FoodProof Coffee Challenge - Result #2

For the next installment of this ever important challenge I have put myself up to I will review another blend from Blue Bottle Coffee.  Again, I originally ordered 2, one of which I have already reviewed and the other was:

100% Yemen

Now, I don't know much about Yemen, but after going through a pound of this blend (sometimes 2 pots in a day) I have to say that Yemen has fantastic coffee.  

Before I dive into the review, I think you should know something about my coffee beliefs.  I do not believe in putting anything in coffee.  I love coffee, in fact, I love everything about coffee, why would I want to soil it with a dairy product or god forbid, sweeten it!  I mean really, this isn't hot chocolate people, it is coffee!

So for this challenge I really have 2 comparisons going on in my head, one comparison I am making is between this blend and the previous blend which was Belle Donavan.  The other comparison is a very general but equally important comparison of how this coffee rates to every other coffee I have ever had in my life.  Now, I'm sure you're like me and have had some wonderful cups of coffee whilst sitting in a Winchells/Dennys/Waffel House at 5 am coming down from some intoxicant, but I try not to compare these to that, because really ... how can you compare.

The description that Blue Bottle Coffee gives 100% Yemen is:

This is an intoxicating coffee that produces a huge aroma, and, at this medium-to-dark roast level, it is one of the few single-origin coffees that makes an excellent shot of espresso. Also terrific as a filter or presspot, coffee from Yemen is still farmed much the same way as it was 1200 years ago: harvested by hand from ancient, often wild, non-hybridized cultivars, dried on local patios, and processed locally before being shipped. While not certified organic, Yemens are considered free of pesticides owing to the strong farming traditions which predate pesticide use. One more thing: you might not like it. Lovers of clean, snappy Costa Ricans, or Colombians might consider drinking a cup of Yemen uncomfortably similar to being picked up by the lapels, shaken, then tossed into a grimy Manhattan snow bank. But for some of us, this is the most complex and desirable cup in town.

I really have to give it to Blue Bottle for their description here.  I don't know that it is 100% accurate, but it is pretty close.  I especially like that they say that you might not like it, because its true, you might not.  I, on the other hand, loved this coffee.  I have a secret test that I put coffee through: on a saturday morning, when i wake up and have some dread about how I am going to summon the energy to get out of the house and entertain two little children who never stop.  If my coffee snaps that dread, you know it is a truly, brilliant, damn fine cup of joe.

But really, this coffee was perfect for me.  It was strong, but not too bitter.  It didn't crush the roof of my mouth with a burnt feeling, and I felt that i could taste it coming from my stomach 5 minutes after I was done, and not in a bad way.

For consistency, I will continue to use my review questions:

Do I want it the next morning?
  - Um, yes.  yes.  YES.

Do I want a second cup?
  - I actually had a hard time NOT having a second cup.

Does it make me feel warm all over?
  - For way too long ... something creepy here.

Does the bottom of the cup taste the same as the top?
  - Yes totally, I am finding that this is a big difference between a nice coffee and a shit coffee.

Am I sad when my cup is done?
  - I really was.

Will I order it again?
  - Absolutely, for sure, yes.

So, to follow up with my comparisons:

1. How did this stack up against Belle Donavan - No comparison for me, this was truly superior in every single way.
2. How does this stack up against EVERY other cup of coffee I have ever had - This was up there, I would have to rate this as a #2.

Out of 10?  I give this a 9 and feel solid that I will never change that.