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Mexico 
Mexico Organic Nayarit Terruno
Country: Mexico Grade: Alturra Region: Nayarit Mark: Terruno
Processing: Wet Processed Crop: November 2006 Arrival Appearance: .8 d/300gr, 17-18 Screen Varietal: Typica
Dry Fragrance (1-5) 3.3 Notes: It's late in the season to be receiving a Mexican coffee shipment, but I was charmed by this sweet, simple, mild cup. It's from an area that is new to me, too. it is from the state of Nayarit, more specifically, west of the capital, Tepic. The 260 small-holder farms in this group are clustered around Cerro San Juan, an extinct volcano, so the soil type and altitude contribute to the cup quality. Nayarit is fairly low (the city of Tepic is 3000 feet) but the volcano immediately rises to 7000 feet, providing sloped terrain with good altitude, drainage and climate for the coffee. The lighter City roast of this coffee has a sweet, mild dry fragrance, and soft caramelly wet aroma. Take the roast a bit darker and, not surprisingly, you get dark caramelized sugar notes, with cocoa and a bit of pungent spice. The body of both the City and the Full City + roast was impressive to me, since Mexican coffee in general, and particularily northern ones, are not known for this. Flavors are (again with this word) mild, with a little burst of brightness and nutty tones, then cleanly disappearing. Darker roasts change the tonality of flavors, but not the overall effect: short, comressed flavor experience, but pleasant and mild. But why should mild be a bad word? And after weeks of having your senses overstimulated by crazy-fruited Ethiopias, brutishly earthy Sumatras, bright and prickly Kenyas, well ... here is the perfect antidote. Your palate just may thank you for the break ... for me, it's like pushing a reset button, a "zero degree" for what good mild Specialty coffee should taste like.
Wet Aroma (1-5) 3.4
Brightness - Acidity (1-10) 8.2
Flavor - Depth (1-10) 8.4
Body - Mouthfeel (1-5) 3.6
Finish - Aftertaste (1-10) 8.2
Cupper's Correction (1-5) 0 Intensity/Prime Attribute: Mild intensity / Snappy, crisp, simple cup  
add 50 50 Roast: City+ to Full City+ . Also, I blended a light City roast with an FC+ roast 50-50 and had a nice, multi-dimensional cup.
Score (Max. 100) 85.1 Compare to: Mild, clean, light-bodied coffees.
Mexico FTO Chiapas -Special Lot
Country: Mexico Grade: SHG Region: Chiapas Mark: UDEPOM Cooperative Special Lot, Fair Trade, Organic
Processing: Wet-Process Crop: May 2006 Arrival Appearance: 1 d/300gr, 17-18 Screen Varietal: 90% Typica; 10% Caturra, Bourbon
Dry Fragrance (1-5) 4 Notes: Chiapas is the southernmost state in Mexico, at the Guatemalan border. The coffees are distinct from the Oaxaca Plumas and Coatepec coffees: they are a little brighter, sweeter, and bear some resemblance to the Huehuetenango coffees of Guatemala. Oaxaca is my other favorite Mexican origin, but the really good Chiapas coffees like this one have been consistently excellent, are a brighter and livelier cup. Many of the coffees from Chiapas are from small farms, cooperatively wet-milled and sold. UDEPOM is located in Motozintla, Chiapas, in the southern part of the state, and the 850 member/farmers are in Motozintla, Huixtla, Tuzantan, Escuintla, Siltepec and Amatenango districts in Chiapas. This coop was started in 1992 and actually has the incredibly long name of Union de Ejidos Profesor Otiliio Montano (which just doesn't fit on our labels, so now we are using Udepom. We did stock this same coffee for the past 3 years so if you have purchased a Chiapas, it would have been from the same cooperative!) Special Lot? Yes ... there was intensive damage from the hurricane season this year in Chiapas, with roads in the coffee areas wiped out, damage to trees, and even the loss of a village in a mud slide. All this affected the Udepom cooperative very directly. With the Special Lot we paid a premium above Fair Trade and Organic pricing to help with the rebuilding effort. We also received extra hand preparation of this lot, and it comes from the "heart of the harvest" when the highest altitude trees are picked. The result: well, fruity! The dry fragrance has an almost mango-like tropical fruit smell, with passion fruit and floral hints. Add the hot water and there is a distinct spice that emerges (Clove) with sweet dried fruit and vanilla. The aromatics and cup have a rustic quality, coffee pulp, and, oddly, remind me of Organic Papua New Guineas (that's a heck of a long way away)! The cup has that same coffee pulp fruit, with distict starfruit flavor too. There is green pear too, and a short bright nippiness to the cup with a finish equally as pronounced and short, with anise as a sort of bookend to the fruit flavors. That's an interesting Chiapas for you!
