Not at all 🙂 However you must expect that coffee merchants have contacts that the general public are not normally privy to. That said, here is some background. One of my principle green bean suppliers has probably, the premium sample roasting and cupping lab in the country. It isnt open to the public as his company does not deal with the public, it deals with merchant roasters only. The facility has 5 sample roasters of various types and sizes (6 if you count the antique on the coffee table) and an extensive stock of varieties. It also has industrial size blending and cleaning facilities. As a coffee merchant, to have access to such facilities is fantastic....no..... FANTASTIC! :thumb: This is not only for his green bean business, but for his roaster clients to use as and when required. A client that wants to design anything new for themselves, can make use of such a facility where samples can be quickly roasted and cupped. As you can imagine, the experience is unique and unbelievably interesting (if coffee is your thing). That said, you would be surprised how many coffee roasters dont have dedicated cupping facilities of their own. It doesnt need to be much, but you need to be able to cup off regularly. How you cup, depends very much on the reason for your cupping. The green been supplier cups by traditional cupping methods (infusion), while a roaster in todays market would usually cup using an espresso machine. This is because most coffee roasted in this country is destined for the espresso market and the roaster needs (in my opinion) to cup accordingly. I did find some "favourites" in yesterday's session....but in a subsequent session with different offerings will undoubtedly find other "favourites". Coffees cupped using one method of brewing may give you a certain "favourite", and then if you cup the same coffees all round again using a different cupping method (say espresso), you may well change your opinion as you will get a completely different result. Hope that helps, Attilio.
