I must admit, I’m more of a tea drinker than coffee imbiber. My daily tea habit runs the gamut from a healthful green tea/Red Zinger mix during the early morning to bracing black tea with 2% milk the rest of the day.

But a recent informal coffee tasting at Fonté Micro Coffee Roaster on First Avenue, right across from the Seattle Art Museum, set me to thinking about the similarities between wine tasting and coffee cupping. According to Fonté master coffee roaster Steve Smith, body (the way the coffee feels in your mouth), acidity (or liveliness), and aroma (depth) lead to coffee flavor (the overall perception of acidity, aroma, and body). As with wine, the finish (how the coffee tastes after it leaves your mouth) is also a major factor in enjoying and appreciating your cuppa Joe.

Smith demonstrated what he was talking about by tasting me through four different coffees including Bin 16 (Fonté’s signature blend), El Socorro y Anexos (the 2009 Cup of Excellence winner), and Fonté Holiday Blend (described as “a heavily bodied cup with a pleasant ‘wine-y’ brightness).

Thanks to its price tag alone, I was most intrigued by the beautifully named La Esmeralda Geisha, which translates as “the emerald geisha.” Smith said this complex, single-estate, very-limited-production coffee from Panama exhibits prominent acidity along with lovely aromatics including notes of jasmine. Annual production is only 125 bags, and so it sells for $49.95 per half pound!

The coffee is so exclusive, that during the holidays there was a limit of one-half-pound per customer, and sales benefitted the Pike Place Market Foundation. The Market Foundation funds the four social-service agencies in the Pike Place Market: the Downtown Food Bank, Medical Clinic, Senior Center, and Preschool and Child Care. This fundraising effort was and is a perfect example of the neighborhood spirit surrounding Pike Place!