they give you a defective one specially for this, or is it all overdone? I'm eager to try it based on your enthusiasm the other night at the has bean cupping.

Also, number 5 the wahana. Isn't that part of the current blend of Extract Unkle Funka? If you want something to compare it to.

Edit: extract were using this in the Funka blend, and had it on its own. Both are now away.


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## robashton (May 9, 2015)

risky said:


> Yes very interesting!
> 
> Just to be clear on the Papercup Galana Abaya, known defect is under 'roaster says'? So did they give you a defective one specially for this, or is it all overdone? I'm eager to try it based on your enthusiasm the other night at the has bean cupping.
> 
> ...


Oh, I should be very clear, this was the very first batch of the Gelana Abaya - it's not even in their shop yet - I don't expect the next batches to taste like this. (Indeed I had a several week old sample bag of it a while ago from the same roaster and it didn't taste like this either)


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## risky (May 11, 2015)

OK that's reassuring to know. Pity there's no more wahana from Extract to compare to the Papercup offering. But if Papercup have some maybe it will reappear.


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## fluffles (Sep 4, 2012)

Very interesting! Glad to see my top two correlated with yours









I can understand all the descriptions except for number 1 - I got no fruits whatsoever and most people identified chocolate/nut/caramel flavours.


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## robashton (May 9, 2015)

A bunch of people have focused on the high notes and a bunch on the low notes, shall see what the tag clouds say once I throw them together!


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## c_squared (Jun 26, 2013)

fluffles said:


> Very interesting! Glad to see my top two correlated with yours
> 
> 
> 
> ...


On sight and smell Neill and I were expecting all those tasting notes but we had a surprisingly bright coffee with number 1.


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## fluffles (Sep 4, 2012)

I'm going to cup it again later!


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## Rompie (Apr 18, 2015)

Cool, thoroughly enjoyed this. Just giving 2 another chance, v60 with my breakfast. I still really like it - lots going on.


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## jlarkin (Apr 26, 2015)

robashton said:


> Highlight this post on the website for coffee, no idea what your tapatalk thing will do to see the roaster's own tasting notes and our tasting notes (me and James)


BTW Tapatalk just shows all the text with no need to highlight or anything.


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## robashton (May 9, 2015)

Boo


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

Almost like 1 and 2 were the wrong way round.......

See i told you bright and zingy with Blackcurrant on 4 ; 0)


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## robashton (May 9, 2015)

Hmm, it's pretty hard for me to have bagged them the wrong way around, if you wanna cup again to make sure you got it right feel free!


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## robashton (May 9, 2015)

Whipped this post together in a spare hour I had last night in the airport, I've tried to be as objective as I can without anything too emotive!

http://robdoescoffee.com/2015/08/14/distributed-blind-cupping-the-glasgow-smackdown/

Enjoy


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## Rompie (Apr 18, 2015)

Great little article - love a tag cloud.


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## robashton (May 9, 2015)

Rompie said:


> little article.


over 2000 words! It's almost an English essay! I forgot how easy writing is when you don't have to write programming examples to go with the text (which is what my previous life was about)


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## Rompie (Apr 18, 2015)

Haha! Well this seems a lot more interesting


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