From The Tree To The Cup...

We recently had our third Coffee Master Journey class at Molly Pitcher Travel Plaza.  The class was facilitated by Mike Penna (Company Operated Store Manager/Coffee Master from NYC).  The team brought in many exotic and unusual coffees for us to taste along with new projects to be presented.

(Maykol & Julie Presenting their project)

(Maykol & Julie's project)

Julie and Maykol started off the run of presentations with their project on the difference between Arabica and Robusta.  Their poster board was very informative and included information a lot of people in the class never knew before, especially about the Robusta species of coffee trees.  For their paring they picked a Starbucks Reserve Sun-Dried Sumatra Rasuna which is a naturally processed coffee that has a "winey" aroma with a distinct berry profile and was a coffee favored by most for it's aromatic nature and complex flavors.  Paired with cranberry orange scone, the Sumatra was smooth and the citrus notes in the pastry brought out the berry flavors in the coffee.  The other coffee they picked was Nescafe Instant Coffee which had a blend of Robusta and Arabica coffee to give us a taste of the robusta coffee.  Their project came out awesome and they did a great job teaching the team about the difference between the Arabica and Robusta species! 

(Roberto, Manny, & Mike (Holding the iPad)

(Manny & Roberto presenting their project)

Roberto and Manfred's project was on the growth of the coffee tree and cherry.  They split up their project into two separate presentations.  The first was on the growth of the coffee tree in which they made a model of each step through out the tree's life until it becomes fruit bearing.

(Manny & Roberto's model of tree growth)

The models had precise detail and really gave the class a nice up-close visual of what the tree looks like from seedling to an adult tree.  

The second part of their project was a powerpoint presentation on coffee cherry growth.  They explained the life of a bean named Jim, from being an unripe baby to an adult ready to be picked.  The project was hilarious and really taught the whole team about cherry growth from another perspective! 

(Roberto & Manny preparing the coffee tastings)

For Manny and Roberto's tasting, we had a Starbucks Reserve Panama Paso Ancho which was paired with cinnabons and had an incredibly clean finish with a nice cocoa profile.  The pairing brought out the soft spice in the coffee and was a perfect conclusion to their presentation. 

(Jay & Jordan presenting their project)

(Jordan)

Jay & Jordan's project was about the anatomy of the coffee cherry and processing.  They presented a couple videos off the internet on Washed, Semi-Washed, and Natural Processing. (Links below)

(Video on Washed Processing)

(Video on Natural Processing)

*Click on youtube links under title to watch*
Washed Processing (Used For Project)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPxf8scXEkg
Semi-Washed Processing (Used For Project)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQvf8lmCqoU
Natural Processing (Used For Project)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dolwc93JFdg

The coffees they brought in for the tasting were a Starbucks Reserve Peru Aladino and Maui Mokka.  The Peru was paired with an orange to bring out the citrus notes and sweetness of the coffee and the Maui was paired with chocolate covered espresso beans, the Maui had distinct cocoa flavors with a bright acidity; the chocolate covered espresso beans mellowed out the coffees acidity and had a nice crisp finish. 

(Manny & Mark are impressed)

(Mark & Stacey presenting their project)

Lastly, Mark Ormsbee (Licensed District Manager/Coffee Master) & Stacey Carpenito (Licensed Brand Champion/Coffee Master) presented their project on grading and sorting of the green coffee beans.  They made awesome handouts for their presentation that included pictures from Mark's trip to Costa Rica and tons of information on how coffee is graded and sorted before being sent out to roasting plants.  

(Mark & Stacey presenting their project)

(Their coffee pairings!)

For their coffee tasting they did a Starbucks Reserve Ethiopia Sidamo and Starbucks Casi Cielo paired with a cannoli and an apricot/raspberry almond cookie.  The ethiopia had a perfume like aroma with a huge punch of flavor from a deep chocolate to dark cherry and paired excellently with the almond cookies.  The Casi Cielo (Translated from Spanish=Almost Heaven) was robust with an indulgent flavor profile and the rich cannoli was a great pairing for what we consider a "desert" coffee.

(Mike facilitating the class)

The amount of coffee knowledge this class has so far is immense.  We are all teaching each other new information every time we meet, and the conversations keep getting better and better.  The next class we will talk about how Starbucks buys coffee and the practices they use to do business.  

Thanks to Mike Penna for facilitating the class! 

Thanks to every one for sharing their projects!

The next class will be held at James Cooper Travel Plaza on April 11th at 2pm.  We will be presenting projects on Starbucks Coffee Buying, bringing in Starbucks Core Coffees or Competitor Coffees for tastings, and sharing our action plans to sell coffee! 

Activity: Find an interesting fact about each of the subjects and post a comment!

-Arabica/Robusta Trees

-Coffee Tree/Cherry Growth

-Processing

-Grading/Sorting

Can't wait to see the comments!

-Jordan