A cupping at Stumptown

As lecherously shady as it sounds, a "cupping" turned out to be not so bad after all. On a deliciously sunny and prematurely wintery Seattle saturday afternoon I headed over to Stumptown with my friend Ken to see what a cupping exactly is.

To give some context here, Stumptown is an independent coffee house from Portland which has just opened in Seattle. They have revolutionized how coffee is bought, processed and how the coffee growers themselves are treated in the whole process. You can drink your fancy cup of coffee and empower the coffee grower, his/her family and workers. Everybody wins!

On to the cupping which basically consists of a row of neatly arranged coffee cups in Stumptown's basement. Each type of coffee is poured into three  cups and each set of three cups was separated by a cup with plain water. Our host, Kyle, explained that we would be tasting coffee from a single cup using a spoon, dipping the spoon in the water and moving on to the next cup. There is a need to have 3 cups with the same coffee because sometimes a single bad bean can skew the flavor of the coffee. Tasting the same coffee from three separate cups gives a better sense of the true flavor by discounting any undesirable variations. Kyle then proceeded to "break the crust" by removing the frothy foam you see in the picture (note picture is from this site)

The tasting technique itself is also very interesting. You basically have to slurp the coffee so that you utilize your taste buds. However swallowing is not advised because the palette and the throat become desensitized as the cupping proceeds. Kyle proceeded to demonstrate the technique with a very aggressive and impressive slurp :) We followed suit and proceeded to spit out the coffee after each slurp. 

Now to the coffee's themselves. I didnt note the names but there was one from Gautemala, two from Ethopia and two more that I forget. My coffee ignorance was soon exposed another guy commented "definitely has some blueberry" - I responded with "Oh, I didnt know there was blueberry in coffee beans". He then patiently explained that fruits, flowers etc are used to describe the taste and smell associated with a particular coffee... wow! 

Anyway, I soon got into the act by pronouncing that one of the coffees had a "nutty" flavor. Kyle agreed by saying that it had a pistachio like aftertaste. All in all it was a great experience - the coffees had subtle variation in acidity. Some were tangy, some citrusy and others nutty and fruity. The most fascinating part came at the end when Kyle explained who the coffees came from. The names of the families, the farming practices, the variations in flavor due to slight changes in elevation are all things that I never used to think about when horsing down my daily mocha. Coffee drinking is now a more holistic experience for me

Oh, btw I also got one of these:

 

Seattle's best coffee houses

Since Seattle is one of the best places for quality coffee and I happen to keep discovering new ones since I live in the city, Im compiling this list (by popular demand). What people dont know is that there are also some pretty awesome tea houses (see post below). Rely on google for directions - Im not going to do everything for you :) Other guides will follow soon... comments and suggestions are welcome

Coffee

1. Stumptown: new kid on the seattle scene, but theyve been around in Portland since 99... they have a couple of barista's from my favourite place, Univeristy Zoka and they coffee is great. Not much to eat here and the seating is not made for chilling. Its also open till 11pm only. Located on 12th Ave in Cap Hill and the cross street is 12th and Madison. The espresso machine alone is worth a visit :)

2. University Zoka: the perennial favourite where you can chill in preppy wood pannelled surroundings. The coffee is pretty awesome and theres always good stuff to eat.. my fav is the zoka bar. The word on the street is that a few barristas have left and the quality of the mokas does reflect this. However Im hoping that the new barristas get better soon because this place is too great to go off the radar

3. Victrola: One of the 3 V's on Cap Hill (Vita, Victrola and Vivace). I dont think its open till late but it has the best brownie Ive ever had... and it was a vegan one too. The coffee here is also great and the ambience is also awesome

4. Bauhaus: Can a coffee shop get any better if its open till 1am! The surroundings are awesome ;), the coffee is always consistently great and this place is bulit for chillin like a villain.

Seattle's best tea houses

1. Miro Tea: Located in the heart of Ballard, this places is going to be my fav hangout during the long, cold, wet Seattle winter. From the sorghum wallpapered surroundings to the funky lighting and deep calfskin leather sofa, this place has a warm earthy core. And the tea-istas (my own own word, sounds similar to Tiesto but with an 'a') are very helpful. Jeannie, the owner is awesome - she will make you a masala chai that is the closest thing to doodh patti (sweet, milky, overbrewed Pakistani/Indian roadside fav). The cosmonot and the Matcha lassi are unique and tasty cold tea inventions. The crepes, cheesecakes etc are also great. Open till midnight on weekends

2. Remedy teas: Is as clinical and lab like as Miro is warm and inviting. However the tea selection is great and is not as far out of the way as Miro because it is located in Cap Hill

3. Panama Hotel, Tea and Coffee House: This place is just great. It is calm and serene, just as a tea house should be. It is located in a hotel opened in 1910 by a Japanese UW graduate, the hotel has the only Japanese bath-house in the US. The tea menu looks very inviting with "Bombay Market" and Celyon black teas. The brick walls, antique furniture and intriguing cellar add to the old world charm. Make sure you take a piano playing friend along. Also has free wifi and LavAzza coffee

4. Floating Leaf Tea House: Ive only seen it from the outside during my trips to Ballard but the floor seating and interesting looking tea menu makes me want to try this place out. Definitely worth checking out after a breakfast/brunch trip to ballard since it closes early.

Funny Pakistan Cricket Quotes

"Pakistan is the sort of place every man should send his mother-in-law to, for a month, all expenses payed" - Ian Botham, after England's 1984 tour to Pakistan

"Why don't you send in your mother-in-law now? She couldn't do any worse" - Aamir Sohail's belated, but effective response after Botham's duck in the 1992 World Cup Final

"I knew God was on our side" - Imran Khan after the 1992 WC final

"I have never upset anyone in my life" - Miandad before the 1992 Pakistani tour to England

"Ive waited 6 years for your autograph, Mr Wog."
"Well, another 10 minutes wont hurt you mate." - conversation between a Pakistani fan and Steve Waugh as the latter left the field during Aus tour of Pak in 1994

"They've always had a lot of talent, a lot of good players, but they're like eleven women. You know, they're all scratching each other's eyes out" - hauntingly accurate words from Ian Bothan on Pakistani sides he's known

"Atleast when a side like Australia tries to rattle you, they do so in a language you can understand" - Billy Alley overestimating the English skills of the Pakistani players in 1992.