Wet Aroma (1-5) 3.6
Brightness - Acidity (1-10) 8.7
Flavor - Depth (1-10) 8.4
Body - Movement (1-5) 2.8
Finish - Aftertaste (1-10) 8.4
Cupper's Correction (1-5) 1 Intensity/Prime Attribute: Mild-Medium intensity/Complex fruited aspects  
add 50 50 Roast: This lot takes a wide range of roasts: I get the most complex fruits at City+ to FC, but really enjoyed the roast flavors at a light Vienna roast too!
Score (Max. 100) 86.9 Compare to: Chiapas is similar to some Guatemalan coffees (heck, it's at the border with Huehuetenango), less so than Oaxaca or other Mexican producing regions.
Mexican Organic Oaxaca - Finca El Olivo
Country: Mexico Grade: SHG Region: Oaxaca (Pluma Hidalgo) Mark: El Olivo Farm,
OCIA Organic Certified
Processing: Wet-processed Crop: May 2006 Arrival Appearance: .5 d/300gr, 17 -18 Screen Varietal: 100% Typica
Dry Fragrance (1-5) 3.4 Notes: Oaxaca Pluma are the essential Mexican coffees in my book, better than the Coatepec coffees to the North, than the Veracruz, and distinct from the fine Chiapas coffees to the South. They have great balance, medium-light body, and wonderful flavor of soft chocolate tones and moderate acidity lingering through to the aftertaste. Grown with a Pacific weather influence, it is no wonder that many can be cupped beside (and outcup) a Kona coffee. The El Olivo is a true Oaxaca Pluma estate coffee and this year that in itself is remarkable (Due to years of low coffee prices, many fine Estate farms went under or were subsumed by large mills where the coffee is all pooled together, resulting in the lowest common denominator in the cup. Coffee prices are now quite healthy again, but with agricultural products the successive bad years really hurt, and better prices don't mean instant recovery). The man behind El Olivo is Arturo Lutan Cruz, and the farm is now a rare sight in Oaxaca, certified Organic Estate coffee with healthy trees and sustainable farm practices. The El Olivo coffee has an excellent preparation, almost blue-green in color, with only an very occasional aberration. You can see quite clearly from the long oval seed for that is is Typica cultivar. It works fine with a heavier roast treatment since it is grown at higher altitude and has great density: it won't turn ashy in flavor. But this coffee (and especially the exceptional 2006 crop) is a real treat with a very light City roast treatment ... through 1st crack and stopped as soon as 1st crack conculdes. At this level of roast, the body is light and the sweetness, clarity and delicate floral notes of this cup are as good as it gets in a Mexican coffee. Comparisons with the best Kona typica are not at all undue. The dry fragrance is very sweet and floral, a theme throughout the cup. The aromatic adds an herbal hint that becomes rosemary/sage in the cup. Overall, it is a crisp, light-bodied, transparent, clear cup character. Roast it to FC+ and this descriptioon no longer applies, although it has a nice tangy roast pungency that develops.
Wet Aroma (1-5) 3.8
Brightness - Acidity (1-10) 8.4
Flavor - Depth (1-10) 8.8
Body - Mouthfeel (1-5) 2.5
Finish - Aftertaste (1-10) 8.8
Cupper's Correction (1-5) 1.0 Intensity/Prime Attribute: Mild intensity / crisp, sweet, light-bodied cup
Add 50 50.0 Roast: My favorite: a City roast stopped just after 1st crack concludes. But this takes dark roasts quite well too
Score (Max. 100) 86.7 Compare to: Typical Oaxaca Pluma cup with light body, fine acidity, good chocolate roast tastes, Great espresso potential too.
Mexican Organic Oaxaca - Finca El Olivo
Country: Mexico Grade: SHG Region: Oaxaca (Pluma Hidalgo) Mark: El Olivo Farm,
OCIA Organic Certified
Processing: Wet-processed Crop: May 2005 Arrival Appearance: .5 d/300gr, 17 -18 Screen Varietal: 100% Typica
Dry Fragrance (1-5) 3.0 Notes: Oaxaca Pluma are the essential Mexican coffees in my book, better than the Coatepec coffees to the North, than the Veracruz, and distinct from the fine Chiapas coffees to the South. They have great balance, medium-light body, and wonderful flavor of soft chocolate tones and moderate acidity lingering through to the aftertaste. Grown with a Pacific weather influence, it is no wonder that many can be cupped beside (and outcup) a Kona coffee. The El Olivo is a true Oaxaca Pluma estate coffee and this year that in itself is remarkable (Due to years of low coffee prices, many fine Estate farms went under or were subsumed by large mills where the coffee is all pooled together, resulting in the lowest common denominator in the cup. Coffee prices are now quite healthy again, but with agricultural products the successive bad years really hurt, and better prices don't mean instant recovery). The man behind El Olivo is Arturo Lutan Cruz, and the farm is now a rare sight in Oaxaca, certified Organic Estate coffee with healthy trees and sustainable farm practices. The El Olivo coffee has an excellent preparation, almost blue-green in color, with only an very occasional aberration. You can see quite clearly from the long oval seed for that is is Typica cultivar. It works fine with a heavier roast treatment since it is grown at higher altitude and has great density: it won't turn ashy in flavor. This cup has great balance between creamy body, and moderate brightness. It's not as impressive when hot, but as it cools the cup sweetens a lot, and flavor nuances of vanilla and caramel are revealed. The floral aspect of the cup is reminicent of Hibiscus tea with a raspberry hint; keep the roast in the City or City+ range to highlight this quality.
