Blind Assessment

This Antigua was nearly everyone's favorite, and probably the only coffee in the cupping to display genuine refinement as well as intrigue and power. Exclamation points littered the cupping forms. One enthusiastic (and very experienced) cupper confessed he "subscribed to the Olympic gymnastics scoring system" and assigned this coffee tens across the board and an overall score of 100. (However, like the Olympics, we dropped the highest and lowest scores for each coffee, so this heartfelt tribute went for naught).Positive comments ranged from the generally approving ("best of the litter"; "very Guatemala") to characterizations of completeness, complexity, or dimension ("Depth, depth depth! Spice comes in on back end. Very nice!"). Assessments of body extended from medium through full, but everyone agreed that there was enough of it to balance the coffee ("medium body but perfect for its flavor!"). To me the clinching evidence of this coffee's distinction came in the nuances discovered in its sweetly acidy top notes. Descriptions ran from winy (five citations), fruity/floral (also five), through prune, blueberry, and "floral berry." One found the flavor reminiscent of fresh leather. No one uncovered defects. The only cupper who dissented on this coffee found the acidity too sharp.

Notes

Guatemala close to its finest; powerful yet elegant, alive with nuance. Originally reviewed by a panel as a green coffee.

Who Should Drink It

Guatemala close to its finest; powerful yet elegant, alive with nuance. Given the enthusiasm recorded in the comments I expected this coffee to score higher. Perhaps cuppers were being cautious for this first round. Perhaps they have reservations about all of the coffees, even this one. Or perhaps the pooling of response has a leveling effect on the scores.

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