Kifu Coffee Bean Bios

Our Beans

Bean Bio's from Sweet Maria's

1) Indonesia Sulawesi Peaberry -The dry fragrance is potent, with dynamic sweetness (Muscavado raw sugar) and brightness . In the wet aroma, slight traces of pine resin beneath the floral and citrus indicate the foresty character of Sulawesi. In the cup, the clean and sweet character is so unique for this origin. The body is moderate, certainly less than the wet-hulled Sulawesi coffees, but suggestions of pine/juniper resinous flavors give an Indonesian twist to a profile that might otherwise be Guatemalan. While bright and dynamic, it has a softer side too, characterized by the floral notes and balance. As it cools the coffee rounds out, has more body, and greater intensity, and greater sweetness. The finish balances between the the floral, sweet and the foresty character I mentioned before. This peaberry preparation is, like all things from Toarco, expertly done. This coffee is part of our direct trade Farm Gate pricing transparency program.

2) Costa Rica Lourdes Genesis: It is so amazingly sweet, potent, and somewhat exotic compared to the standard Costa Rica wet-process flavor profile. The dry fragrance is intensely sweet, a full, rounded sweetness with malt syrup, praline, dark honey, and raisiny fruits. Adding the hot water, the wet aromatics have interesting savory sweet qualities, dark brown bread in the oven, cooked berry, tea and another big helping of raisin fruits (think pie). It's a coffee I just want to sit and smell for as long as possible - these are highly attractive aromatics! The cup is vividly bright, with strong honey-lemonade flavors, red berry, toasted nut, praline and dried fruit. I get apricot, plum and raisin as dried fruit flavors. It's quite sweet, but not in the typical wet-process Costa Rica way, a more full, slightly rustic sweet dimension. The body is syrupy, thick. It definitely reveals itself as a true "honey coffee," a "miel" or pulp natural process. In that respect, the flavors are slightly more funky than a fully washed coffee, and the opaque body more pronounced, and a distinct "roundness" to the mouthfeel.

3) Ethiopian Yirgacheffe G3: The dry fragrance are heavily fruited, with intense blueberry and apricot jam scents and vanilla wafer sweetness. The wet aroma is sweet like syrup, saturated with raw honey. It has peach and apricot in the lighter roasts, and more berry like at FC roast. The cup is fantastically fruited. Light roasts have apricot jam, hints of blueberry, passion fruit, red licorice, vanilla wafer cookie and anise. A bit darker on the roast and the fruits are more berry-like and juicy, with many of the lighter roast flavors still present to some extent. As it cools, lemony citrus comes out, or rather a honey-sweetened unfiltered homemade lemonade.

4) Kenya Nyeri Ndiaini-Kiagundo WP DECAF -- Intense flavor profile; high acidity but smooth. Not extremely "bold" but certainly not "watery."

Coffee Cupping Glossary (Cuppys Coffee Of Puyallup)

