pre-cup: the bean taste (yes i eat them!) was toasty coffee with a weird vegetal almost green pepper thing, NOT my favorite bean to eat. the bean smell whole was just toasty coffee, no surprises. the ground smell had caramelized coffee and some mulched earth (light), a little woodiness and some faint vegetal undertones.
preperation: pour over method, 36g coffee, 520g water, just short of a very soft boil, 60sec to bloom the cup, 2:45 to pour the water over.
ACTUAL CUP: aroma of cinnamon and faint underripe plum with a syruppy oiliness (agitated the cup with a stir to disperse aroma). very light sheen to the surface, and dark amber color on the edge of the meniscus rising up the cup; nice legs for something brewed through a paper filter, speaks of good oils.
first spray hit center palate with big black pepper (odd, i know), dissapating across the palate with a rich bittersweet oiliness. some kinda hint of peca showed it head. muted black cherry acidity.
as the cup cools, black pepper and cinnamon tie in with the viscous semisweet to lie heavy but well on the palate. at the half way mark the woodiness and green pepper funk say hi agin, poorly, but only momentarily.
SUMMARY: this was NOT the best cup i have had in a while, but it is WELL above average, and i would easily consider this for daily consumption. were this blind, i would give it like 75-80%, with 100 for me being "i will drive across a time zone to get it" and 50 being the point where i would rather have decaff (below 30 would have me swinging fisticuffs!). knowing the scenario, i judge this to be a decent bean on it's own merit, and if you had access to a roaster (as my sample was under a week roasted) it could hit the lower reaches of excellence.
gain, thanks to dave for sharing the find, and kev for his impeccabe work. great fun, guys!