Now that I am buzzed for the day, I will report on the Ed Needham 4
different roasters same coffee (Kenya Mika) taste off.  When visiting Mike
McKoffee, he divided up the spoils, and gave me enough sample to do the
test.  Half way through the test, Alchemist John showed up with goat milk,
so I didn't have to dump as much coffee down the drain!  It is so hard not
to drink it all.  THANKS TOM FOR ALL OF YOUR CUPPING!  Before I give my
rankings, I must preface what I share with the fact that all of them were
GREAT coffee.  I used a 250 point system and the variation was only 16 from
the best to the worst.
1.  Ted's number one roast
2.  Jim's full city
3.  Mike
4.  Ted's number two roast
5.  Ed
6.  Jim's Ed Clone
In conclusion I don't think the roaster makes as much difference as does the
profile, and who knows what happened during shipping.  As you can see from
the test, Jim's roasts ranked 2 and 6.  What pulled Ed's down was lack of
movement.  Mike's ended up in the middle because it was a great balanced
cup!  Having tasted roasts now from almost 10 homeroaster, I must conclude
that we are GOOD!
Les

        On Tue, 2003-07-15 at 12:07, Les & Becky wrote:
<Snip>
Les,
   How did you come up with a 250 point system?  And having done that,
why didn't you post the numbers?   
    I borrowed the Cup of Excellence cupping forms and am making them my
standard now for our local cupping.  Takes a bit of getting used to, but
carries some really great definition.    The forms are in PDF format so
anyone wanting a copy hit me off-list.
     Its nice to see our host listed in the International Judges list
for the Cup of Excellence!  Not only does Tom have our respect, the
international community respects his cupping. 
John - enjoying bright sunny weather while the rest of the state drowns.

John,
My 250 point system is a variation a number of forms.  I use a 1-50 point
scale on the following:
1. Aroma (combination of dry and wet)
2. Acidity
3. Body
4. Taste
5. Movement
The reason I didn't post the numbers is that I believe that the type of
cupping I do is very subjective.  The numbers are not as important as the
ranking of the cups.
Les

Les, you do yourself a disservice.  Cupping is subjective.  Aside from 
that, even if you only rank them, how each category ranked is important and 
in that case numbers are a convenient avenue (an really the only reason to 
use them in cupping).  Please post your numbers.  BTW, could someone remind 
me/us what this cupping was for and the difference in the various cups?
Sometime around 13:42 7/15/2003, Les & Becky typed:
<Snip>
--
John Nanci 
AlChemist at large
Zen Roasting and Blending by Gestalthttp://www.dreamsandbones.net/blog/

O.K. AlChemist John I will post my numbers.  I wonder where Mike's results
are?  This was according to Mike, Ed Needham's roaster comparison test.  All
roasts were done on the same day, but in different roasters.  By the way, I
think it was the Mika!  What an excellent coffee!  John, your roasting
technique is very good, so now I can say to you! "You do yourself a
disservice!"  Now for the numbers:
Mike's Coffee:  Aroma 45   Body  48  Taste  47  Movement  40  Acid  45
Total: 225
Ed's Coffee:  Aroma 46  Body 49  Taste 47  Movement 35  Acid 43  Total 220
Jim (Ed's Profile Clone):  Aroma 46  Body 44  Taste 45  Movement 36  Acid 43
Total 214
Ted #1 Profile:  Aroma 48  Body 50  Taste 48  Movement 40  Acid 44  Total
230
Ted #2 Profile:  Aroma 47  Body 48  Taste 46  Movement 39  Acid 44  Total
224
Jim (full city):  Aroma 48  Body 47  Taste 47  Movement  41  Acid 46  Total
229
I hope that Ed is keeping tabs on all the tests and will post a conclusion
to this test!
Les

One of us will.
A recap of the test was twofold.  First it was mike and I going head to head
modded Rosto air to grill drum on the Mika.  Then Simpson chimed in with a
desire to compare his propane air roasts with others, so we let him in.  Jim
and I had been on another thread discussing air vs. drum and talked about him
cloning a drum roast in his modded FR, so he entered the fray also.  So all
in all, it was an overall taste comparison, with a side comparison of Jim's
clone and my drum (which I thought was incredibly similar, except for a
difference in roast degree -Jim's was a bit darker- and the expected
differences there).
Mike had to postpone his cupping, but he vac sealed the beans, and evidently
they were preserved adequately.  Most of us have had a bit of trouble getting
the data into digested form (me included), but that shouldn't affect the
outcome.
Whew.
Ed Needham
To Absurdity and Beyond!http://www.homeroaster.comed
****************************************
**********************************************