Coffee Wars 5: Scores and Analysis
Well, well, well.
Same deal as last year: Judges were asked to rate the brews in a variety of
categories on a scale from 1 to 10. For the purposes of scoring, all non-
integer results were rounded up to the next integer. Also, people who submitted
out-of-bounds scores (like 0, or 10+) were corrected to the nearest legitimate
rating. All derived statistics (such as average or standard deviation) are
based on the number of valid entries: if a judge left a category blank, this
did not count either for or against the entry; it merely increased the weight
of each score that was received.
Likewise, Bang-for-the-buck (highest overall score for an entry, divided by
the price per pound) was only calculated for those entries that included cost
information.
One entry was disqualified:
- Glacier Blend Shade Grown Organic entered by Sera
White. These were flavored beans.
Tasting was more blind this year than in previous contests: for both
smelling and drinking, judges saw only the number of the entry, not
the name or packaging. Even Shrdlu, as master of brewing, was only
given beans by number, so it is unlikely that much emotional bias was
introduced. I think the only person who had full knowledge of which
coffee was which was Foofus (since he did the bean-numbering), and
he kept his mouth shut till after the judging.
Having dispensed with the preliminaries, let's get on with the show.
OVERALL WINNER
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This category is the one by which we award the grand prize. There were
a number of ties this year, and in cases where there was a tie, taste
was used as the ranking factor. In the event that there was STILL a
tie (i.e., Spyboy vs. Sweetypig vs. Saraphim), aroma was the determining
factor. Sheesh! A three-way tie on TWO stats? Aieeee!
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| Entry | Entered by | Score |
| Wallenford Estates Peaberry |
Hook |
8 |
| Bad Ass French Roast |
Jay Dyson |
6.71 |
| Ancora d'Oro |
Foofus |
6.43 |
| Better Then Goat Pee |
CAM |
6.14 |
| HOJ |
Decula |
6.14 |
| Kona Blue Sky Peaberry |
GodMinusOne |
6.14 |
| Anonymous B |
Tim (proxy) |
5.86 |
| Unknown Sample |
NA |
5.83 |
| Spyboy Blend |
Spyboy |
5.57 |
| White Mountain- Millcreek |
Saraphim |
5.57 |
| Atomic Brew |
Sweetypig |
5.57 |
| CM Tanzania Peaberry |
Alice |
4.86 |
| Delta Mud |
Otto Eyebiter |
4.67 |
| Shock |
Gurney Halleck |
3.86 |
| Morning Flammer |
John Galt |
2.57 |
| JBM Wallenford Estate |
Dr. Vann Harl |
1.86 |
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The mean score was 5.36, and the standard deviation was 1.54. That means
that the winner was more than a whole standard deviation away from the
average, which indicates a strong response. There's curious information
here, too:
- How could Vann Harl's ostensibly excellent coffee have gotten
clobbered so hard? It doesn't make sense-- a bad batch of beans? a
brewing mishap? The world may never know.
- The scoring is surprisingly consistent, from year to year: JBM
again, and by a wide margin.
- What John Galt lacks in tact, he also lacks in taste in coffee!
(just kidding, John: we were very glad to see you, and we look forward
very much to next year's entry)
BANG-FOR-THE-BUCK
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This category doesn't actually win a prize. Instead, it's our attempt
to recognize a coffee that didn't win, but is still worthy of honor on
the basis of value. It is calculated by dividing the overall score by
the price per pound; no effort is made to objectively verify the price
per pound-- that's part of why there's no prize. In the event of a
tie, the overall score was used as the determining factor.
|
| Entry | Entered by | Score |
| Spyboy Blend |
Spyboy |
1.12 |
| Unknown Sample |
NA |
0.83 |
| Atomic Brew |
Sweetypig |
0.74 |
| White Mountain- Millcreek |
Saraphim |
0.64 |
| Ancora d'Oro |
Foofus |
0.61 |
| Better Then Goat Pee |
CAM |
0.56 |
| Shock |
Gurney Halleck |
0.55 |
| Delta Mud |
Otto Eyebiter |
0.52 |
| CM Tanzania Peaberry |
Alice |
0.49 |
| Morning Flammer |
John Galt |
0.40 |
| Wallenford Estates Peaberry |
Hook |
0.28 |
| Bad Ass French Roast |
Jay Dyson |
0.20 |
| Kona Blue Sky Peaberry |
GodMinusOne |
0.20 |
| HOJ |
Decula |
0.15 |
| JBM Wallenford Estate |
Dr. Vann Harl |
No Price Data |
| Anonymous B |
Tim (proxy) |
No Price Data |
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Again, a few notes. Average bang-for-the buck was 0.52, with a standard
deviation of 0.27. This means that the winner was more than two standard
deviations away from the mean. Partly this is because there were so many
very expensive coffees this year (the average price of an entry was $15.38,
with four entries at $29.00 or higher). Partly, though, this is because
Spyboy entered some really cheap coffee.
Some Additional Commentary
There were a couple of interesting footnotes to the competition. This was
the first year in which competitors actually tried to hack the contest
itself. Gurney Halleck submitted hyper-caffeinated coffee. Decula wanted
his beans to be brewed with caffeine-enhanced water. Interesting thoughts,
gentlemen, although I can't see it having much effect, given the sheer
volume of normal-strength coffee that the judges consumed. Even if it did,
though, it would seem unlikely that the judges would know from which coffee
the extra buzz originated. So this wasn't really so much an effort to alter
the odds of the contest as it was an outright attempt to overload the judges.
Not only that, but Gurney was himself a judge!
You are both a couple of big nutty nuts!
Also, a secret note to GodMinusOne: sorry we could not get your beans back
to you. The minute the contest ended, all materials (including entries
for which no prior arrangement had been made) were packed up and carted
away, mostly to places off the hotel grounds, for transport back to the
Coffee Wars Stronghold of Might, where the contest gear will be stored until
next year, and the remaining beans will be... analyzed. Anyway, as I said,
I want to send you, like, some stuff. I don't need your real name. I just
need a fake name and an address that will accept a package on your behalf.
Or, depending on what city you're in, we can maybe arrange an anonymous hand-
off. So drop me a line. And if you're reading this, and you're not
GodMinusOne, but you know him, and he's been moping around all bitter feeling
like CoffeeWars has done him wrong, please refer him to this web page, so
that we can make the bad feelings all go away.
This page is maintained by Foofus.
Please direct any comments to foofus at foofus dot net.
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