Apparently, coffee wasn’t complex enough for Ceremony Coffee Roasters. The beverage boasts over 800 flavor influencing components. Ceremony Director of Wholesale Ronnie Haas and Head Roaster Andy Sprenger still decided to harness coffee’s absorption power for good instead of evil. According to this Annapolis based company’s website, they’re shooting for “a means to enhance the flavor profile of the coffee” instead of channeling “unsavory characteristics.” That sounded promising.

At Filter Coffeehouse in Washington, D.C., owner Rasheed Jabr was serving BCS 07: Ethiopian Yirgacheffe ECX/Bourbon Barrel. His brew produced a mind bending flavor that twisted the type of floral acidity that’s typically found in Ethiopian Yirgs through bourbon-washed oak barrel aging. This coffee’s vanilla notes and aroma ran counter to my taste memory. I ultimately didn’t enjoy the coffee at this Dupont Circle coffeehouse, but the result was compelling enough to keep bringing me back to the cup.