If I were a character in Willy Wonka, my name would be Clementine.

This afternoon I had some friends over for coffee and delights. I had a pretty good idea what coffees I wanted, but I started my day with a cupping at the Stumptown Annex for extra ideas. Megan set up a beautiful, bright table: Costa Rica, Panama Don Pachi, El Salvador Kilimanjaro, and Kenya Gaturiri. It was also an exceptional experience because there were only 3 cuppers! I was only familiar with the Kenyan coffee from work and was super amped to pick out my coffees. All were great, but as always the Kilimanjaro really stood out. I must admit that this is not my favorite crop, but still an exceptional experience. Complex. Deep. Rich. Ripe fruit flavors. Great acidity. Like a nice dry red. That said, I bought a bag of Panama Don Pachi (planned) and Colombia El Placer (on Liam's recommendation).

Next I hopped over to Zupan's for some oranges. Citrus flavors are often used to describe coffees and I have been anxious to expand my cupping vocabulary. The store clerk stared curiously as I scribbled the names of tangelos and mandarins. I studied, smelled, and squeezed till I was confident in my choices and sure the manager was following me.

On my way back to North side, I put together the rest of my menu. I entertain best with themes and chose foods that reminded me of coffee. Waking up reminds me of coffee. Coffee reminds me of breakfast. Breakfast reminds me of eggs, bacon, and oj. Bingo! I ended up serving deviled eggs, dates wrapped in bacon, baked brie with pears, and plain cake donuts. I stopped at New Season's for the food and picked out 5 more varieties of citrus. I probably could have brought home 10 more types of oranges, but please!

In conclusion, the afternoon was a success. I love my friends and I love coffee and I love food. A few hours ago I sat down with all the left over citrus and began munching. I logged physical characteristics, how ripe I thought it was, how it peeled, flavors, smells, textures and aftertaste. I'm using a 1 to 10 scale to help me determine acidity, sweetness, and tartness. Some seemed too ripe, which is no fault of the fruit, so I may end up excluding them from the project, but I have one more of each varietal to try. Admittedly, I am feeling overwhelmed with the sheer volume of fruit I have consumed for research and have decided to extend this project further. I would like to visit a few other grocers, as well as reevaluate my picking skills. I'll let you guys know how it goes. So far the Murcott Tangerine RULES!!!

PS: Thanks to Rachael for grinding 1/2lb coffee in the Ol' Peugeot!

Satsuma Mandarin Orange
Orlando Tangelo
Minneola Tangelo
Honeybell Tangerine
Blood Orange
Murcott Tangerine
Page Tangerine
Naval Orange
Meyer Lemon