[CUPPING: the practice of observing the tastes and aromas of brewed coffee.]
[THE CUP: noted characteristics from the cupping.]
ACIDIC/ACIDY/[ACIDITY]: [A GOOD CHARACTERISTIC. This is often viewed negatively because of the connotations of “acid”, but this is a sought after quality. It] describes a coffee that is felt particularly on the back sides of the tongue. A synonym is "biting". Higher acidy coffees typically have more flavor.
AROMATIC: Describes coffees that have a very noticeable scent. Because the sense of taste and the sense of smell are so closely related, the presence of a powerful, evocative aroma can really enhance the experience of a great coffee. Many exceptional coffees do not have a notable aromatic quality, while others, when brewed, pervade a room with the desire to drink coffee. Connoisseurs claim they can sometimes detect the odor of vegetation that grew near the coffee varietal(s) they are tasting.
BIG: Describes coffee with a full to heavy body.
BITING: Describes a coffee that is high in acid content.
BITTER: Similar to sour. Bitter-tasting coffees taste as they due usually because they have been cooked or brought to a high temperature after brew. Bitter coffees taste sour on the top front of the tongue.
BODY: Starts with a light "thin" mouthfeel and progresses to a full-bodied, "heavy" mouthfeel.
CHOCOLATY: Describes a coffee with deep undertones, usually creamy and not ever bitter.
COMPLEX: A coffee that contains many taste characteristics. Cupping such a coffee is an experience for connoisseurs who like to distill different characteristics from one and the same brew.
CREAMY: Note: this does not mean that the coffee has cream in it. This is a characteristic of coffees, usually pressure brewed, whose acidity is cut by its own natural sugars. A visible characteristic of some creamy coffees is the actual crema that appears on the surface.
CREMA: Crema is a caramel or golden colored layer that forms on top of pressure-brewed coffee and espresso. The nature of a crema is complex and even contentious, but in general, it can be called an emulsion or a colloid. Both of these terms describe a substance that is really two things in one: dispersed gases in a liquid, in the case of crema. The gases get pressurized into the liquid during a high-pressure brew, and a thick, golden crema is the sign of a properly brewed espresso or crema coffee.
DEEP: Describes a flavorful coffee with a pleasant, rich aftertaste. SYN: complex.
DRY: As in wine, a dry coffee is one that is not sweet, [which often can allow the natural flavors to come through. Most of the Kenyan coffees have a winey characteristic, and they are one of the most desirable specialty coffees in the world]. Note, however, that this does not mean any coffee without sugar added to it. Sweetness is a property that some coffees have naturally, but the sweetness is relatively insipid and never overwhelming.
EVEN: Describes a smooth coffee that has no one flavor attribute that outdoes the others.
FRUITY: Not to be confused with "sweet", this term describes coffee beans that have snappy, berry-like notes. The varietals that are most often rightly described this way are African.
FULL: Describes a coffee whose body is almost heavy, but not overwhelmingly so. Full-bodied coffees are satisfying and pleasant.
HEAVY: Describes a coffee whose body is dense or weighty in the mouth. Compare to a coffee whose body is "thin".
MEDIUM: Describes the flavor of a coffee that is neither mild nor rich.
MILD: Describes a coffee with the least strong of flavors.
MOUTHFEEL: Describes how heavy or dense the coffee is on the tongue; a measure of body.
[PEPPER/PEPPERY: Describes an acidy quality that is spicy and distinct. Note: not to be mistaken as an overwhelming or bad quality. It typically adds a nice brightening complexity to the cup.]
[SHB (Strictly Hard Bean): Coffee grown above 4,500 feet. The higher the altitude, the slower the beans mature, making them harder and denser than other beans. This invariably makes the beans more desirable as the maturing process allows for the bean to get rid of imperfections. These are ‘sanctified’ beans.]

SNAPPY: A difficult characteristic to describe; these coffees have a distinct but not unpleasant "zing" that hits the back top or middle of the tongue. Tanzanian Peaberry is an example of such a coffee.
SMOOTH: Describes a coffee that is neither bitter nor sour. Yet its positive characteristics are not overwhelming either. Smooth coffees are generally not terribly complex.
SPICY: Describes coffees that appear to have the presence of spice in them.
RFA: (Rainforest Alliance) Go to: http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/ “The Rainforest Alliance works to conserve biodiversity and ensure sustainable livelihoods by transforming land-use practices, business practices and consumer behavior.”
RICH: Describes a coffee that has a full body and deep flavor traits.
ROASTY: Usually describes dark-roasted coffees with a strong flavor.
ROBUST: Describes a coffee that is "Big", very full bodies. Not to be confused with "Robusta".
SMOKY: Not to be confused with "burnt", smoky is often a positive attribute of coffees that have a woody flavor.
SWEET: Not literal. This characteristic describes unadulterated coffees that have a naturally sweet characteristic. However, given that fresh brewed coffees generally have zero calories, this term is rarely used correctly, and should be preceded by the word "almost".