Coffee Cupping

Coffee cupping might possibly be one of the most unique events I have ever arranged for my touring guests. My brothers had never been to Seattle before, so of course we stuck to the Market, Space Needle, Fremont Troll, Kerry Park, etc, but I also wanted to find something quintessentially 'Seattle' that was more of a private family affair. 

 

So we went coffee cupping... stay tuned for the definition. I had noticed some beautiful photos (like the one above) posted by my dear friend Rachel on her FB page (yes, I am now a facebook stalker with all of my free time at home). She takes photos for a private coffee roaster, Caffe Lusso in Redmond. She got us a great deal. Phil, the owner, would do a private cupping for us for free as long as we bought a few pounds of coffee and told people about his place! Sold! He started us out with a free espresso drink of our choice (shown above), and gave us pastries stating, 'I expect you to drink a lot of coffee, and I don't want you to float out of here'.

I would love to learn to be an all star barrister and make these beautiful designs. Step out of the way Starbucks, this is some good coffee we are talking about here!  I do have to admit that Starbucks doesn't have the same appeal now that I have access to good drip coffee from Caffe Lusso and Caffe Ladro (which I am delighted to report now has a location in Bellevue.. I just discovered that while looking up the link!)
Just another way the West coast has made me snobby..

So let's get to the cupping. It's essentially like wine tasting, but with coffee. We cupped brews that he recently received from Guatemala, Costa Rica, Colombia, and Ethiopia.

The above picture was taken before the caffeine consumption really began.

Step 1: Grind the beans (which are actually harvested from coffee trees that produce a cherry fruit. There are two coffee 'beans' in each cherry, and they actually aren't beans at all).

Step 2: Pour hot water

Step 3- 6: Skim the coffee grinds off the top with two spoons. Once ready, fill your spoon with coffee, sip it quickly as you inhale (this should make a loud noise if done correctly). Let the coffee sit in your mouth (just like wine). Swallow. Next roast please. The brew from Ethiopia actually had a hint of blueberry. Super delicious and so of course I bought some. We also liked the Costa Rican brew which he prepared for us later in his French Press.

(ps: I love that his table had world maps beneath the glass.. I foresee something similar in the Wade house sometime in the future)

Happy Cuppers.