Wet Aroma (1-5) 4.0
Brightness - Acidity (1-10) 8.5
Flavor - Depth (1-10) 8.8
Body - Mouthfeel (1-5) 2.8
Finish - Aftertaste (1-10) 8.7
Cupper's Correction (1-5) 0.0 Roast: My favorite: a lighter City roast stopped before 2nd crack, but at a point where the roast has fully developed and there is no "wrinkly" surface to the seed. But this takes dark roasts quite well too
Add 50 50.0 Compare to: Typical Oaxaca Pluma cup with light body, fine acidity, good chocolate roast tastes, Great espresso potential too.
Score (Max. 100) 85.8
Mexico Chiapas -Udepom Co-op
Country: Mexico Grade: HG Region: Chiapas, (Motozintla area) Mark: Udepom Coop, HG Grade
Processing: Wet Process Crop: Late March 2005 Arrival Appearance: .5 d/300gr, 17+ screen Varietal: 90% Typica, Bourbon
Dry Fragrance (1-5) 3

Notes: Chiapas is the southernmost state in Mexico, at the Guatemalan border. The coffees are distinct from the Oaxaca Plumas and Coatepec coffees: they are a little brighter, sweeter, and bear some resemblance to the Huehuetenango coffees of Guatemala. Oaxaca is my other favorite Mexican origin, but the really good Chiapas coffees like this one have been consistently excellent, are a brighter and livelier cup. Many of the coffees from Chiapas are from small farms, cooperatively wet-milled and sold. UDEPOM is located in Motozintla, Chiapas, in the southern part of the state, and the 850 member/farmers are in Motozintla, Huixtla, Tuzantan, Escuintla, Siltepec and Amatenango districts in Chiapas. This coop was started in 1992 and actually has the incredibly long name of Unión de Ejidos Profesor Otiliio Montaño (which just doesn't fit on our labels, so now we are using Udepom. We did stock this same coffee for the past 2 years so if you have purchased a Chiapas, it would have been from the same cooperative!) The cup? Light body, mild, crisp, a bit nutty, with just a hint of a rustic aromatic woodiness in the cup. This is the character I look for in a good Chiapas - it is never going to be a Kenya! A really nice Chiapas is a great breakfast coffee, and provides relief from other "over the top" cups like Yemens and Harars and Kenyas with it's simple charm. This particular lot really beat all others hands down on the cupping table this year. The coffee is mild, like all Mexican coffees, and has a just a bit of a rustic note lingering in the finish. The body is fairly light, but I really enjoy the zingy, pointed high tone in the cup (especially at City to City+ roast). You can also go to the other end of the spectrum with this coffee to good effect: I really like the sharp, sweet pungency of the darker roast with this Chiapas.

Wet Aroma (1-5) 3.5
Brightness - Acidity (1-10) 8.6
Flavor - Depth (1-10) 8.6
Body - Mouthfeel (1-5) 2.8
Finish - Aftertaste (1-10) 8.4
Cupper's Correction (1-5) 0 Intensity/Prime Attribute: Mild intensity / Firm bright cup, sweet, light body. Sweetly pungent in the dark roasts.
add 50 50 Roast: This is versatile coffee ; I had very good roasts at City+ and pleasantly sharp carbony tones at Vienna roast.
Score (Max. 100) 84.9 Compare to: Good mild Chiapas coffee from high altitude.
