precipice

i think i may be going off the deep end. i told my wife recently that i'm beginning to notice myself drink coffee for pleasure...by cupping. more and more my personal production roasts are resembling my sampling roasts, though my production roasts still tend to be toward the lighter end of the spectrum. a couple thoughts on this.

first, i am viewing this as a good thing because i am wanting to capture in my own personal production roasts more of what i captured in the sample roasts/cupping sessions. this makes sense because i want to taste in production what made me want to buy a particular coffee anyway: what i tasted from the sample roast and cupping session. i see it as a move toward consistency.

second, i find so much sugar and fruit in my sample roasts that just fleets away with a full city or darker roast, roasts where the marbling has just about smoothed out and you have to watch for second crack and the onset of some oil beads on a few beans here or there. i almost never roast "to the sweat" on any beans. but nowadays i find myself craving the sweet and sour notes of sample roasts because they are so juicy and ripe.

third, it helps that the quality of beans i'm procuring are just getting better and better.

fourth, it is weird and funny that i end up drinking a lot of what i cup at the table. hey, i'm there already. pleasure cupping, if you will. if i'm cupping in the morning that's when it's more likely going to happen as i may not have already had my morning cup yet. after cupping and note taking, i just start 'drinking' from the spoon until i get to the sludge. either that or i just keep screech slurping it down to the sludge.

so here i am, pleasure cupping everything i get and finding myself wanting to reproduce that more and more for my customers. and maybe i can pull it off, because i barely have any customers to upset!

well, i don't see the sample roasts making their way into my full blown production roasts anytime soon. but i'm just saying that i'm noticing myself getting lighter and lighter in the quest for the ultimate coffee drinking experience.