Cupping of the new Rwanda, Columbia, and Costa Rica Coffees

Coffee professionals cup (taste) coffee in order to find out whether the new or old coffee is worth buying again or at all. We're looking for the good, the bad, and the ugly. When you cup coffee in the traditional way,   you taste the coffee in its completely naked state. Here's a video of what happens during a Chazzano Coffee Cupping Party.

We have three new coffees: Columbia Medellin Excelso, Rwanda FTO, and Costa Rica SHB
Here are my notes for each of the new coffees:

Columbia Medellin Excelso

I rarely buy Columbian coffees because although the name is synonymous with coffee growing, It's difficult to find quality coffees from Columbia. However, one of my coffee importers has high quality coffee and I decided to take a chance on the coffee. First, let's discuss the name. Medellin is the second largest city in Columbia with a great climate for coffee. Excelso is merely a designation for the screen size of the beans. I chuckle when I see Columbia Supremo that is old, stale, and badly roasted. I'm sure that many people read "Supremo" as the supreme and expect it to be supreme coffee. Supremo just means that the coffee beans are larger than most.

Here are the cupping notes:

This coffee is milky, smooth, with fruity papaya-like notes. The fragrance is sweet and flowery, but the aroma in winey and complex. Their is a buttery mouthfeel that arrives when the coffee has cooled down.
Fragrance (unbrewed coffee): 4
Aroma (brewed coffee): 3
Body/Mouthfeel: 5
Acidity (brightness-how it dances on your tongue): 4
Complexity: 3
Depth: 2
Sweetness: 5
Balance: 5

Total Score: 91

The smooth, milky, and buttery notes create a normal coffee tasting experience.
When the coffee cools down you'll experience scotch-like notes with a gritty mouthfeel.

Drinking for the Cycle notes: #FIVEPT
Great as a French Press and Iced.

A private cupping session

Rwanda FTO

We just finished 2 lots of the 2011 Rwanda Cup of Excellence coffees. This coffee is not a COE coffee, but it will make you smile. When you first sip the coffee, the flavor bypasses the front of your palate and it hits you on the back of your throat with luscious high quality cocoa notes. The fragrance is filled with fruit juice and vanilla and the aroma is winey and complex. There is tremendous brightness that mellow when it cools. There is a complexity to this coffee that I will not understand during the first cupping. This coffee will remind you of those high cacoa content bars of chocolate that force you to snap it next your ears and rub it with your thumb.


Fragrance: 5
Aroma: 4
Body/Mouthfeel: 4
Acidity: 5
Complexity:5
Depth: 5
Sweetness:5
Balance: 4

Total Score: 97

Drinking for the Cycle notes: #FIVEPT
French Press: intense dark chocolate notes
Vaccum Syphon: milder notes of chocolate and cinnamon

Crazy amount of violent sniffing and slurping just happened here.

Costa Rica SHB (Semi-hard bean)


I haven't had a Costa Rican coffee that I didn't like...so far. This one is milky with hot chocolate and cinnamon notes. The fragrance has interesting beef stock or beef stroganoff notes and the aroma morphs into straw, hay, and turmeric. It's possible that  the light roast needed for the cupping, brought out its vegetable like notes in the cupping. Cupping coffee is crucial for the coffee roaster or coffee buyer because it unveils all of the coffee's potential notes. In real life situations, the flavor profile will change profoundly depending on the grind used, brewing temperature, duration the coffee and water intermingle, and brew method. I probably should roast this coffee darker to a Vienna Roast, but that will mask many of the notes that I tasted during the cupping.

Fragrance: 3
Aroma: 3
Body/Mouthfeel: 4
Acidity: 4
Complexity:4
Depth: 3
Sweetness:5
Balance: 5


Total Score: 91

Drinking for the Cycle notes: #FIVEPT
French Press: Sweet papaya fruitiness.
Iced: Sweet fruit notes. Tastes like we've sweetened it. (You know that we wouldn't/ couldn't)

Guatemalan Trio

We (Frank, Klaire, and Talia) just cupped three coffees right now:

1. Guatemala FTO

2. Guatemala COMAL

3. Guatemala Finca Sabanetas

Guatemala FTO: This has tremendous acidity, creamy and milky mouthfeel, oatmeal and maple sweetness. When it cools down, there is an explosion of chocolate that takes over the fragrance and flavor.

