Coffee tasting and its basics by the Pro (Part II) - Ninety Plus Coffee

Here comes the little known knowledge for most regular Starbucks drinkers - the Tasting.

In the coffee world, coffee tasting is regarded as "coffee cupping". By definition, coffee cupping is a professional practice of observing and evaluating the tastes and aromas of coffee. The coffee taster attempts to measure aspects of the coffee's taste, specifically the body (the texture or mouthfeel, such as oiliness), sweetness (the perceived sweetness at the sides of the tongue), acidity (a sharp and tangy feeling at the tip of the tongue, like when biting into an orange), flavour (the characters in the cup), and aftertaste. (See INeedCoffee for a detailed textbook cupping procedure)

In practice, it's better to ask Joseph for more insights from his coffee cupping experience by organizing countless cupping sessions for clients...

During coffee cupping, what should be identified?

The fragrance nuances of the dry grounds immediately after grinding; the aroma nuances of the brew after adding water; and the nuances as the coffee cools under the following categories: acidity, mouthfeel, taste, and aftertaste.
Well-produced coffees exhibit a range of flavor and aroma that is likely much broader than the world of wine. Citric, floral, and spicy coffees occur at a great range of textures. Coffee at this level can be bafflingly complex.

Adding water to the dry coffee ground

A line-up of different coffees waiting to be slurped up and rated by coffee tasters

 

Joseph focusing in smelling the aromas of the brew

(There are thousands of flavors in coffee that could be identified. In real practice, even for the same coffee, differentiated flavors might be noted subjectively by different tasters. Joseph has therefore established a unique "taste profile" system to help customers choose Ninety Plus' coffees.)

The Taste Profile

Coffees of Ninety Plus are categorized into W2, H2, N2, SK representing different levels of fruitiness (from low to high). Logos of the Ninety Plus Taste Profiles include Nekisse N2, Hachira N2, Tchembe N2, Kemgin W2, Perci N2, Lycello W2, Juliette H2, Lotus SK and Sillvia SK, which of those are guarantees of specific taste quality and also of adherence to NP's own protocol for producing and processing coffee.

Now let's look at the taste profiles of 2 NP coffees to understand how this system relates the coffee logo with its taste (click to enlarge). Very smart way of branding and labeling the coffees!

Joseph, in your opinion, what do you consider as perfect coffee?

There is no perfect coffee any more than there is a perfect food or a perfect wine. There are foods better suited for some than others, and most desirable at certain times versus others.
The perfect coffee for me is a coffee that further illustrates what is possible in coffee flavor. At Ninety Plus this is our work and journey.

What are the upcoming coffee trends we should note as a consumer or coffee-lover?

We call it the evolution of the Comparative Coffee Culture. Responding to our own excitement and vision of coffee's potential, many industry professionals have been changing things over the past decade or so, creating solutions for producing, roasting, and retailing coffees that open up this this exploration of flavor to the end user.

Coffee lovers should expect very high quality coffees to be more available by the cup from better educated local retailers who themselves will continue to push the industry forward with coffee brewing innovation.

Is there any labeling indicating specific coffee processing methods consumers could find in the market?

There are no such labelings as of yet as this science and equipment is in a very early phase. The equipment actually must be developed which processes coffee for flavor rather than for commodity and consistency.

We are developing equipment at Ninety Plus Gesha Estates in Panama, including a solar profile dryer called Solkiln™.

That's very forward-looking Joseph! And we can't wait to taste more new NP product by your innovative processing methods. 

Coffee and the environment

Last but not least, one question that concerns me as of coffee planting is its ecological impact to the environment. Luckily Joseph gave me a very relieving answer...:)

"The way we produce coffee is non-intensive. The best coffee flavor actually results from coffee which matures slowly, under the shade of forest. Yields are much lower, but quality and higher market price can drive conservation and improvements in the environment where Ninety Plus coffees are grown. At our farm in Panama, we are replanting and stewarding forest with our coffee."

Ninety Plus Gesha Estate

Thank you very much, Joseph Brodsky of Ninety Plus Coffee, for sharing valuable producer's insights to us end customers. We now have much more understanding to coffee other than just the presentation as in Cappuccino or Espresso, but the whole universe of flavors and processing methods to come to the coffee at the end.

Learn more and engage with Ninety Plus Coffee here.

Ninety Plus Coffee in Hong Kong

If you are interested in having a cup of NP's coffee in Hong Kong, I recommend you to visit this modest yet surprising cafe in Mongkok. You could also buy home-roasted or green coffee there:

Knockbox coffee company
G/F, 21 Hak Po Street, Mong Kok, Kowloon

Coffee tasting and its basics by the Pro (Part I) - Ninety Plus Coffee

There is no better finale to a meal than a good cup of coffee. Before coffee is served to the end customers, they have indeed been going through a series of carefully controlled procedures, from cultivating, selecting, processing, roasting, blending, grinding to finally brewing to come to a nice cup of coffee.

 
It's my honor to have Joseph Brodsky, the owner/founder of Ninety Plus Coffee, a US-based coffee producer and developer here to share his insights in cultivating and processing coffee, and how to taste coffee like a pro.

Before diving into the coffee guru's guide, let me first introduce master taster's background. Joseph's active engagement in the coffee production business, incl. the development of processing techniques and innovating the flavor profile, and past experience in developing coffee roasting and retailing business turned him into a living encyclopedia of the coffee supply chain, from planting to selling. Ninety Plus Coffee insists in only producing coffee scoring 90+  from the Coffee Review, which also made NP a boutique coffee supernova in the US,  Europe and Asia.

So, what are the factors that affect the taste of a cup of coffee?

Coffee variety
10,000 varieties exist, mainly still undiscovered in the wild forests of Ethiopia, where originally coffee comes from (Watch the video trailer of Coffee Story: Ethiopia, a book uniquely co-ventured by Ninety Plus Press and Shama Books, an Ethiopian publishing company offering insight into coffee culture).

Microclimate
Soil, altitude, and other local growing conditions.

Ninety Plus Coffee

Processing
Processing coffee aims to convert the raw fruit of the coffee plant into the coffee. It involves removing the pulp from the cherry and drying the seed / bean. The processing method that is used varies and can have a significant effect on the flavor of roasted and brewed coffee.The industry is just now developing processing techniques to bring out very fine qualities in coffee. Ninety Plus is also developing equipment at Ninety Plus Gesha Estates in Panama, including a solar profile dryer called Solkiln™.

Pulping of coffee cherries by machinery (Coffee Research Institute)

Roasting
Coffees of a very high quality are generally roasted very light, where its inherent aromatic characteristics are maximized. Dark roasting burns flavor nuances from special coffees and is more suited for coffees of inferior raw quality.

Color and bean size of different degrees of roast (Sweet maria's)

Grinding and Brewing
Many different grinding and brewing methods are available for consumers and professionals. For home, Aeropress, French Press, or Chemex are the preferred methods.

Aeropress (left), French Press, Chemex (right)

To be continued with some tasting tips and eco-friendly messages by Ninety Plus Coffee ;)

About Ninety Plus Coffee

Ninety Plus Coffee was founded in 2006, when at the beginning the company worked with producers in Ethiopia to process and effectively export top-quality beans. 'Ninety Plus Gesha Estate' in Panama was then opened in 2009 to produce its own coffee.

Ninety Plus Coffee's products:
Panama NP Gesha: Lycello, Juliette, Perci, Perci Red, Lotus SK, Sillvia
Ethiopia NP Heirlooms: Nekisse, Hachira, Kemgin, Tchembe, Tuktant, Aricha, Beloya