Blind Assessment

The two reviewers who liked this coffee knew they were going to take it from the purists when they gave it their highest and second-highest scores respectively. "I found [it] ... the most interesting and complex [of the coffees in the cupping] with a distinct fruity (but not fermented) tone, but I'm not sure it would be considered a good coffee by most," wrote one admirer. "Perhaps a bit controversial - some Yemen-like fruit," wrote the other.Controversial isn't the half of it. Eight of ten cuppers read this coffee as defective, and five specifically as fermented, a flavor defect caused by the sugars in the coffee fruit going off during drying. Four gave it the lowest possible score of 50, and one exclaimed "50? more like 10!"So is this coffee complex and fruity (two votes), fermented beyond acceptability (four votes), or flawed but acceptable (four votes, including mine)? If there were a certain answer for this question cupping wouldn't be half as much fun, but if we go by numbers alone the bad-coffee camp has it. For more on the "is this coffee fruity or is it fermented" issue see my comment and George Howell's response in the August 1997 issue of Coffee Review.

Notes

A controversial coffee, which was generally considered defective (specifically, fermented), but complex and fruity by some. Originally reviewed by a panel as a green coffee. Processed by the "natural" or dry method (the coffee beans or seeds are dried with the fruit still wrapped around them).

Who Should Drink It

Two for fruity, four for terminally fermented, four for fermented but OK.

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