Comments

1
I'm with you: The day my coffee starts tasting like something other than coffee is the day I stop drinking the stuff.
2
Should be a hyphen: "tea-like."
3
Even though I'd rather go to a less sterile coffee shop with more personality, I've gone to the Stumptown on 12th dozens of times because they have a bike corral. Hunting down tiny bike racks on crowded sidewalks is a hassle!
4
And yet...if you go to one of Stumptown's daily cuppings (like wine tasting, except it's coffee) at their 12th Ave location, you might be surprised at how different coffees taste, even within the same country, let alone coffee grown on different continents. Yes, there is some commonality to it, but nobody is going to claim that Sumatran coffee tastes similar to a delicate peaberry coffee from Rwanda.

The specific notes are due to the over 1500 flavor compounds in coffee (by comparison, wine only has about 250). And since no one is seriously going to claim that all wine tastes the same, Mr. Vernon should do his homework (he is a journalist?) and quit looking at coffee in such a black and white manner.
5
some people just don't *want* to fetishize coffee. They just want it to taste good. Jesse conveyed that perfectly well and complimented Stumptown at the same time.
6
We don't say grace at my house. I never heard that it finishes with chamomile tea, but maybe I'm just out of touch. I have had moments where I felt like I was in touch with the infinite, but those didn't finish with chamomile tea either. In fact, I've never had chamomile tea. I guess I should try it sometime.
7
Vivace' kicks Stumptowns' ASS! Take that bitter SHIT back to PDX!
8
I came here to say what @2 said. Also, I think all coffee tastes like shit but I understand I'm in the minority on that one.
9
@6 - too good.
10
Tasting small quantities of different coffees side-by-side does reveal really interesting distinctions, but that's not a very practical way to experience your morning cup of coffee. In my experience, even really strong floral or fruity notes mostly disappear by the time I've had more than a few ounces, and are much less apparent in coffee more than a week or two old. How many people (who aren't coffee buyers) really drink 2 oz. servings of freshly-roasted coffee on a daily basis?
11
@4

Yes, but when you dump lots of water on the coffee, let it sit for a while, and then drink while eating breakfast, all those flavor compounds add up to ..... coffee flavor. At a certain quality level it all blends together.

Cupping, once primarily the provence of the coffee buyer, is something the layman wastes his time on. A pleasant diversion totally separate from the coffee drinking experiences of 99% of us. A way to feel special.
12
I enjoyed the same cup but I found the chocolate note tasted of a 1995 Swiss vintage.
13
--with hints of total bullshit

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