Mexican Oaxaca Pluma -Tres Oros
Country: Mexico Grade: HG Region: Oaxaca Mark: Tres Oros (Mill Mark)
Processing: Wet-processed Crop: April 2005 Arrival Appearance: .6 d/300gr, 17-18 Screen Varietal: Typica
Dry Fragrance (1-5) 3 Notes: Oaxaca Plumas are getting harder to find … well, good ones are. The low prices paid to farmers just doesn't make it worthwhile to put care into the agronomy, milling, or preparation of coffee for shipment. Should we expect farmers to do all the extra work to hand-pick, pulp, ferment-wash, patio-dry, mill, hand-sort and bag our quality coffee just because of pride and tradition? The romance of coffee is nice, but it has its limits. Luckily, we work with importers who, while not offering all fair trade coffees, pay fair prices and have long-term relationships with growers and exporters. This ensures sustainable prices, premiums paid for quality coffee, and enough money to do it again next year and the year after, into the future. The Tres Oros is a brand, meaning not a specific farm but rather a family of farms in the Oaxaca highlands that are milled together, and that sell under this name. Many of these farms produce too little to sell their coffee separately. We cupped various lots and this one was really the best. The preparation on it lets an occasional odd bean through, but the overall appearance is really excellent, and most importantly it's clean and sweet in the cup, with vanilla, maple, caramel and hazelnut hints (depending on the roast treatment it gets). The body is light but it seems to intensify as the cup cools. It is very delicious as a mild-sweet straight espresso, aromatic and with a great aftertaste. For that I keep the roast towards the lighter espresso spectrum (N. Italian) by letting it go about 20 seconds in to 2nd crack. For brewed coffee I like this right at 2nd crack, though many use these coffees in blends as a dark roast component.
Wet Aroma (1-5) 3.4
Brightness - Acidity (1-10) 8
Flavor - Depth (1-10) 8.4
Body - Mouthfeel (1-5) 3
Finish - Aftertaste (1-10) 8
Cupper's Correction (1-5) 0 Roast: My favorite for straight roast: stopped right at 2nd crack, without going more than a few snaps into it . But this takes dark roasts quite well.
Add 50 50 Compare to: The prototypical Oaxaca Pluma cup; It's both exceptional as a straight roast and as a blend base for light and dark roasts. Great espresso potential too.
Score (Max. 100) 83.8 Intensity/Prime Attribute: Mild / balance, subtlety
Mexico Oaxaca Tres Oros WP Decaf
Country: Mexico Grade: HG Region: Oaxaca Mark: Tres Oros
Processing: Wet Process Crop: February 2005 Arrival Appearance: 0 d/300gr, 17 screen Varietal: 100% Typica
Dry Fragrance (1-5) 3 Notes: Along with the really good, small-farm coffees from Chiapas, Oaxacan coffees are my favorite. This coffee originates from the mountainous Mixteca area of Oaxaca, in the North and West of the state, with Huajuapan as the main market city in the area. And I actually was really excited when I cupped this coffee … even if a bid decaf cupping is not always my favorite table of coffees to evaluate. This was a real standout on the table, even if it had an exceptionally light body. It was the nuances in the cup that I rarely find in decafs, and especially a suggestion of orange-tangerine in the finish. The roast taste at a City+ roast is excellent; vanilla with a bit of almond nuttiness, and the brightness in the cup is there too, hinting at its origin as a true high-grown Oaxaca. This also does quite well with a Full City + or light Vienna roast treatment, turning sweetly pungent at the darker levels.
Wet Aroma (1-5) 3.5
Brightness - Acidity (1-10) 8.5
Flavor - Depth (1-10) 8.5
Body - Mouthfeel (1-5) 2.5
Finish - Aftertaste (1-10) 8.5
Cupper's Correction (1-5) 0 Intensity/Prime Attribute: Mild intensity / Roast taste, firm acidity, nuanced cup
add 50 50 Roast: I had very good roasts at City+ to Full City; The body is light at all roast stages; the roast flavors at Vienna are pleasantly carbony and sharp.
Score (Max. 100) 84.5 Compare to: A bright Mexican Oaxaca cup profile
Misc. & Blends
African Highland WP Decaf (Blend)
Country: Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda Grade: AA Auction Lots, A, Gr 2 washed Region: Sidamo, Mt. Kenya, Masaka Mark: Various
Processing: Wet- Process, then Water Process Decaf Crop: November 2006 Arrival Appearance: .4 d/300gr, 17-18 screen Varietal: Typica, Kenya Cultivars, Rwanda Bourbons
Dry Fragrance (1-5) 3.8 Notes: Bright, light bodied, full of character and "snap". I am not talking describing a person although a few come to mind. The new Water Process method used to decaffeinated this coffee leaves an astounding amount of cup character. I always felt that the SWP decaf was weakest when applied to bright, acidic high-toned coffees. They cupped like water flavored with cardboard. So this blend here is, to me, the ultimate triumph of our new Water Process decaf source (from Mexico, although the DO use the same method essentially as official SWP coffee -which is processed in Canada actually). It is an "indirect contact", non-chemical process that is truly a water filtration process. The other factor is that other decafs sometimes don't originate with the best green coffees. This is a true Auction Lot Kenya blended 50-50 with one of the best Ethiopian Yirgacheffe lots from this season. As I mentioned, it is a coffee that is lighter in body, bright (striking the front of the palate and tongue in the center-front and front-sides), and very fruity. Although the scores are already very high for a decaf, I objectively felt the cup rates higher than a combined 86 so there is a "Cupper's Correction" of 1.
