I've been compiling all the cupping data from the final round of March's Ethiopia Limited competition in Addis Ababa. This involves going through the score sheets of specific judges one by one and recording any notes they made on each individual coffee. Then we pass along this information to bidders so they have a little more cupping data beyond the raw scores.
Sounded like dull work when I started it, but it's turned out to be a lot of fun. Reading back through these score sheets, it's remarkable how distinct my memories of these coffees are. I'm just getting over a cold, too, and my inability to taste or smell anything in my immediate environment is probably contributing to my crystal clear recollections of the aromatics from three months ago.
If you've ever seen one of these auction offerings sheets, you may have been (as I remember being) a bit confused by the proliferation of descriptors. Some get repeated over and over. For instance, "sweet," is on just about every sheet. Well, for coffees that are scoring in the high 80's and 90's, I should hope so! Then you have your outliers that only one person noted (I will proudly own up to the mentions of "pineapple" you will see on this year's auction sheet).
Reading these is like reading coffee erotica. As distinct from espresso porn, which is an entirely visual arousal. This is the literary version.
Here's the entry for a typical sun-dried natural coffee, the #9-ranked Sidamo from Adam Bedane: berries, ripe cherries, sweet, vanilla, fresh butter, dark chocolate, oranges, tangerine, great snap, finishes smooth, citrus, sweet and fat
I leave off all the negative comments. They are few and far between, but they do pop up from time to time... with the washed coffees it's usually a hint of astringency or "youth" in the coffee; with the naturals it's usually a hesitant question about uniformity. Suffice to say these are outlier remarks too: if more than one judge detected something like this, the coffee wouldn't have scored high enough to make the finals.
I also, regrettably, must leave off most of the truly creative descriptors. So my note of "astonishing!!!" for the natural Korate from SMS is not on the list. Nor is Tracy Allen's note of "preacher's daughter," on Yitbarek Tilahun's washed coffee from Aleta Wondo.
So , while sloppiness in descriptors can make me cranky, let the court record show that I admit it's impossible not to find joy in things like the flavor of mango in a coffee. For the truly dorky, I'm transcribing every single descriptor from this list after the jump.
Also interesting to note is the way the notes break down between natural versus washed coffee...
NATURAL:
SMS Korate: floral, jasmine, full flavor, juicy, creamy, syrupy, very sweet, blueberries, strawberries, grapes, papaya, pineapple, mango, smooth, lingering sweetness
Bagersh Biloya: berries, cherries, sweet, creamy, fruit, jasmine, apricots, grapes, raspberries
Bagersh Idido: rich, milk chocolate, cherries, candied apples, ripe figs, plum, full fruit, rich fruit, creamy, berries, citrus
IPS Dale: brown sugar, cocoa, vanilla, cherry, spice, honey, chocolate, blueberry, sweet
Mullugeta Dukemo, Aleta Wondo: clean, sweet, winey, strawberry, pleasant acidity, port wine, blueberries, honey, melons
DTC Yirgacheffe: fruit, citrus, jasmine, good body, sparkling, fresh butter, bright acidity, pineapple, sweet
Moredocafe Sidamo: fruit, spice, syrupy, cocoa, cherries, chocolate, rich, brown sugar
SMS Kumato: blueberries, vanilla, confectioner’s sugar, honey, caramel, figs, spice, creamy, sweet, cherries
Adam Bedane Sidamo: berries, ripe cherries, sweet, vanilla, fresh butter, dark chocolate, oranges, tangerine, great snap, finishes smooth, citrus, sweet and fat
SMS Koke: fruit, spice, cardamom, floral, honeysuckle, caramel, tangy, very sweet
SCFCU Sidamo: earthy, maple, toast, chocolate, tamarind, sweet, balanced, cardamom, cocoa, complex
WASHED:
Lensamo Lamisso, Aleta Wondo: berry, sweet, floral, blackcurrant, tropical fruit, lemon, milk chocolate, fat, juicy, strawberries, blueberries, honey, fresh cream
Ethio Agri-CEFT Tepi: blueberries, dark chocolate, raisins, elegant, molasses, apricots, silky smooth, honey, sweet, floral, subtle
Borse Borchere, Aleta Wondo: chocolate, cocoa, sweet, very sweet, spice, lingering sweetness, vanilla, gentle, honey, floral
Moredocafe Sidamo: caramel, apricots, gentle acidity, well balanced, ripe fruit, sparkling, citrus, syrupy sweetness, green apple, blackcurrant
Wonberta Sidamo: chocolate, spice, plums, raisins, clean, sweet, sugar, floral, citrus, cocoa, honey, papaya, molasses
Adam Bedane Sidamo: floral, vanilla, honey, clean, crisp, refreshing, cocoa, sweet, eucalyptus, lavender, spice, complex
Kemal Abdella Limu: buttery, honey, brown sugar, full, thick molasses, lavender
DTC Yirgacheffe: jasmine, chili peppers, tangy, honey, cocoa, citrus, floral, citrus, fruit
Mullege Yirgacheffe: fruit, citrus, clean, sweet, green apple, apricots, cocoa, spice, complex
Adam Bedane Sidamo (different lot): chocolate, honey, molasses, dark chocoloate, round, caramel, raisins
Yitbarek Tilahun 1, Aleta Wondo: hazelnuts, caramel, chocolate, cocoa, citrus, round, full fruit, apple, sweet
Futena Debela, Aleta Wondo: caramel, bright, lively, turbinado sugar, honey, molasses, spice
Yitbarek Tilahun 2, Aleta Wondo: spice, toast, sweet, cherry, tropical fruit, exotic fruit, mango<
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