Most people don't think much about what happens before the coffee hits the cup. They don't picture a steel table lined with white ceramic bowls, green beans on one side, roasted samples on the other, and a couple of guys leaning in with spoons trying to figure out if a particular lot is worth buying. But that's the work. That's where the coffee you drink at CR Coffee actually starts.
Kevin recently visited one of our sourcing partners here in New Orleans to cup a new round of green coffee samples. If you've never seen a professional cupping, it looks like some combination of a science lab, a wine tasting, and a very focused meditation session. The process is standardized across the industry. Roasted samples are ground, placed in ceramic cups, and dosed with hot water. Then you wait. Four minutes of steeping while the grounds form a thick crust on the surface.
Breaking that crust is where it gets real. You lean in with a spoon, push through the top, and the aroma hits you. Everything the coffee has to say is there before you ever taste it. But here's the thing most people don't realize: you're not smelling for the good stuff first. The first job is identifying defects. Any off notes, any faults, anything that disqualifies a coffee before it goes any further. It's quality control at the front door.
Once the cups are cleaned and cooled, the tasting starts. You aspirate. That's a loud, deliberate slurp off the spoon that sprays the coffee across your entire palate. It's not exactly polite dinner behavior, but it's the point. You need every taste bud involved to get the full picture. One sample might come through super chocolatey. Another has brightness and acidity. Another brings body or sweetness. You're building a mental map of what each coffee brings to the table.
This session had some exciting lots on the table, including a Venezuelan coffee that caught Kevin's attention. If you know anything about Venezuelan coffee, you know it's been hard to come by for years. The country's production dropped significantly over the past decade. Finding quality Venezuelan beans through the Port of New Orleans is a real find, and the flavor profile delivered. Look for it to show up at the shop soon.
There was also a Colombian sample in the mix, which is a staple origin for a reason. But the fun isn't just picking a favorite. It's thinking about how these coffees work together. One has chocolate, one has brightness, one has body. You blend them at different percentages and you can create something better than the sum of its parts. Something you can only get from CR Coffee.
That's the craft behind what we do at Coast Roast. Kevin walked away from this session with clear ideas about how each of these coffees would land in different applications: the house blends, the espresso, and the seasonal offerings. Every coffee coming through our antique Royal No. 6 drum roasters has already passed through a session like this one. It's not glamorous work, but it's the reason the cup in your hand on Magazine Street or at the airport tastes the way it does.
Stay tuned. New coffees from this cupping are coming to all four locations.