this is coffee

Easy Chair 0900 on Valentine’s day. Come on in and slurp the sleepies right out of your eyes. We’ll be cupping at least three of our new offerings and I’ll even break out a Cup of Excellence El Salvador to taste. Give me a heads up if you plan to come in so we can have the bowls set up for you.

Tuesday evening the 3rd of February I will be leading a coffee cupping at Deet’s Place on the Virginia Tech Campus. Don Harvey, my past boss who, while I was at VT allowed me great leeway in growing my roasting and coffee knowledge and skills, worked with me to start a coffee college series of four classes held throughout each school year. We are in our third year now and Tuesday night we will be cupping two flights of coffee.

Prior to cupping I will explain the process of cupping, which is the industry’s term for the sensory evaluation of a coffee. I will give a very rudimentary talk on sensory perception and some specific things to look for when cupping coffee. We will then take our lesson to the lab.

The first flight will be coffees from Indonesia, Africa, and Central America. With this flight we will simply be noting the common threads and distinctive flavors found throughout each of these coffee producing regions. The second flight will be Selva Negra Estate coffee from Nicaragua roasted to three different roast levels. This portion of the lab will focus more on how the roasting process changes the flavor profile of a coffee - for good or for bad. For this class to be successful, you have to be ready to speak what your senses are telling you and participate fully in the ensuing discussions. The class is open to everyone, and we’ve yet to turn anyone away, but please let us know if you’re coming so that we have enough cupping bowls set up. Hope to see you there.

Brian