that Rwandan murera tastes like....coffee!

If you live in Seattle or Portland, the idea of a coffee tasting is probably not new to you--Stumptown's Annex (which has been around since 2005) has three public cuppings a day.  But here in New York, the foodie capital of the country, cuppings have taken awhile to catch on.  But as I discovered over the past three months while reporting this story in today's Times, public cuppings are happening at all of the city's best coffee shops including Joe, Gimme! Coffee, Ninth Street Espresso, Cafe Grumpy, and even at new arrivals such as El Beit in Williamsburg, Southside in Park Slope, and Everyman Espresso.

Coffee, like wine, has a distinct terroir: each growing region and micro-climate lends unique flavor characteristics to the beans. To highlight this, many of these so-called third wave coffee shops brew and sell single-origin coffees—coffees that come from not only a specific country, but sometimes from a specific farm or even from an isolated lot on that farm that yields the highest quality beans. (Called a “micro-lot.”) In other words, not blends, which is what most Americans drink when they drink coffee.

The only way to train one’s palate to differentiate between an Ethiopian natural and an El Salvador Bourbon, for example, is to taste single origin coffees side by side—without the adulteration of milk or sugar—at a cupping. Some of the roasters and baristas I spoke to talked about their first cupping as if it were a religious experience--an "A-ha" moment that made them realize how unique individual coffees can be.

I haven't had my A-ha moment yet, but I have learned to detect certain flavors in the single origins I've slurped over the past few months. My palate still has a long way to go, though.  One thing's for sure--I've started drinking citrusy coffees like Counter Culture's Kenyan Kangocho Peaberry without milk--the first time I've willingly drunk coffee black since college.  (Something else I learned: coffee is naturally sweet.)

So if you're curious, see if your local coffee shop is hosting cuppings.  A friend tells me that the new Intelligentsia in Silverlake (L.A.) has 'em, as does Counter Culture in Durham and PT's Coffee in Kansas.  Just remember to spit--especially if it's an evening cupping. 

Comments

[Erwin Chuk]

Hannah, I was glad to see your coverage of this important coffee practice. Ever since being exposed to single-origin specialty coffee, by none other than Counter Culture, I enjoy drinking coffee and take it black.

[rebekah]

I LOVE Stumptown! Glad to see the cuppings moving into your city.