Worlds Largest Coffee Tasting 2020

 Now, this post is a bit later than I would've liked, since the official event happened nearly a week ago - but in true Jass fashion, I had tonsillitis when it took place (typically) so I missed it. HOWEVER, we finally took part in the Worlds Largest Coffee Tasting (at 9pm, a perfect time to cup coffee) 




It was finally time to crack open this bad boy of a box, after screaming at people not to rip the sticker because "it hasn't been photographed" (blogger problems, right?)




  After a quick set up, grinding the samples and popping the kettle on. We were ready and raring to go.









Before grinding, we started on the aroma section of our taste sheets.




We did a typical cupping of 12gr of coffee to around 200gr of water which the card in the box recommended. 








Like James said - we poured sample E pretty slowly, as it reacted super differently to the others (which would all be revealed later!) 


We left it for about 4 minutes before breaking the crust, essentially just following along with James in his live-stream


 




AROMAS

Coffee A - On the tasting papers we used, we had a scale between "low and high" for aromas, both of us scored it in between the middle and high point - it had some gorgeous smelling citrus aromatics in there

Coffee B - More around the mid section we put this on aroma - some really nice fruit notes (but not citrus!) 

Coffee C - We rated this quite low on the aroma side, only small hints of floral punched through.

Coffee D - Another in between middle and high, had some absolutely incredible aromatics on this one, and we were definitely most excited to try this one after smelling. 

Coffee E - Admittedly, I knew what this one was, it was the only one I'd managed to not avoid spoilers for.. and it was definitely an interesting one to pour into. 
It had an aroma that can only be described as charred meat... not something you typically look for in coffee, for sure. 




ACIDITY

Coffee A - We rated this coffee quite low on acidity, it had some really nice citrus acidity which matched up perfectly with the aroma.

Coffee B - More of a medium acidity on coffee B compared to A, but again was very welcomed with the taste.

Coffee C - Coffee C was another low rating on acidity, slightly more of a floral acidity.

Coffee D - A medium acidity, quite tropical fruit like (along the pineapple route) 

Coffee E - Unshockingly quite a high acidity on this one, but mainly just an overwhelming taste of wood.


SWEETNESS

Coffee A - Coffee A had a medium-ish sweetness to it, definitely more citrus sweet than berry sweet

Coffee B - Another medium sweetness, but more berry sweet.

Coffee C - Coffee C had a gorgeous sweetness to it, definitely more in between citrus and berry.

Coffee D - Again, another medium sweetness, super fruity sweetness

Coffee E - Yeah, were not even going to go into the sweetness on this one.



BODY

We both found coffees A-D medium bodied - again Coffee E was an interesting one, super thick body, but not in the nicest way.



FLAVOUR

Coffee A - Coffee A had a super citrus acidity with some chocolatey undertones

Coffee B - Coffee B had more berry notes than citrus (like Coffee A) with some stone fruit hints, and nutty tones.

Coffee C - Coffee C had both sweet and earthy tones to it, with a super delicious floral finish.

Coffee D - Coffee D had a definite tropical fruit punch, delicious

Coffee E -  Well, what to say about Coffee E - it definitely wasn't to our tastes, HOWEVER, I would love to do more research and tasting of this varietal.





OUR GUESSES
 Before we found out what the mysterious coffees were we took a guess as to what they might be (clearly.. we are not experts)

Coffee A
Jass - Brazil
Dom - African (very specific, I know)

Coffee B 
Jass - Colombia
Dom - Colombia

Coffee C
Jass - Ethiopia/Kenya
Dom - Kenya

Coffee D
Jass - Guatemala/Costa Rica
Dom - Costa Rica



So, big reveal... What are the mysterious 5 coffees?

Coffee A - La Bolsa, Guatemala
Region - Huehuetenango
Producer - Maria Vides
Varieties - Caturra, Bourbon
Process - Washed
Altitude - 1800 MASL
Taste Notes - Orange, Chocolate, Sultana


Coffee B - El Vendaval, Costa Rica
Region - Tarrazu
Producer - Ricardo Calderon
Variety - Catuai
Process - White Honey
Altitude - 1900 MASL
Taste Notes - Peach, Hazelnut, Caramel


Coffee C - Aricha, Ethiopia
Region - Yirgacheffe
Producers - Various Smallholders
Varieties - Regional Landraces
Process - Washed
Altitude - 1850-1880 MASL
Taste Notes - Orange, Raspberry, Rose


Coffee D - Refisa, Ethiopia
Region - West Arsi
Producers - Various Smallholders
Varieties - Welisho, Kurume
Process - Natural
Taste Notes - Strawberry, Cream, Orange Blossom



Coffee E - Kaweri Turaco, Uganda
Region - Mubende
Variety - Robusta
Process - Washed
Altitude - 1200-1350 MASL



OUR FAVOURITES

Jass - Coffee C&D

Dom - Coffee C



I hope you've enjoyed this slightly different blog post, it's been a hoot to write, should I do more cuppings on The Coffee Life?

Don't forget to check out all the links down below.

Find more information about the Worlds Largest Coffee Tasting








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