Speciality Coffee Taste Test

Ever wanted to know what our coffee tastes like, in comparison to that found in the supermarkets?

Well, we wondered just that too. As we are super spoilt here at Two Chimps HQ, we never have to buy coffee from the supermarket; and therefore, had forgotten how it tastes. From this thought, our most recent test was born. A blind taste test of ours, and other coffees. Wanna see the results? Read on!

Recently, we invited a few friends of Two Chimps Coffee up to the roastery for a blind taste test. Collectively, they had a varied knowledge of coffee.

For this blind taste test, we had seven different coffees. Three of our own and the other four were bought from a supermarket. We poured 13.4g of each coffee into small bowls and hid the packaging to make it a fair test. We then began grinding each coffee at the same grind size, and the test began!

Smell Test

After each coffee had been ground, we asked the judging panel to make there way around each coffee and to smell the aroma generated from each sample. We wanted to understand what everyone’s first impressions of each coffee were.

Coffee 1

Everyone agreed that this first coffee had little to no smell. The smell that was there was described as ‘burnt’, and all agreed that there wasn’t a particular aroma to the coffee; generally, it was quite dull. Some said that just by the smell, they were reminded of supermarket coffee. It was also likened to the odour generated from within the Yorvik Centre.

Coffee 2

This coffee was described as being slightly better than the first. However, it had a very bitter and strong flavour, similar to marmite. A lot of judges commented on how dark it was in colour, compared to the other coffees, which could explain that ‘bitter’ smell everyone found.

Coffee 3

With a much more pleasant aroma, this coffee was very popular from the smell test with all commenting it was their favourite coffee so far. This coffee was strong in the aroma like the other coffees. Some picked out a caramel aroma, making it more pleasant than the first two.

Coffee 4

The aromas found in this coffee were all positive. However, some found them a little too overpowering. Everyone agreed it had a really fruity smell, and it would be amazing for someone who enjoyed a fruity coffee. Some also noted that they preferred the colour of this coffee when it was ground compared to the first two coffees.

Coffee 5

Some said this coffee was there favourite – ooh how controversial! This coffee was described as being a lot sweeter and having a delightful chocolatey aroma. However, others said that it didn’t really have much smell. This coffee really divided opinions!

Coffee 6

Initially, this coffee had a chocolatey smell with a slightly fruity aroma too. However, it was noted that it was quite hard to pick out any aromas and any that were found, were weak. Everyone agreed that the smell was dull and lacking in definitive aroma.

Coffee 7

Straight away, it was commented on how this had a powerful rubbery smell. Some thought it was more of a burnt aroma rather than rubber, but everyone agreed that it didn’t have a very pleasant smell at all. Like with the 2nd coffee, some commented on how dark it was when it had been ground and linked this to the smells they were finding.

Taste Test

After the aroma of each coffee had been noted, it was time to start tasting! Cupping coffee is the fairest way of trying different coffees. Every step is completed in the same way, so one coffee won’t have the advantage on another by being allowed to brew for longer for instance.

We gave everyone a glass and a cupping spoon and talked briefly about coffee cupping and how to get the most out of a coffee using the slurping technique. When cupping coffee, place your spoon gently into the coffee and let it slowly cover your spoon. This way you won’t be disturbing the grounds that have settled. Now all you need to do it slurp all that coffee off your spoon – the louder, the better! Doing this allows the coffee to coat the whole of your mouth so you can really taste the coffee.

Once everyone got their slurping technique on point, we began tasting.

Coffee 1

The bitter and burnt taste everyone could smell initially was found again in the taste. It wasn’t smooth at all and left a nasty aftertaste in our judges’mouths. Generally, it didn’t have a nice flavour at all. It was very strong, and some linked this strong bitter taste to how dark it was when it was in its ground form.

Coffee 2

The flavours in this coffee were slightly better than the first coffee; however, they still weren’t great. Again, bitter and burnt flavours were being picked out and were being linked to marmite and some other strong and unpleasant flavours. Some described the coffee as being quite dull and having an odd aftertaste, almost waxy.

Coffee 3

Being the most popular in the smell test, this coffee had a lot to live up to. And it certainly did not disappoint! The caramel aroma that some found was also found in the taste, which made the coffee really smooth. It was also a lot sweeter than the previous two coffees but not so sweet that it was overpowering.

Coffee 4

If you remember, everyone found this coffee to have a strong fruity aroma. There was a powerful fruity taste to this coffee, which, a few found overpowering. It was also really sweet, which a few found too much. Generally, however, everyone was positive about this coffee and it was said that this would be great for someone who loves a fruity kick in the morning.

Coffee 5

This coffee tasted and smelt sweeter than the other coffees with some finding a chocolatey note. Some found this coffee smooth, and a few found it a little too jammy. Again, this coffee divided opinions.

Coffee 6

After everyone had tried this coffee, they said it reminded them of pond water. Some said that when they smelt it initially, it was one of their favourites; however, it was one of the worst coffees for taste. It was very bland and had no real flavour. Any flavour that was there was very weak and not very noticeable at all. Some said it was almost as if the water diluted the flavours and aromas.

Coffee 7

With a burnt and rubbery taste, this coffee wasn’t very pleasant at all. The burnt flavour was very strong, which made the coffee very bitter. Some said that when it was ground it had quite a nice smell, however when the water was poured, the smell disappeared.

After our judges had tried the coffees, we voted on the worst and best on the table. The first coffee was voted the worst, and the best went to the fifth, closely followed by the 3rd.

It was now time to reveal the coffees…

The first coffee was a well-known brand of coffee, brought from a supermarket.

Number two was a supermarket own brand coffee.

Three was our new Brazilian coffee ‘Round Hole, Square Peg‘

Next up was a new coffee of ours. So new, it hasn’t been named yet.

The fifth coffee was our new Rwandan ‘Professionally Unprofessional’

Number six was also a supermarket coffee. A rather expensive one, I must add.

And finally, number seven was also a supermarket brought, rainforest alliance coffee

To conclude our test

We explained to all that, generally, the reason the supermarket bought coffee had such a bitter and burnt taste was that the coffee was of a much lower quality. The coffee would have been roasted dark to try and rid it of any impurities, and this darker roasting style gives the coffee a burnt taste. Whereas, because our speciality coffees are of such a high quality, they are roasted to bring out their flavours rather than to try and hide them.

Hopefully, you can see from this taste test just how awesome our coffees are.

Want to see what all the fuss is about? Head over to our shop to grab a bag today!

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