Coffee Tasting – Bitter on the Tongue

So I’ve been trying to find a more precise description of the taste of regular old coffee (8 O’clock – to be exact). “It tastes like coffee” just doesn’t seem right. Part of my philosophy about training our palates to appreciate good coffee is that it just takes practice and the proper vocabulary.

I used my French press with 8 O’ clock beans this morning; added a little milk; poured it into my coffee mug;  got on the bus and went to work. As I read my book – I typically borrow 3-5 books a month from the local library, in the back of my mind I kept asking myself, “So is it nutty” Chocolaty? Earthy?” Then reality hit. “It’s just plain old bitter!”

The poorer the quality of the coffee, the harder it is to get past the bitterness of the caffeine. The bitterness on the tongue just overpowers any subtle aromas the coffee may offer – or not offer.

Let’s give 8 O’ clock Coffee a break – it really is not that bitter – not like Maxwell House or Nescafe, but neither are there any subtle aromas that can overcome the bitter caffeine. At least the caffeine kicked in by the time my bus ride ended.

Coffee Tasting – It’s not that easy

Has anyone tried my experiment – exhaling after taking a sip of your coffee? Well, I have two confessions:

First, it is not as easy as I had hoped. I was drinking 8 O’clock Coffee to see if I could come up with a description of its flavor. Sorry it just tastes like coffee. Maybe if I stretch my imagination I may be able to say that it’s a tiny bit nutty. More accurately I have the taste of bitterness – not as bitter as Maxwell House – but none the less bitter. Any other description? Coffee. Not fruity, not flowery, not chocolaty, maybe slightly nutty.

Second, when I first take a sip and exhale, I don’t immediately recognize the subtleties of the coffee’s flavor. I’m embarrassed to admit it but I typically am able to sense the delicate flavor moments later as I burp up the coffee. All the subtle nuances of flavor come to mind as the aroma wafts up the back of my throat into my nasal passages. Sorry I might be grossing you out -but it’s true.

“I’m Drippin’ 8 O’ Clock”

My coworker, John, asked me this morning, “Did you have coffee this morning?”

I replied, “Yeah, but I’m drippin’ 8 O’ Clock.”

It must have been in the way that I said it. But John took it as a statement of utter desperation. Not only did I use 8 O’ Clock beans, but I didn’t even use my French press or vacuum pot – I brought out my drip maker! Where is my coffee ethics? Where is the snobbery?

I may have felt that way, but I didn’t mean it that way.

Last night I bought a 12 oz. bag of 8 O’ Clock coffee from Giant Eagle. $5.25 on sale.  It didn’t hit me until today, but that’s $7 a lb. Green Ethiopian Yirgacheffe from La Prima is $6.50 a lb. Sometimes when the pocketbook gets thin, it’s easy to feel guilty indulging in good coffee. But good coffee (granted I have to roast it myself – but that’s half the fun anyway) is cheaper than cheap Giant Eagle coffee that’s even on sale!

No more will my conscience cheat me from a good cup of coffee in the morning!

So what do I do with my 12 oz bag of 8 O’ Clock? Well I want to explore how to best go about learning how to best describe what I taste in coffee. So here is my ambitious endeavor: can I describe the taste of 8 O’Clock coffee? Is it possible to be more descriptive than saying, “It tastes like coffee”?

I’m Hooked!

Hooked!

One of the most memorable scenes in cinematic history is Tony Montoya is finally hooked on cocaine in Scarface. In an earlier post, I mentioned that the best business model for converting coffee drinkers into drinkers of quality specialty coffee is the drug dealers’ model – give away free coffee, after a week they’ll be hooked.

Well last week I found myself in Tony Montoya’s place. I was out of coffee. I threw away my 8 O’Clock coffee. I was out of good specialty coffee – not even Starbucks. I did have a little bit of my friend’s Maxwell House coffee – which I mentioned in an earlier post, he said to throw away. We I poured the Maxwell House in to my french press. I then had to warm up half a cup of milk to put into my travel mug, before pouring in the Maxwell House from the french press. I thought it would be bearable. Ugh! My stomach could not take it – even with all that milk!

I recently heard that my brother-in-law is as ruined as me.

How to Change the Taste of Coffee Drinkers

The Drug Dealers' Approach

I’ve been at my brother-in-law’s for the the past five days. He normally drinks at least one whole pot of coffee, if not more, throughout the whole day.

Since we’ve been here, I’ve been making coffee in either my French press or the Vacuum pot. We tried the El Salvador coffee. He felt the taste ended too quickly. So we’ve been drinking Starbuck’s Sumatra.

This morning, while rushing to get the kids ready for church, my brother-in-law made a pot of Maxwell House lite. Oh man! Did that taste bad!

The same thing happened to me with my 8 O’ Clock beans.

So I’ve been wondering how to start up an online coffee business. Aha! What better way than the drug dealer method. Give away one or two pounds of good coffee until they can’t go back to bad tasting coffee.

the winner is . . .

