Caught a quick cupping after the latte art course I was teaching today.  On the table were a couple of massive Maragogypes – really huge beans.  Once I remember Arno from Probat poking through some of a blend I was pulling shots with and talking about what he saw.  At one point he picked up the beans, shook them next to his ear and pronounced them air cooled.  Initially I was amused and later dismissed it assuming he was messing with me.  After all, I remember another coffee professional recounting his delight at how easy it is to impress the average punter by picking up a handful of their espresso blend, poking it a bit, sniffing it, shaking it and then prouncouncing it “predominantly South American”.

Anyway – cheap gags aside - I was poking around these massive beans and absent mindedly shook them.  They made a weird noise, like they were hollow.  I grapped a handful of the estate Brazil on the table and shook that – it sounded different.  I am sure that it is simply down to density and I am not thinking I am uncovering some weird coffee secret.  The difference in the beans structures just seemed surprising, going by the noise.  The maragogype cupped really well, really balanced and fruity – and that, I suppose, is more important.