TasteCasting: Crimson Cup Coffee

Now this TasteCasting event was a bit different - we were not in a restaurant, but at the HQ of Crimson Cup - where the actual development, roasting and packaging of their products takes place! COOL.

They make a bold statement early on - World's Best Coffee. Now I'm not a big coffee drinker, at least in the 'pure coffee' sense. I do happen to like the espresso-based drinks that you can get at That Other Place That Has A Location On Every Corner, but this tasting has totally won me over to be an A-Blend Disciple. Srsly. It's that good.

Our event began with order taking, courtesy of Anna, who maintains their very cool blog. We all got to order any drink off of their menu! How cool was that? I opted for the Mocha, their signature beverage. OMG it was totally delicious. What was even more awesome was we got to see their CEO (Chief Espresso Officer) Armando make all of our drinks, seemingly in the blink of an eye.

I correctly and quickly discerned that Armando is clearly one of the lynch pins of this whole operation. This guy knows coffee, and can probably grow, harvest, sort, roast and brew coffee in his sleep - with one arm tied behind his back. I mean, come on! Their main product is NAMED after him. He's as humble as the day is long, and willing to share what he knows - spent a good deal of time answering our questions. Great guy!

Greg Ubert (founder), gave us the Crimson Cup story, and his thoughts on coffee and the business. Also humble and very approachable - he totally believes in what he's doing, which is making good coffee. Sure he wants to make a buck, but he's totally into quality over quantity. You really should go click the link and read his bio.

We all finish our selected drinks (well, some of us, at least! I powered that Mocha right down!) and we then started the tour of the facility. We got to see all the fresh beans, the roasting machines, and Roastmaster Dave even roasted a batch for us! Incredible smells permeated the whole warehouse.

Next up was "cupping". I was all... huh?? Cupping is basically the coffee equivalent to a wine tasting. It was right about now that I realized I could stream video from my Blackberry - so I did!

Here we were just getting started.


Roastmaster Dave giving us a BOATLOAD of info in these coffees we were about to "cup".


Here we prepare for the second phase, where we actually soak the ground coffee in hot water to bring out additional aromas!

The last part of the cupping involves tasting the coffee (without cream? Sugar? ARE YOU SERIOUS!?)... but by SLURPING. Dave tells us the more violent the slurp from the spoon, the better aeration you get into your mouth, and by extension, better flavor transmission to your tastebuds. So yes, I got a HEAVY dose of raw, unadulterated coffee... surprisingly, it wasn't as offensive as I was expecting. Perhaps my prior experience with Those Other Coffees predisposed me to expect 'bad' flavor from unflavored coffee. Shame on me for not having a more open mind.

We then got to see the flavoring station, packaging and shipping departments. I love big machinery, and despite the smaller size of their operation, this place did not disappoint.

We also got to get up-close and personal with Armando, as he gave us a very close inspection of their beans. We had a little lesson on what makes a good bean, and how to spot defects.

It's amazing how many categories of "defects" there are for coffee beans.

Finally, we returned to the cafe, where we got to sample some of the frozen versions of their drinks... OMG here comes more sugar. Below Armando talks about the Frozen Hot Chocolate...

Man I can almost taste it again as I write this.

We spent a great deal of time tasting, learning and having a great time (almost 2.5 hours, actually). These folks know what they're doing, and they are certainly passionate about doing it. You should TOTALLY try some yourself. Go find one near you. Be sure to follow them on Twitter, too!

Catch my fellow TasteCasters' photos at the Crimson Cup Flickr Collection.