Blind Assessment: Low-toned to the point of flatness. A hard, slightly metallic taste is the only sign of acidity. A sweet sensation that reads as vanilla in the nose and prune in the finish is the only saving virtue.

Notes: A cheap coffee which is dramatically inferior and less interesting than most. A blend, pre-ground and canned. Twenty-three-ounce can $5.09, or $3.54 per pound.

Who Should Drink It: Those for whom (literally) every penny counts. The cheapest coffee in the cupping, but dramatically inferior and less interesting than others that cost only sixty or seventy cents more per pound.