Our English friend, Graham, visited recently and brought with him some Has Bean coffee beans, very freshly roasted. I had picked up a bag of Santa Maria Cup of Excellence from Coffee Mania in Cortland. We did a taste test.
First let me state: it wasn’t a fair test. I was highly distracted by visiting family members while doing the vacpot thing (bring water to 197 degrees, hand-grind coffee beans, leave to infuse for exactly 1 minute, allow to go south and so on). And I’m afraid the Santa Maria got far less attention than the Has Beans. That said, I was fully expecting the Santa Maria to be better than the Has Beans, based mainly on the fact that the latter had traveled so much further. What I didn’t count on was the special bag that it traveled in, with the little valve that allows gasses to escape without allowing air in. Poor Maria, she traveled from Cortland to Poughkeepsie and the next day to Syracuse, all in a plain old paper bag, aging all along the way.
The Has Bean cup was astounding. It gave me that moment that comes along only a few times each year when everything stops, all incoming noise seems to cease and I know I’m being transported to coffee heaven. The Santa Maria just could not keep up. As Dave said, only the lower notes were left.
Graham ordered a bag of Has Beans yesterday to see how long it would take to get from the UK to the US. Coffee is shipped the day it’s roasted, so it could well arrive momentarily. In the meantime, since I don’t get to Cortland very often, I’ll content myself with picking up a bag of Coffee Mania’s house blend that they do for Sparky Town on Burnet Ave. Either that, or checking out what Owen O’Neill has been roasting at home lately. Every coffee nut should have their very own coffee guru.
WOW thanks for those kind words !!!
Have always heard great things from English coffeegeeks about Hasbean’s coffee. I doubt that the 30 mile trip from Cortland to Syracuse was the cause of the Santa Maria’s failure to shine. There are many other variables including age of crop, transport and storage methods for green beans, date of roast… and the list goes on. I will be curious to see how you like the Tenga Aceh I brought back from London. It was roasted and in a one way valve bag for ten days before I got home and popped it in the freezer, but the Colombia la Linda, the Yirgacheffe, and the espresso blend I tried form that roaster were all excellent (yes Stephen – I would love to try your beans on my next UK trip, if you can point em to a cafe doing them justice in the retail setting!)
The Santa Maria went from Cortland to Poughkeepsie, where it spent a night, and then to Syracuse, at times in a very hot car. That may not be a good excuse for her somewhat lackluster behavior in the cup. It could have been many points in the preparation, too. Or the bean for that matter.
The Tenga Aceh was a very good but, to me, not a brilliant cup. I can tell I am not a true coffee connoisseur every time I come up with a list of reactions to a coffee and then read the bag… and nothing of what I experienced is on the bag. It’s so subjective. The first thought I had was “winey” and then “I wish it had more aroma.” It was tasty, earthy and complex but more notable for bad things it lacked, such as any charred taste, than for what it offered. It did not make me run for the cream, so I’d have to agree with the bag’s adjective of “sweet.”
I truly believe that if I’d had it four days off the roast, fresh, it would have delivered more. I’ll just have to go to London to find out. I do wish that I knew exactly what it was that has made me blurt out “oh-my-God” upon first sipping those four-times-a-year coffees. For all I know, it’s the phase of the moon.
The Tenga is a Sumatran, and despite your seeming affinity for darker roasted and earthy coffee (qualities that a Sumatran can respectively, successfully handle from a roasting standpoint and possess)… really good Sumatrans are rare. Also consider that your tastes may have evolved beyond that category (Indonesians and darker roasts) in subtle ways that aren’t really evident to you yet – only because you have not had the right coffee to validate with.
I’ve never been bowled over by Colombians, but the La Linda I had recently was stupendous. The Yirgacheffe I had later that week seemed too tame and nearly lacking in distinct character – almost like a mild tea – until it cooled down for awhile. Then the flavors suddenly bloomed in the cup and it was quite remarkable.
Hey Lonnie!
I’m a little bummed to hear about our Santa Maria not doing well in your test, but I admit that I have not been thrilled with this coffee lately either. I believe the green is probably getting a little aged, a factor that no doubt contributes to it’s lacklusterness. What was the roast date on the bag? I would love to hook you up with somthing better the next time you are down our way. Maybe you guys would like to visit our roasterie?
Thanks!
Craig
Coffee Mania
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