Wet Aroma (1-5) 3.6
Brightness - Acidity (1-10) 8.8
Flavor - Depth (1-10) 8.6
Body - Mouthfeel (1-5) 3
Finish - Aftertaste (1-10) 8.5
Cupper's Correction (1-5) 1 Intensity/Prime Attribute: Medium intensity / Great aromas and floral brightness, light body  
add 50 50 Roast: While this coffee becomes sharply pungent in darker roasts, I really enjoy its bright, fruity character too much to roast it that way. I keep it light, stopping the roast at City+
Score (Max. 100) 87.3 Compare to: Bright, light-bodied coffees like the fruity Ethiopian Yirgacheffe. If you like our Ethiopian decaf you will probably enjoy this too...
African Highland WP Decaf Blend
Country: Rwanda, Ethiopia Grades: AA Auction Lot, 2 Regions: Aberdare, Yirgacheffe Mark: Asst
Processing: Wet-processed, then decaf by Water Process Crop: Jan 2005 Arrival Appearance: 0 d/300gr, 17-18 scr Varietal: Various, Typica
Dry Fragrance (1-5) 3 Notes: Bright, light bodied, full of character and "snap". I am not talking describing a person although a few come to mind. The new Water Process method used to decaffeinated this coffee leaves an astounding amount of cup character. I always felt that the SWP decaf was weakest when applied to bright, acidic high-toned coffees. They cupped like water flavored with cardboard. So this blend here is, to me, the ultimate triumph of our new Water Process decaf source (from Mexico, although the DO use the same method essentially as official SWP coffee -which is processed in Canada actually). It is an "indirect contact", non-chemical process that is truly a water filtration process. The other factor is that other decafs sometimes don't originate with the best green coffees. This is a true Auction Lot Kenya blended 50-50 with one of the best Ethiopian Yirgacheffe lots from this season. As I mentioned, it is a coffee that is lighter in body, bright (striking the front of the palate and tongue in the center-front and front-sides), and very fruity. Although the scores are already very high for a decaf, I objectively felt the cup rates higher than a combined 86 so there is a "Cupper's Correction" of 1.
Wet Aroma (1-5) 4
Brightness - Acidity (1-10) 9
Flavor - Depth (1-10) 8
Body - Movement (1-5) 3
Finish - Aftertaste (1-10) 8 Roast: While this coffee becomes sharply pungent in darker roasts, I really enjoy its bright, fruity character too much to roast it that way. I keep it light, stopping the roast at Full City, right at the verge of 2nd crack but not into it.
Cupper's Correction (1-5) 1 Compare to: Bright, light-bodied coffees like the fruity Ethiopian Yirgacheffe. If you like our Ethiopian MC decaf you will probably enjoy this too...
add 50 50
Score (Max. 100) 86
Myanmar (Burma)  

see our pre-2000 Archive and our 2001-2002 archive

Nicaragua 
Nicaragua FTO Lozahoren (Dipilto)
Country: Nicaragua Grade: SHG Region: Dipilto, Nueva Segovia Mark: Losahoren/Lozahoren, milled by Prodecoop Cooperative
Processing: Wet-Process Crop: September 2006 Arrival Appearance: .4 d/300gr, 17+ Screen Varietal: Caturra
Dry Fragrance (1-5) 3.4 Notes: This lot of coffee was part of an effort to re-cup special, small lots that (for some unknown reason) were bounced out of a certain coffee competition. The Losahoran coffee Dipilto immediately jumped out at me on the cupping table, and when we flipped over the cards to reveal the farms/origins of the lots, I recognized this one. It was the No. 5 coffee in a previous year, and is from Pablo Vanegas in the Dipilto region of Nueva Segovia. I admit, based on the cup, and having judged Nicaragua this year, I was kinda shocked this coffee didn't make it, because I feel it might have done exceptionally well. But sometimes it just takes 1 bad bean in 1 cup in the prescreening, and a coffee is out. Anyway, the Dipilto coffees are receiving a lot of attention, and done extremely well in the competitions, because of their bright, snappy acidity that makes the cup quite lively, and delicate fruit notes. That is a perfect description for the Lozahoren lot I am cupping here ... in other words, this coffee has excellent origin character (you can call it "terroir", if you like). Here we have crisp, malty dry fragrance, with nut and toasted grain hints, transformed into a really unique wet aroma in the cup: sweet rye. Cup flavors are snappy, with that very delicate but persistent acidity giving the cup and effervescent sparkle. It has a definite floral character in that brightness; paperwhite lily. The body is fairly light, and peach tea tones underscore the sweet grains which, for me, suggests a really excellent, well-hopped brown beer character.
Wet Aroma (1-5) 3.6
Brightness - Acidity (1-10) 8.8
Flavor - Depth (1-10) 8.6
Body - Movement (1-5) 2.6
Finish - Aftertaste (1-10) 8.5
Cupper's Correction (1-5) 1 Intensity/Prime Attribute: Mild intensity/elegant, light-body, bright, nuanced  
add 50 50 Roast: City+ is recommended; this is a mild cup and roast taste eclipses the floral and delicate aspects of it.
