My own blind test have also left me less than excited by CR's--  Drinkable
but NOT exciting.  The two exceptions have been the standard La Minita and
(my REAL preference ) last year's Dota.  Even thou Tom rated it below
LaMinita.  I hope new crop Dota is as good.
When you give a roasted coffee to someone who's coffee experience is limited
to Supermarket stuff the better CR is a great choice because you know
EVERYONE will like it whereas a Yemen, for example,  may be more of an
acquired taste.
Young
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On Fri, 23 Mar 2001 10:10:46 -0500, Young McQueen wrote:
<Snip>
I got hooked on CR after my parents brought some back from a visit
there around 10 years ago.  I had been drinking mostly Sumatra before
then, but when I tasted my first cup of CR I was wowed by the flavor. 
I immediately started ordering beans by mail from Cafe Brit and drank
it regularly until last spring, when quite by accident I stumbled onto
the coffee newsgroup on usenet.  (I was setting up a new newsreader and
had downloaded the listing of newsgroups, saw one that said 'coffee'
and clicked on it just to make sure the newsreader was working
correctly.)  Just for the heck of it, I read a few of the messages and
learned for the first time, that I could actually roast my own beans at
home!  I read a bunch more and found a link to Sweet Marias where I
became firmly convinced that roasting my own beans was something I
could and should try.  I placed an order for a HWP along with the
sample packs of green beans and the rest is history.  I now have the
ability to ability to blend my own coffees, which I do using CR as a
base.  
I never realized how 'monotone' and flat the coffee I had been drinking
tasted until I started roasting my own.  Once I did, I discovered that
there is a whole world of flavor in coffees and now I constantly tweak
my blends to bring out different tastes and aromas and surprise my
palate.  And, while I do drink unblended coffees, I generally end up
blending different beans to create the perfect Technicolor taste
experience.  I've found the CR's to be a great starting point for
these blends.
Ralph Cohen
rpcohen
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One of my favorite morning coffee blend: Guatemala city roast and the
same bean roasted to a point where acidity nearly disappears.  Play
with the blending proportion. The same ingredients with different
proportion is another favorite for afternoon. You can get closer to
perfection without being accused of "adulterating." (Don't take this
sentence seriously) I think the same strategy works well with any
reasonably well balanced beans.
Since I am trying to cut down caffeine, I just started experimenting
to substitute the darker portion with a decaf variety, leaving more
quality-sensitive lighter end untouched.
--
Ryuji Suzuki
"I can't believe I'm here.
People always say that I'm a long way from normal."
(Bob Dylan, Normal, Illinois, 13 February 1999)
From: "Ralph Cohen" 
Subject: Re: +CR Coffee
Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2001 17:37:50 -0500 (EST)
<Snip>
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