Crossing the Bridge – Average Coffee Drinker to Specialty Coffee Drinker

This morning I went back to Old Faithful, cheap, Giant Eagle-bought 8 O’ Clock. Oh man! It was bad! It’s raw bitterness (not the same bitterness as Maxwell House though) bit me in my recently specialty coffee initiated taste buds. Ouch!

I guess that means for me that there is no turning back. Can’t stay on the same side of the bridge. Gotta cross over to the other side.

Here is the good thing about the other side of the bridge – where specialty coffee reigns: the world of coffee is broad and diverse. In whatever way I want my palate tickled, tantalized, or traumatized, there is probably a bean out there to satisfy me.

With me 1/4 cup of beans and my 4 cup French press, steep time of 4 minutes, I am ready to embark on my journey. I can now travel the coffee globe – visiting Africa, Central and South America, even Asia and a few Pacific Islands. Once I have travelled, I can then become a travel guide to other fellow coffee drinkers.

Coffee Tasting 101: Vocabulary (1)

My coworker (same one who let me use his French Press) gave me a can of Maxwell House Master Blend. I made a cup with his French Press this morning. My taste buds are now much more aware, but I completely lack the vocabulary of coffee tasters. So let’s begin Coffee Tasting 101.

Coffee cupping is to coffee what wine tasting is to wine. I’m going to go as slow as I need to go. I am a bona fide novice myself – kindergartner with an epiphany remember? According to one article by Steve Leighton, there are five things to pay attention to when cupping coffee: 1) fragrance – both dry grounds and wet grounds, 2) acidity – the liveliness of the coffee, 3) body – the fullness and richness of the feel of the coffee in your mouth, 4) flavor, and 5) finish – the aftertaste.

Got it?

fragrance

acidity

body

flavor

finish

So what’s the verdict on the Maxwell House Master Blend? I thought 8 O’ Clock is better. Sorry, I can’t quite use coffee tasting vocabulary to describe the Master Blend. Maybe in a few weeks or months?

8 O’ Clock Drip

This morning I had my dark roast 8 O’ Clock coffee using my Cuisinart Grind and Brew but without a paper filter, just the gold basket. How was it? Not bad. I think I’m starting to like the attack of my taste buds effect from the French Press. But this morning’s coffee wasn’t bad. No chemical taste. I even heated up the leftover coffee in the microwave after dinner.

Guy’s Personal Coffee History

Childhood
I grew up with coffee drinking parents who were the product of the 50’s. Hills Brothers, Folgers, and Sanka were all common household brands. However, I never drank coffee until my senior year in college — I was still hoping I would grow a few more inches — I stopped growing at 5′3″ at age 15.

The 80’s
Unfortunately, my memory is drawing blanks during this time. One memory I have of the time between college and grad school — Friday nights, my dad and I would go to an Italian restaurant. I found the secret to the perfect meal. A good beer before the meal. A good wine during the meal. A cup of coffee with dessert — a rich chocolate mousse. Mmm. Hedonistic heaven! In grad school I don’t think coffee was that big of a part of my life. Maybe a cup when I first got to school.

The 90’s
After grad school (PhD in chemistry), I went into Christian ministry. I lived in a large house with about 12 other male college students – the house was like a Christian frat house. Went to bed at midnight. Woke up at 6:00. Then studied the Bible with 4-5 other Christian workers with the intensity of supreme court justices every morning, Tuesday through Friday.

THIS WAS THE TIME OF SERIOUS COFFEE DRINKING!

We had the usual Folgers/Maxwell House/etc. coffee made in a Mr. Coffee. My sister also gave me an espresso machine she had gotten as a wedding gift. I made myself pseudo-lattes — I cheated and just heated up the milk in a microwave and poured in a triple shot.

2001
I moved to Ann Arbor, MI in 2001 and lived a few blocks down from Trader Joe’s. I began drinking Trader Joe’s organic coffee. Mmm. That was good coffee. Still made in a Mr. Coffee. But it sure tasted good.

2005
I moved to Pittsburgh. Unfortunately I no longer lived near Trader Joe’s. I did find organic beans at Sam’s Club. 2.5 lbs for $14.42. Not bad, that’s $5.77 a pound. This was good coffee. But my wife did not shop much at Sam’s club, so to purchase a $50 yearly membership just to buy coffee seemed unreasonable to me.

I also upgraded my coffee maker to a Cuisinart Grind and Brew – thanks to a “free” gift from one of my credit card companies.

Just about 6-8 weeks ago, I saw 8 O’Clock coffee on sale at Giant Eagle – buy one get one free. I heard that this was decent coffee. I bought one light roast, and got a dark roast for free. Yuck! It had a chemical aftertaste, especially the light roast. The organic coffee I made before even tasted ok one day later – just water it down a little and heat it up in a microwave. But when I did the same thing to 8 O’Clock, that chemical taste was like chewing on bandaids.

Then I read God in a Cup. I found it in the new book section of the library. This book was inspiring. It put a desire within me to investigate the coffee world.

My philosophy is whereever we are, we should be able to at least take one small step toward improvement. So here is where I have begun my coffee journey – 8 O’Clock Coffee made in a Cuisinart Grind and Brew. The French Press was my first step toward improvement.