Coffee language, grading and
evaluation is very confusing. I use a combination of standard and nonstandard
terms that make it even more confusing. Oddly, evaluating coffee is both
technical, and personal too. There are a standard set of terms, a roast degree
reference scale, and other systems that allow an exporter in Indonesia and
a broker in California to understand each other. But everything is based
on sensory evaluation, which can never be entirely standardized. All this
takes a lot of work...
We are now using
a 100-point cupping system to score coffees, and it is a bit different than
the SCAA system. Six evaluative points are given equal weight to result in a
range from 50-100 (under 50 would not be Specialty Coffee and we wouldn't sell
it!) The 6 criteria that are scored are essentially the same as the old 33 point
scale, but their names have been modified to be more intuitively descriptive,
and their order changed to reflect the cupping experience it occurs in actuality,
from start to finish:
2. Country of Origin:
Where the coffee is grown. Arabica coffee grows in only in particular environments
with adequate rainfall, temperate climates, good soil (often volcanic), sufficient
altitude, and roughly between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.
3. Grade: Nearly
every county of origin has its own grading scale. It can be incredibly confusing.
Sometimes the coffee earns a higher grade than it deserves, sometimes the
grade is actually lowered to avoid tariffs! Central and South Americans tend
to follow the SHB and SHG model (Strictly Hard Bean and Strictly High Grown
indicates altitudes above 1000m). So hard beans grow at higher altitude and
that's good, right? Well, in Brazil's grading, Strictly Soft is a top grade.
Many countries use a simple numeric scale. But a Grade 4 Ethiopian is the
top Dry-Processed grade you'll see (Gr.2 in washed Ethiopians), and a Grade
1 Sumatra DP allows 8% defects (in fact Sumatra Grading is based on cup quality)!
In essence, all should conform to the Green Coffee Classification System,
but they don't. (Look at our Coffee Library Page
for an article on the subject, and you can buy the SCAA
Green Coffee Classification Poster from us too).
4. Region: Specific
name of growing region where coffee is cultivated. Regions often possess specific
character, so it's more accurate than discussing Countries of Origin: a Peru
Chanchamayo tends to be more acidy and powerful than the softer Peru Norte's
or Northerns, or Cuzco.
5. Mark: We use
this term to include any other significant proper name that tells of the coffee's
origin. This might be an Estate name, but it can also be an Exporter, a Beneficio
(mill), or other recognized Trade name, as long as it actually signifies the
quality of the coffee ...and doesn't just make it sound fancier than it is.
6. Processing:
Coffee is either wet-processed (also called washed
or wet-milled) ordry-processed(also called wild,
natural or natural dry, and we abbreviate it DP
sometimes). The type of processing is chosen to produce different cup qualities,
or sometimes is just a matter of tradition, logistics or economics. In a nutshell,
washed coffees are brought to a mill soon after picking, the coffee cherry
is depulped, allowed to ferment, washed to remove all pulp, laid on patios
or run through an electric dryer, removed from their final skin called parchment,
and sorted. Dry -processing involves laying out the cherries on patios or
roofs, and later removing the skin, pulp and parchment in one fell swoop.
Dry processed coffees are more yellowish-green because there's more silverskin
(chaff) attached to the bean. They look rangy, but often have more body and
character in the cup.
7. Crop: This
is the crop year the coffee was harvested and processed in, and shouldn't
be a primary consideration in buying a green coffee. Even the more unstable
high acid coffees see little change stored properly for 1 year ...and most
are fine for 18 months or so. Obsess about the freshness of your roasted coffee,
not the age of your green coffee. Sometimes, a crop can indicate a better
"vintage," such as my secret 2 lb stash of La Tacita Guatemalan
from 1996-97.
