Mick Miller, our managing barista, explained the process of cupping and we began to grind the three different coffee beans.  It was a blind cupping, so to say.  The coffee's were labeled A, B and C.  Everyone had a cupping sheet to make notations on aroma and taste.  We started off by smelling the dry grounds.  Then we added 195f water to the freshly ground coffee and we all took turns smelling the new mixture.  My favorite part came next, the "break."  The break is when you push the coffee grounds on the top of the cup back and it releases the trapped gases under the grounds.  What follows is strong aromas.  Then we slurped.  And slurped.  And slurped some more.  All the while noting the body, the brightness and the aftertaste.  We all had a wide variety of flavors from the three different coffees, from nutty-chocolate notes to berry-vanilla notes to root veggies and earthy notes.  Mick led the discussion afterwards and it was educational and fun for all.  If you weren't able to attend this cupping, please come when we do it again, we'll keep you posted.  Also, Counter Culture Coffee, our roasters, have free cuppings every Friday at 10am.  It's open to the public, so check them out.  In the end the Worka Natural Sundried coffee from Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia was the favorite and we brewed a batch for all to enjoy it's berry deliciousness.  The Peru Valle del Santuario, a backbone of our Tryst House blend was a close second.  For me though, I'd like to wake up with a cup of the Baroida from Papua New Guinea.