Saw that yet another SCAA competition was decided using a Gesha coffee. I don't really like the gimmick coffees in the competitions for a number of reasons, but I am interested in seeing what the judges enjoyed. However, it's really scary to purchase such small tins of coffee and know how to grind the stuff. I'm used to grinding for espresso setup using a hopper, but I guess geshas require the small hopper/single dosing approach. Is that what you guys are doing?

Those little tins have so little coffee in them, I'm kind of scared to even bother with them.

I buy it green, a pound or two at a time and roast it up, the cost is much more reasonable when you roast it yourself. I use it as I would any other coffee, but I pay more attention to the roast.

I like the Round 1 compulsory service rules of the Brewer's Cup where every competitor uses the same coffee and same brewing tools. It would be nice for the open service round (and final round) to be similar where all competitors use a known coffee to brew for the judges using whatever method they choose. It seems this would better evaluate the skills and ability of a barista to manipulate a coffee in a positive way.

It is a little discouraging that the competition may come down to the best high dollar coffee being the winner and may not accurately be measuring the talent and skill of the barista preparing it. The SCAA already has the Roaster's Choice competition where Roaster's Guild members can show off their best beans.

Totally agree with you. I can tell you that I, and a lot of people I talk to, discount the value of SCAA awards for people who use high dollar coffees in order to win. Many great baristas may not have the resources to even obtain a Gesha type coffee, although as Yakster points out, you can get it from Sweet Marias even if you can't go on an expedition around the world to find it.

Yakster, I wish I could roast but I don't have a place to really put a roaster or time to do it. So for better or worse, I'm dependent on roasters for now. I would like to get a really small roaster in the future, maybe to do a pound at a time. But your point is well taken: it is so nice to be able to buy the greens and roast them up! That is the most economical way to go, and it's even better when it comes to Geshas!

damonbowe wrote:... But your point is well taken: it is so nice to be able to buy the greens and roast them up! That is the most economical way to go, and it's even better when it comes to Geshas!

Economical? Trust me, as someone who has fallen deeply into this hole, bring your wallet and kiss it good-bye <grins>. Better? You betcha.

Ha ha! That's probably true but holy crap Geshas are ex-pen-sive!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I bet the farmers make less than a penny extra per pound or kilogram or whatever weight they use.

Actually, almost all Geishas are prepped on the farm and sold as auction or micro lots directly by the grower to the roaster. Because they are so rare and expensive, they allow individual farmers to buy the processing equipment that lets them bypass the large wet mills. The investmentin local processing permits the creation of microlots other than Geishas.

It's perfectly fine to think very expensive coffees are not worth your trouble; but it's not so fine to invent clueless stories about how they are happen. As a general rule: the cheaper the coffee, the more screwed the grower.

damonbowe wrote:Ha ha! That's probably true but holy crap Geshas are ex-pen-sive!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I bet the farmers make less than a penny extra per pound or kilogram or whatever weight they use.

It's all relative. Some people believe coffee in general is way under priced and should be closer to wine. I think we get a big break because most of the labor is done in countries where labor is cheap. Now I am pretty sure the farmer that sells a gesha makes a good deal more money over other varietals. It is a very finicky plant. No farmer in their right mind would grow it if it didn't make them any more money.

EDIT: Jim beat me to it... but with a better reply anyway.