8. Appearance:
This is an informal scoring of the Number of Defects per 300 gram sample
(2d/300g = 2 defects) and is scored by the Specialty Coffee Association
of Americas Green Coffee Classification System in most cases. It should communicate
the quality of the preparation and sorting of the coffee, but doesn't directly
indicate the "cup quality," which is the most important rating of
coffee. A zero defect score doesn't mean that your 5 lbs. will have no defective
beans either! The second number is Screen Size, expressed as 14/16
scr, or 18 scr. Once again, bigger isn't better, and small beans
of varied screen size can make for a great cup too (i.e.: Yemeni coffee).
9. Varietal: Varietal
does NOT refer to region ...its about the botanical variety (or cultivar)
of the coffee tree. It's not easy information to gather, and has some bearing
on the cup but not a lot. Ideally, coffee is grown using old arabica varietals
such as Bourbon and Typica, or Kent in India. Controversial varietals such
as Riuri 11 in Kenya other high-yield, disease resistant hybrids can produce
a diminished cup, but growing conditions and processing play such a greater
role than the varietal.
(10-16) Cupping Form
Ratings: I use the international standard cupping measurements (7.25 grams
coffee to 150 ml water @ 195 d) and my own modified cupping forms to rate
all coffee samples I receive ...before I consider purchasing them.
I then evaluate them again after they arrive to refamiliarize myself. Coffee
folks who don't cup are going to be buying on name and price alone, and they
will probably end up with the lesser coffees from a particular crop. Beyond
knowing"this n'that" name for every region, there's a more discriminating
judge of coffee quality: your senses! I present this information with much
trepidation: it's not right to reduce the taste of coffee to a set of numbers
in terms of retailing it. You'd be wrong to compare a lower overall score
of a neat Honduran Marcala to a high score of a Kenya AA Estate coffee; they
are two different cups completely, both with their own distinct pleasures.
Then again, it would be appropriate to compare Ethiopian Ghimbi vs. Harar,
or washed Limmu vs. washed Yirgacheffe. But please remember, overall score
cannot be blindly trusted!
Please don't mock my
category names ...I know that Body Movement is ...um... odd-sounding, and
Brightness Liveliness is a little embarrassing, but these are the descriptive
ratings as they occur over time in your mouth as you taste, and describing
an acidy coffee as "Lively" is fairly accurate!
10. Dry Fragrance:
Refers to the aroma of the dry ground coffee before hot water is added.
Possible score is 50 to 100.
11. Wet Aroma:
Fragrance is the smell of dry freshly-ground coffee. Aroma is the smell
of wet coffee grinds, after the 150 ml water is added. Possible score is
50 to 100.
12. Brightness/Liveliness
(Acidity): Acidity is the taste of sharp high notes in the coffee caused
by a set of Chlorogenic Acids, sensed mostly in the front of the mouth and
tongue. (It is a good quality; NOT related to bitterness in coffee, and
NOT directly responsible for upset stomach!). Possible score is 50 to 100.
13. Body/Movement:
Often called Mouthfeel, body is sense of weight and thickness of the brew,
caused by the percentage of soluble solids in the cup including all organic
compounds that is extracted from coffee in brewing and ends up in the cup.
(You can see how brewing method and amount of ground coffee used influences
this greatly). Possible score is 50 to 100.
14. Flavor/Depth:
This is the overall impression in the mouth, including the above ratings
as well as tastes that come from the roast. There are 4 "Primary Tastes"
groupings (Sour, Sweet ,Salty, Bitter) and many "Secondary Tastes,"
as you can see on the Tasters Flavor Wheel. Possible score is 50 to 100
15. Finish/Conclusion:
The lingering tastes or emerging tastes that come after the mouth is
cleared. Possible score is 50 to 100.
16. Score: Okay
...here's how the above numbers are scored: all 6 are added and averaged:
simple! But the tragedy is that you cannot really compare a final score
to rate the overall quality of a coffee! Why? Some coffees are light-bodied.