Guatemala COMAL: This is a limited edition coffee that is a huge favorite at Chazzano Coffee. There is a pronounced honey sweetness, oak-like woodiness, chocolate bark, chocolate mousse smoothness. This is a crazy bright coffee where there is a great amount of dancing on your tongue.

Guatemala Finca Sabanetas: The fragrance while still hot has every winter spice imaginable: cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg. There is low acidity (brightness) in this Guatemalan. When it cools it you'll experience malted milk balls and licorice notes.

I just cupped the Guatemala FTO as an iced pourover. It has a Kahlua and milk syrupy sweetness. We're going to try a 12-hour Cold Brew of the Guatemala. Come in and try it tomorrow.

Cupping Party on Monday, November 23 6:30 p.m.

Are you ready for an evening of great coffee tasting? We'll learn about the journey of coffee- from bean to cup. Take a tour of Chazzano Coffee Roasters. Slurp, sip, smile, and laugh your way through 4 different kinds of coffee from around the world. The cupping party begins at 6:30 p.m. sharp and concludes at 8:00 p.m. You must RSVP by Monday morning at 10:00 a.m. $8/person.

Warning: Do not eat spicy food before you arrive. It will ruin any chance for you to experience the 1500 possible taste profiles that coffee has to offer.

New "Frank's Late Night Special Espresso Blend"

We are introducing a new Espresso Blend that we like to call "Frank's Late Night Special Espresso Blend." "Late Night Special" is appropriate because anyone who knows me well, knows that drinking a few shots of espresso at midnight has no negative effect on my sleeping habits. This is an interesting blend of some awesome single origin coffees from Indonesia, Brazil, and India. I love cupping coffee and experiencing the surprise and wonder that comes from blending coffees with their own specific taste profiles. With this new Espresso Blend, you will enjoy a complex palate of dark chocolate and blueberries. Of course, there are many single origin coffees that are wonderful all by themselves as espresso. My favorites include- Mexico Chiapas and Sumatra Mandheling.

New Single Origin Coffee Offering

The description below can not describe the depth of flavors that come from a full city roast of this Peru La Florida. I have cupped this coffee several times and have found sometimes nutty and chocolate flavor profile. This is my favorite coffee available. There is something very shocking when I taste this coffee. I explain to everyone who will listen that great coffee does not need milk, sugar, or flavoring. It would truly be a shame to add anything to this coffee.


Below from www.freshcoffeebeans.com

PERU LA FLORIDA ORGANIC FAIR TRADE
La Florida was founded in 1966. Initially the cooperative consisted of 100 farmers who hoped to combine and market their coffee at better prices and thereby attain a greater level of development. Today the cooperative has over 1500 producer associates, all small coffee farmers, representing 36 communal groups, including Peruvian Sierra colonies and indigenous communities. The coffee comes from the slopes of the Andes Mountains in the region of Central Peru. There are 183 certified organic producers participating in La Florida’s organic program. These members are now training their neighbors to improve their harvest using sustainable agriculture practices. The coffee boast USDA and TransFair USA certifications. A European Preparation grade coffee, grown at 4800 - 6000 feet. Spicy floral aroma with hints of citrus. Full flavored with light creamy body and a clean finish.


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Cupping and Blending- The Best Blend, so far...

At the Chicago CoffeeFest, I learned how to cup coffee. Cupping is just advanced tasting. The goal is to carefully document the flavor, aftertaste, and defects of each single origin coffee. Cupping is very similar to wine tasting. In fact, coffee has twice the amount of flavors and chemicals than wine has. Coffee is actually more interesting to cup or to taste than wine. Great coffee should be interesting to drink. One should be able to taste different flavors without adding milk, sugar, or artificial flavors.

I have finally developed a blend of Central American coffees with some African coffees that is creamy and sweet and has an incredible floral aroma. I have been told that blending more than a few coffees is not recommended. However, I added a few scoops of another coffee to my Giggles Blend which includes 5 different coffees and I truly found the best coffee that I have ever had. I have read that blending should be done after each individual coffee is roasted. Again, I roast them all together. The new "Rock the House" blend will help you give up adding milk- I hope.