Score (Max. 100) 86.5 Compare to: Dipilto is unique among Nicaraguan coffees - less body, less chocolate, more brightness, more sweetness.
Nicaragua Matagalpa - Pacamara Peaberry
Country: Nicaragua Grade: SHG Region: Matagalpa Mark: Mierisch Estates
Processing: Wet-Processed Crop: late June 2006 Arrival Appearance: 0 d/300gr, 19+ Screen PB Varietal: Pacamara
(Pacas x Maragogype Cross)
Dry Fragrance (1-5) 3.2 Notes: Pacamara in itself is an oddity ... this large bean is grown on few farms since the requirements to process it, and tolerance for this low-yield cultivar are both rare. But here is something even stranger: Pacamara Peaberry. And beyond the shape of the seed, the coffee has a unique cup character from a standard Pacamara lot. Some background: Pacamara is a distinct cultivar of Arabica coffee, more specifically it is a subtype of the large bean Maragogype and Pacas, a natural hybrid from El Salvador. Maragogype is called the "elephant bean" for its incredibly large size, and is a sponaneous variation of Typica. Now, bean size per se has nothing to do with cup quality: a bigger seed doesn't make a better cup. But the argument for Maragogype and Pacamara is that the tree produces fewer cherries and flavor is more concentrated. I have tasted some very bland Pacamara that was lower grown, so this isn't always true. And hey, once you grind it up it all looks the same! On the other hand I have had some coffees that had outstanding cup qualities, surpassed all the rival samples in blind cupping, and just happened to be Pacamara. Pacamara coffees are often pooled from a small region of growers, since each independently would not have enough to form a lot. So in a sense, these are like pearls in a bed of oysters, and even in local markets of coffee-producing areas they sell for 3x to 4x the going price. This unique Peaberry lot has cup qualities that are brighter, more dynamic, and unusual than the flat bean Pacamara lot from which it is derived. Mierisch family farms has Pacamara chiefly on the Limonocillo farm in Matagalpa, and they grow enough to save the very small percent of Peaberry just for us. In fact, there is a floral note that reminds me of the longberry Ethiopia-derived Gesha coffees from Panama, not in the citric aspects of the Gesha, but in exotic secondary flavors. It harkens to the Ethiopian Yirgacheffe floral dimension; I feel I could fake this cup profile by blending a really good Central with a Yirgacheffe or wet-process Sidamo. But why do that when you can get the same cup from a pure, single-farm cultivar! The aromatics are pronounced; sweet, syrupy and a touch herby. The cup flavors have an unusual sweetness to them, floral at first and then sage, cola (and a bit of smokiness). It's not one of those simple, sweet clean Centrals, and it isn't one of those weird earthy Indonesians, but this coffee has a different kind of funky cup character ... but somehow it works and the flavors knit together quite well. Roasting, as with other Pacamara and Maragogype coffees, should be attended to carefully since the large bean will not move in the roaster the way other coffees do.
Wet Aroma (1-5) 4
Brightness - Acidity (1-10) 8.8
Flavor - Depth (1-10) 8.9
Body - Mouthfeel (1-5) 3
Finish - Aftertaste (1-10) 8.5
Cupper's Correction (1-5) 1 Intensity/Prime Attribute: Medium intensity / Unusual cup flavors and aftertaste

add 50 50 Roast: I like the City roast the most - very dynamic cup flavors. But even the light Vienna roast had plenty of "origin character" as did the 2 FC roasts I did.
Score (Max. 100) 87.7 Compare to: A very different coffee from Centrals in general due to this unique cultivar. This is a unique lot, with exceptional cup character.
