In our quest to give you the best possible Kilimanjaro coffee, Cafédirect does not make any compromises on the quality of the beans we buy. In addition to the hard work in processing and selecting the beans from our producer partner, KNCU (Kilimanjaro Native Cooperative Union) based in Tanzania, we also rigorously “cup” the samples to ensure the beans reach our quality standards and requirements. This is the prime function of my role as Quality Manager for Cafédirect.
KNCU send us samples of the coffee lots that have been bought through the auction process (for more information on this part of the process, see Paul’s previous blog here). I then evaluate them against some key attributes which fit the award-winning profile that’s been perfected for your cup.
Firstly I look at the appearance of the green beans – prior to roasting. I check the colour, that there’s no defective beans and that they are bold in size, matching the quality grading purchased.
I then roast the samples using our roasting sample machine, which we have nicknamed Roastela! I need to roast the beans quite lightly to assess the real taste profile of the coffee and make sure that I can taste any possible lurking defects.
For each sample I prepare a minimum of 4 cups to ensure that we get a consistent profile across each. The beans are ground and weighed out precisely so that exactly the same amount of coffee is in each sample. Even before I add the water, I first check the dry grounds for Fragrance – in the case of Kilimanjaro coffee, there should be a fruitiness coming through.
Finally the hot water is added (off boiling, so that we don’t burn the coffee) and the grounds left to infuse for 4 minutes forming a “crust” (the technical word!).
The next test is for Aroma. For this I break the crust by stirring 3 times and gently sniff, checking for a berry type of aroma in Kilimanjaro coffee. The crust is removed and then finally it’s time to actually taste the coffee, the noisiest bit of the process!
The brew is sucked vigorously (slurping) into the mouth in such a way as to cover as much of the tongue and upper palate as possible. This is when I rate the Flavour, Aftertaste, Acidity and Body of our Kilimanjaro coffee. The Kilimanjaro samples that win me over are those exhibiting a citreous undertone with plenty of acidity matched by a hint of blackberry and raspberry – a slightly sweeter fruitiness – combined with a light body and a good balance.
As the brew cool down further, sweetness, uniformity and cleanliness are evaluated.
Only once we are happy that the Kilimanjaro coffee bean samples are of the highest quality will we accept the shipment. This isn’t the end of the cupping process as we will need to check the quality once again when the coffee is commercially roasted and again when it’s packed. That’ll be the subject of my next blog – look out for it!
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