Coffee Tasting: Setting Up

I've been reading about different coffees and asking questions when I go the various coffee shops around town. My girlfriend is working on the invitations and the cups. We definitely don't own enough cups to try more than one cup per person and that's if we only have 6 guests. Oh well, I'm sure she'll come to a solution or solutions…

According to Coffee by Kenneth Davids, you get a clean cup or shallow glass for each coffee you want to sample.  You also need some soup spoons and then a glass with water to rinse the spoon out.  Also something to spit into. Two tablespoons of each coffee per person which has to be freshly ground. (Guess the grinder will get a workout that day.) You pour water over the grounds and wait a couple of minutes.

Some of the grounds sink, some stay on the top and form a crust.

• Break the crust and put your nose as close to the coffee as you can(without burning it of course) This is the peak moment for aroma
• Scoop out the remains of the crust and put into the discard bowl (spittoon)
• Top off with fresh hot water.
• Take a spoonful of the coffee and suck it into your mouth. I'm not kidding (page 46 of my book) Davids said it should spray over your mouth for the authentic taste of the coffee. (Disclaimer: I have not tried this and suggest you use care to avoid burning yourself)
• Roll, bounce, swirl and 'chew' the coffee. (I guess that's in case you missed some of the grounds)

Will post next time on the suggestions of things Davids feels you should notice.

Again, any suggestions you have for coffees for us to try will be greatly appreciated.

Not the usual grind,

Thanks for the great graphic to Paula Jensen whose website is  at  myspace.com/reznor70