Nicaragua Limoncillo Estate Var. Java
Country: Nicaragua Grade: SHG Region: Matagalpa Mark: Limoncillo Estate
Processing: Wet-Process Crop: May 2006 Arrival Appearance: .2 d/300gr, 17-18 Screen Varietal: Traditional Java Seedstock
Dry Fragrance (1-5) 3.4 Notes: This is an exotic selection: grown in Nicaragua, pure old-type Java cultivar. How did this come to be? The story is a bit piecemeal, but here is how it goes. There was a private coffee research laboratory that had experimental gardens, including a selection of traditional Ethiopian and Indonesian cultivars. During the unstable political years in Nicaragua, it went out of business. A coffee farmer who happened to know the main researcher there was aware they were working with old heirloom seed stock, but did not have access to the seeds ... well, until the place shut down. Then somebody surprisingly showed up at their door with 20 Lbs of prepared coffee seed, no questions asked, marked "Variedad Java". What a risk! Planting an unknown seed stock without knowing the full results of the lab testing. But that's exactly what happened, and the results are quite extraordinary and, as I mentioned before "exotic". Why? The cup character is unlike any other Nicaragua coffee I know of, especially in the light roast when you get a complete representation of the "origin flavor" of this coffee, unmasked by roast. You will notice immediately the unusual seed shape: a longbean form with tapered ends, almost like a football (uh, US football). This is actually unlike modern Java offerings that are hybrids, and more like old Java seed stock originating in Kaffa, Ethiopia, and traveling a circuitous route via Holland to the "East Indies" in the hands of the Dutch. And you may know, it was the Dutch that planted all that coffee in Java! Now to the cup: The dry fragrance is sweet, and has an undecideable fruit suggestion in it, as does the wet aroma. When I break the crust in the cupping process, a distinct green tea note comes forth, as well as green fruits and starfruit. In the cup, the dominant flavor is lime! But what a unique citric zest, because it is not directly tied to the acidity in the coffee: this Java is not that acidic. It is, plain and simple, a lime cup flavor. The body in the cup is very light, and it might seem a bit unbalanced at the light City to City+ range where all these flavors are at their peak. I experimented with darker roasts (Vienna) and felt the roast taste became carbony, while the special fruited flavors were completely masked. FC roasts were nice, but I still feel that the light-bodied-but-fruited City roast was my favorite.
Wet Aroma (1-5) 3.6
Brightness - Acidity (1-10) 8.4
Flavor - Depth (1-10) 8.9
Body - Mouthfeel (1-5) 2.6
Finish - Aftertaste (1-10) 8.5
Cupper's Correction (1-5) 1 Intensity/Prime Attribute: Medium intensity / at darker roasts - complexity, body, ripe fruit and chocolate, at lighter roastslight caramel, floral and lime.
add 50 50 Roast: I like Full City+, for brewed and press coffee, and a bit darker too (Light Vienna, about 15 seconds into 2nd crack). The Full City espresso is intense and maybe too bright. At a City + roast, light body, light caramel, floral, starfruit aromas with lime and mint cup flavors.
Score (Max. 100) 86.4 Compare to: Distinct from typical Nicaraguan coffees
Nicaragua Cup of Excellence #17 - San Antonio
Country: Nicaragua Grade: SHG Region: Telpaneca, Madriz Mark: Cup of Excellence #17, San Antonio Farm
Processing: Wet-Process Crop: September 2006 Arrival Appearance: .2 d/300gr, 17-18 Screen Varietal: Caturra
Dry Fragrance (1-5) 3.6 Notes: This lot was one of my favorites when I was at the 2006 Cup of Excellence competition in Granada, Nicaragua this year. It wasn't a coffee that conked you over the head, and I was afraid that other judges wouldn't take note of it's unique, sweet character. The owner is a young woman, Ofelia Vasquez Funes, who inhereted the small farm (just 10 hecatres) from her father. It was her first time entering the CoE competition, and so getting into the auction is a great result. The farm is located at 1250 meters, 17 km from her hometown of Telpaneca in the department of Madriz. For me, Madriz has some fantastic coffees and is another overlooked producing region. The dry grounds have a strong anise aromatic, and like the neighboring Nueva Segovia coffees is sweet with slight fruit hints (berry). The cup has a soft milk chocolate bittersweet (City+ roast) and that clean sweet herbal note, between anise and sassafras, lingers ... very nice! The body here is thicker than other coffees from the region, and gives the cup a rounded mouthfeel. In the finish there is a thyme note, but anise prevails in the long aftertaste - basically this is a bouquet of fresh, sweet herbs, with a bittersweet tone.
Wet Aroma (1-5) 3.6
Brightness - Acidity (1-10) 8.5
Flavor - Depth (1-10) 8.7
Body - Movement (1-5) 3.6
Finish - Aftertaste (1-10) 8.8
Cupper's Correction (1-5) 1 Intensity/Prime Attribute: Mild intensity/mild chocolate and sweet herbs-spices  
add 50 50 Roast: City+ is recommended; darker roasts have a nice tangy bittersweet chocolate but suffer some loss in nuance and complexity.
Score (Max. 100) 87.8 Compare to: Madriz region coffees have a sweet character with soft chocolate notes
Nicaragua Prodecoop Dipilto
Country: Nicaragua Grade: SHB Region: Dipilto Mark: Prodecoop Cooperative
Processing: Wet-Process Crop: June 2006 Arrival Appearance: .8 d/300gr, 17-18 Screen Varietal: Unsure.
