I'm new to coffee and wish to start understanding the differences amongst countries, regions, types of processing, varietals, etc. I'm looking for advice on which 3 or 4 origin coffees I should start out with. I'm traveling up to Pittsburgh tomorrow or Wednesday so I am able to visit any of the roasters that are out of the city.

I am taking Counter Culture's Comparative Cupping Lab later in the month. Will also look around for any cuppings going on in NJ while I'm there.

Thank you

Jay_Raz wrote:I'm new to coffee and wish to start understanding the differences amongst countries, regions, types of processing, varietals, etc. I'm looking for advice on which 3 or 4 origin coffees I should start out with. I'm traveling up to Pittsburgh tomorrow or Wednesday so I am able to visit any of the roasters that are out of the city.

I am taking Counter Culture's Comparative Cupping Lab later in the month. Will also look around for any cuppings going on in NJ while I'm there.

Thank you

As Jim mentioned, try those three different regions. The first three SO green beans I bought were from Ethiopia, Sulawesi, and Costa Rica.

Also, since it sounds like you'll be buying roasted beans, be sure to buy from roasters who are doing light roasts of whatever you purchase. The darker the roast the less you'll experience the different origin flavors.

Yes I will be buying roasted beans. I do have a question about buying roasted beans onsite instead of off the internet. How should roasted beans be properly stored/shelved within the store? The few places that I have seen, the beans were in wall bins or in baskets lined with plastic, covered by a plastic lid. What can I look for within the store to tell if they selling a quality product?

Some of the roasters I found in Pittsburgh:

http://www.coffeetree.com
http://www.laprima.com
http://nicholascoffee.net
http://bigdogcoffee.net
http://www.tazzadoro.net

Can't comment too much on the storage method since every place I've been to in California has just had their bags on regular shelving.

But another thing to consider is roast date. Preferably you'd get beans from a couple of different regions from one roaster, possibly all roasted on the same day. But no matter what make sure you know when the beans were roasted, hopefully because of roast dates on the bags.

I'm not going to be getting into home roasting anytime soon. I continue to read up on roasting as to understand the process and how it effects the cup.

I am really impressed and inspired by how deeply folks dive into the roasting and extraction process. It was seeing this first hand at the SCAA Event that helped inspire me to dedicate coffee as my profession. The forums, blogs, and online videos have also greatly encouraged my enthusiasm and curiosity. My original goal was that of opening a specialty coffee business. I still have that goal and will continue to work towards it, but it has taken a back seat to becoming a knowledgeable and appreciative coffee professional.

Are there any other roasters out there that roast to the standard level for cupping? Was considering combing the two methods you had mentioned. Spend some time cupping the coffees from Terroir and then get the same *or close to same* three coffees at the roast levels mentioned. Kind of educational experience for both regional and roasts differences. Terroir is out of their Sumatra till later this month.


I found the thread below to be very helpful:

'Cupping Roast' Standard Profile?