As the 5-11 Chicago Bears wind down a disappointing season with their fifth straight loss, I thought I would do something else that would leave a bad taste in my mouth, roast and taste a batch of bad coffee.

I purchased a pound of Sweet Maria’s “Thumbs Down” coffee back in 2012 with the intention of experiencing a cup of coffee that was rated as truly bad by one of my coffee heroes.

The pound of coffee I received was described as follows:

Panama “Dry Process Experiment Gone Awry”
Fruity, vinegary, musty, ack! Here is an example of unclean fruit flavors, a textbook case of processing taint. heavy body, cloying fruit notes, slightly rotten coffee cherry flavor, musty scent and flavors in the finish, medicinal.

Recently some of the best coffees in the world have been coming out of Panama, why would someone want to taste a coffee that is vinegary, musty, and slightly rotten tasting?

Continue reading