Dry Fragrance (1-5) 3.3 Notes: Proodecoop is a dry mill in the Esteli region of Nicaragua that helps groups of small farms and farm-cooperatives to market their coffee. It also has been the source for some of the finest cooperative, small lot coffees in Nicaragua and the winner of many top spots in Cup of Excellence. This lot doesn't have that pedigree; it is a pooled lot from the Dipilto region. Oftentimes at the mill there are farms and coops so hopelessly small that their coffee cannot possibly be sold distinctly. Prodecoop buys the coffee, and combines it with others from the same region to form a cup character that tipifies the origin characteristics. This is not simply blended coffee; it is Dipilto regional coffees and has flavors that tipify excellent coffees from this area. The dry fragrance of this coffee hints at the sweetness and delicte floral aspects in the cup. There's caramel and a berry note in there. In the wet aromatics the sweetness is distinctly honeyed and has a sweet floral aspect. The cup has a very fine acidity, fresh cherry brightness, mild citrus hints, and an fresh cedar suggestion in the finish. More than individual flavor aspects, its a very elegant, well-defined cup. Coffees from Dipilto are very distinct from other Nicaraguas in this way; brighter, juicier, lighter bodied.
Wet Aroma (1-5) 3.6
Brightness - Acidity (1-10) 8.7
Flavor - Depth (1-10) 8.4
Body - Movement (1-5) 2.8
Finish - Aftertaste (1-10) 8.4
Cupper's Correction (1-5) 1 Intensity/Prime Attribute: Mild intensity/elegant, sweet cup with floral notes.  
add 50 50 Roast: City+ is recommended; this is a mild cup and roast taste eclipses the floral and delicate aspects of it.
Score (Max. 100) 86.2 Compare to: Dipilto is unique among Nicaraguan coffees - less body, less chocolate, more brightness, more sweetness.
Nicaragua Cup of Excellence #3 - El Cipres
Country: Nicaragua Grade: SHG Region: Dipilto Mark: Cup of Excellence, #3 El Cipres Farm
Processing: Wet-Process Crop: September 2006 Arrival Appearance: .2 d/300gr, 17-18 Screen Varietal: Caturra
Dry Fragrance (1-5) 3.7 Notes: This small farm has been a Cup of Excellence auction coffee in the past, so this year's #3 ranking was not a surprise. But for me, a farm that has repeated CoE success proves that their quality is no fluke. At CoE, this coffee received the Presidential award, scoring over 90 points (my scoring system here is a bit tougher, especially for refined, delicate coffees). The owner is Domingo Herrera Ruiz, and the farm is in Dipilto, Nueva Segovia. If you can tell by our offering list, and if you do a little CoE research, you will notice that Dipilto is a name you see often. El Cipres is an 1100 meter farm (medium-high altitude for Nicaragua) that grows the respecable Caturra cultivar, and uses only sun-dry patio processing This coffee has a very sweet dry fragrance, mild butterscotch, honey. There suggestions of sweet herbs (basil, fennel) and red grape and (in the wet aroma) green apple. The roast I enjoyed most here was City (just through 1st crack, and stopped) where the fresh fruit notes were at their zenith. Besides the grape that was suggested in the aroma, there is also berry (strawberry in one brewing, more raspberry in the next.) This interesting sweet basil hint remains in the background, and overall it is a crisp, clean cup. The brightness intensifies as the cup cools, giving it a more hefty overall impression than the more mild character of the cup when it is hot. In the aftertaste there is a cedar note, and the cup ends with bittersweetness (not chocolate though, at least at City roast) as the lingering flavor. Cups like this make me wonder why Dipilto and Nueva Segova coffees don't have the reputation of better Guatemala coffees; they certainly are as refined, as sweet, and as complex, and deserve more consideration than they currently get.
Wet Aroma (1-5) 3.7
Brightness - Acidity (1-10) 8.7
Flavor - Depth (1-10) 8.8
Body - Movement (1-5) 3.1
Finish - Aftertaste (1-10) 8.8
Cupper's Correction (1-5) 2 Intensity/Prime Attribute: Mild-Medium intensity / a refined and nuanced cup  
add 50 50 Roast: City roast - darker roasts than this have a good tangy chocolate roast taste, also pleasant.
Score (Max. 100) 88.8 Compare to: Dipilto character here, as expected, refined, nuanced, approachable coffee.
Nicaragua Matagalpa -Placeras Estate Miel
Country: Nicaragua Grade: SHG Region: Matagalpa Mark: Las Placeras Estate
Processing: Pulp Natural (Brazil Style) Process Crop: May 2006 Arrival Appearance: .1 d/300gr, 17-18 Screen Varietal: Caturra, Red Catuai
Dry Fragrance (1-5) 3.2 Notes: Placeras Estate is located in Matagalpa, and is not exceptionally high altitude ... but it is a true estate with a complete mill on site. What this means is they are able to experiment in processing using new techniques, and the pulped natural Brazil method is a perfect match for the lower-acid Placeras cup profile. . "Miel" (meaning honey) is rare (and risky) in Central America. When it was good, this coffee had great body, a husky sweet "wild-honey" cup with moderate acidity. It is great as a brewed/press coffee, it is great