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Today was a day to cup coffees in a way that mattered. We cupped 24 coffees today, 8 per session. Each session seemed to get better than the last, but that is just me, because the scores vary tremendously. It is the beauty of the jury system, which allows for quite significant variation, and yet at the same time averages things out to a manageable score. Some coffees are fairly easy, and are either quite skewed in the positive or negative direction. But other coffees demand discussion, and as Deaton Pigot from Intelligentsia said today, create drama around the judges discussion. It is very interesting to see a coffee score a 76 at the low end and then get a 95 at the other end of the spectrum. In reality, both those high and low scores get thrown out, and the rest get averaged. We have 18 coffees to cup tomorrow, and then we cup everything on Thursday which scores 84 points or better.
Tomorrow is a significant day for the COE and the town of Marcala. The Honduras government Congress are coming out to meet all of us for lunch. I thought it was a big deal (and it was) last year in El Salvador when the minister of agriculture came to the ceremonies. This however, is something on a whole different scale, as the town of Marcala has never had this kind of delegation visit before, and it is a good three hour drive from Tegucigalpa (the main city in Honduras). So all of us cuppers will need to be on our best behavior, and it will be interesting to be having lunch with the government of the country.
Honduras is a beautiful country. The people are friendly, and are definitely in the mind set towards tourism. The internet here has been pretty sketchy, but then I remind myself that I am in the middle of a central american country, and should be astounded that I get wi-fi any where.
I tasted some very nice coffees today, and was instructed by the cuppings today that there are some delightful coffees in Honduras. I have never really explored the coffees here before, so it is all fairly new. It seems that there are two distinct profiles here, both of which have their own merits. I prefer the more delicate coffees, with clear acidity, and fruit, and some depth and complexity. At the end of the day, the jury is working hard to establish the criteria by which the top 30 or so coffees will rise to the top and make it into this year's auction. While it is still 20 something outside, and the bugs and crawly things are chirping, I am ready for bed. So I will sign off, and hopefully the internet works tomorrow, and I can write a bit more about the COE and the coffee scene in Honduras as I learn more each day.
By the way, sorry to dissapoint all of you fans of Esmeralda Special this year, but it looks like we missed out on getting some coffee, unless someone bought a bit too much and wants to part with a box or two. As I was trying to bid on a lot, the internet went down here in Honduras and by the time I called back to Edmonton, and found someone to get in front of the computer to bid, the auction was over. I was pretty frustrated, but what can one do. So, the moral of the story is... don't be in central america in the middle of the jungle when trying to participate in an online coffee auction. Claro!
Good night from the hills of coffee in Honduras. More in the morning.