They will score 80 in body, but that does not detract from their overall
cup quality! However, with an 80 score it will never be one of the high
scoring coffees on our list. Not fair! But I expect readers to understand
the caveat of the overall score.
Question:
Why are all our reviews in the 80's with a few 90's??? Answer: Well, we have good coffee! We do a lot of cupping to weed
out coffees that would score in the 70's overall. Anything lower would not
be Specialty Coffee! We are very stingy with scores in the 90's, so the
range of most very high quality coffees happens to be the 80's!
17. Notes: This
is where I get to make up for the shortcomings of the grading numbers. I would
pay more attention to this box than any other. If it sounds like I praise
everything, that's true: these are the coffees I picked from many samples
that I wouldn't even take the time to write about. For these coffees, my cupping
forms are peppered with insightful comments like "EH", "BLAH,"
"YUCK", and the most common one, "UGH!"
18. Roast Recommendations: For a guy that's tired of the "Full City" mantra, you'll see a
lot of recommendations for "Full City." It's easy to say "roast
this coffee to it's absolute peak of flavor, where all good qualities are
present and all bad compounds have been volatilized." It's harder to
do. That's why anyone can roast, but it takes time and a desire to pay attention
to find what you think is the best roast for a coffee. So, like all things
written here, this box contains my opinion, the only one I can give without
standing you next to me at my Diedrich 12 Kilo roaster and saying "Look
....that's what I mean."
19. Compare To: Here you will find another attempt to force you NOT to compare the "Overall"
scores, and compare coffee to others in their "Family of Taste."
Recognizing a quality that you like in a coffee should help you define which
coffee "Family" you prefer, or which you might want to avoid ...unless
you're like me and prefer everything!
20. Buy it: We
added this because customers really wanted the buttons right by the reviews
...
A-D: Issues of Origin:
Many in the coffee trade, myself included, take the growing conditions
that give birth to our wonderful coffee seriously. Traditional methods of
coffee cultivation were organic, and shade-grown (amazingly headlined
in 1930s Chase & Sandborn coffee ads!) and these methods result in a higher
quality coffee that matures slowly on a plant that isn't overstressed. Indulgence
in the luxury of good coffee should come with some gratitude for the farmers
whose labor make it possible But unfortunately we have had trouble adding
all these little logos to our reviews lately. So if it says Organic, or
Co-op or Fair Trade in the name, you will know. Almost all Organic is Shade
Grown ...in fact Organic really covers the rest of the certifications pretty
well!
A. Co-op Grown:
This means that small-scale farmers (the majority of coffee is grown
on small unincorporated farms) have banded together to form a growing, milling
or selling co-op (or all three).
B. Eco-Certified:
This means a coffee farm has been inspected and passed some form or
organic certification, and the coffee is grown without chemical pesticides,
herbicides or fungicides.
C. Fair Trade:
This means that the coffee was purchased outside of the commodities market
at a prearranged price that was better than what the farmer could have hoped
for through normal distribution channels. Note that, since Organic and Shade-grown
coffees demand a premium, they are in essence fairly-traded.
D. Shade-Grown:
This means the coffee trees are grown under a forest canopy, or interplanted
with protective shade trees. This provides a more bio-diverse and bird-friendly
ecology.
PLEASE NOTE THAT WE
OFTEN FAIL TO INCLUDE THE PROPER SYMBOLS ABOVE WITH OUR COFFEE DESCRIPTION.
MANY COFFEES NOT MARKED CO-OP INDEED ARE GROWN BY FARMER CO-OPS. MANY ARE
SHADE-GROWN BUT UNCERTIFIED. ALL COFFEES LISTED ORGANIC ARE CERTIFIED ORGANIC,
AND WE KEEP SKAL, OCIA AND QAI CERTIFICATES ON HAND AT THE SHOP. IF IN DOUBT,
PLEASE SEND AN EMAIL AND ASK...
=Co-op
-grown 
= Eco-Certified 
=Fair
Trade 
= Shade-Grown
