Always on the look-out for something new to learn, I recently took advantage of a unique opportunity to learn about coffee. Great, I thought, new information for the economic botany file.
If you are unfamiliar with the subject of economic botany, it is an area of botany that addresses the origin and domestication of plants. My first experience with this subject was in grad school when I sat in on a course taught by one of my major professors. Of all of the plant classes I took during my tenure as a student, this class (called “Plants & Life”) was the class that prompted reactions like, “Wow, I did not know that”, “Neat!”, and “That’s cool!” It was the practical application of all the botany I had ever learned. Connections were being made and I couldn’t stand it. It was practical everyday botany and one story after another about where groceries came from. I think everyone needs to know about this subject and this is why the economic botany category has been added to the bookstore.
So when I saw the flyer for a class about coffee while ordering my triple-shot latté with the wonderful latté art at Goodwin’s Organic Food & Drink, I signed up right away. Having only tried drip coffee once before (and not liking it), I was looking forward to learning how to appreciate a good cup of coffee.
The coffee workshop was taught by Mike Perry, owner and master roaster of the Coffee Klatch in southern California. Mike presented a slide show about how coffee is grown and provided interesting insight into the business side of coffee. After his presentation, Mike taught us the process of “cupping” which is a multi-step process of experiencing and recording the specific traits of roasted coffee beans. The process goes something like this:
- Grind your coffee beans.
- Place a scoop of ground coffee in a cup.
- Shake the cup of grounds and hold it close to your nose to experience the coffee’s fragrance.
- Pour hot water into your cup and let stand for 4 minutes (coffee grounds will float to the surface).
- After four minutes have passed, get your nose directly above your cup and “break” the grounds floating on the surface with a spoon to record the coffee’s aroma.
- Remove the grounds and foam from the surface of your cup with a spoon (or two).
- Sample your coffee with a spoon to experience the coffee’s flavor, body, etc. There is a very specific way to do this, just like there is a specific way a connoisseur samples wine. Simply sipping coffee from a spoon is not it. Think quick, loud suction sounds.
The class cupped six types of coffee and recorded observations about each roast. My lack of experience as a coffee drinker was evident as every roast tasted bitter to me. The observations made by my classmates were much more articulate and elegant. Maybe drip coffee isn’t my drink. That’s okay with me because I find that there are few things as comforting as a strong warm latté or cappuccino.
I learned many things in class that evening and each tidbit has been added to my economic botany folder. What I was most surprised to learn and experience is the depth of the knowledge and passion coffee aficionados have for the favorite drink. The people I had the pleasure of meeting in class do not merely like their coffee, they understand their coffee. Here are photos from class showing the “cupping” process on the blog of the Espresso Revolutionaries and Coffee Enthusiasts of the Inland Empire.
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You might also be interested in the Society for Economic Botany.
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