One of the main questions we get asked consistently is, “What is the right pathway of educational course for me?” This can sometimes be overwhelming and confusing because so much of that decision-making process is based on timing, existing knowledge level, and one’s financial commitment. Over the next few months, we will explore the different paths and directions one might take to achieve these sets of goals. Perhaps you want to open a café, maybe become a green coffee trader, hone your coffee brewing skills, etc. We will explore each of these avenues and offer advice and guidance.
Let’s Start with Roasting
This month we are starting with roasting. We will focus on the small wholesale roaster or someone looking to become a roaster for an established company. The emphasis will be on roasting and addressing the educational pathway best suited to your immediate needs related to your business. We will also provide basic information/introduction regarding the SCA curriculum. What skills will you need to become a good roaster? The skills required to go beyond turning coffee from green to brown and hopefully making it taste good. It all starts with understanding how to pick up the phone and talk with an importer. Not because you cannot trust them or rely on their advice, it’s quite the opposite. If you are able to develop a strong relationship with an importer, they will become your private consultant; they will guide you and look out for your best interests. Without any essential knowledge upfront, it is challenging to know what questions to ask to get answers and information to get you started on the right track.
Building a Strong Foundation of Knowledge
Green Coffee Foundation is the perfect starting point for you. This introductory course covers fundamental concepts surrounding green coffee from growing the plant through processing, shipping, and storage prior to arrival at a roastery. This course is ideally suited for people new to the coffee industry or those looking to gain an insight into the broad subject matter of green coffee. It includes an introduction to the basics of quality checks, coffee grading, and taste/flavor differences due to processing or species: the course length, 1 day.
Understanding the Nuances of Flavor Profiles
From there, you must learn how to objectively taste coffee. Yes, we all look for things we like; there is no getting around it. However, learning to assess coffee objectively empowers you to make better choices. Sensory Skills Foundation is designed to expose and sensitize the student to the notion of specialty vs. non-specialty coffee. Students will learn to recognize the core concepts of sensory analysis and explain how and why coffee professionals use it in the coffee industry. Broad focus will be placed on identifying, describing, and discriminating aroma, taste, and body objectively in coffees. Students will be introduced to the SCA cupping protocol and methodology and reflect on this evaluation methodology’s qualitative dimension. Course length, 1 day.
The Art and Science of Roasting Coffee
Once you have the core concepts down in green coffee and sensory skills, it’s time to turn coffee brown. Roasting Foundation is designed to introduce core roasting skills and equipment to people with no previous roasting experience. This 1-day course gives the learner an understanding of the roasting process, including the physical changes that occur during the process and how to control sensory aspects of the coffee by roasting light or dark. Learners will also understand the roasting machine’s basic structure and general maintenance and fire prevention functions and features. You will get “hands-on” roasting training as well as tasting coffees of varying qualities using SCA protocols. Another important aspect of this training is the opportunity/challenge of tasting and identifying the same coffee with different roast profiles. However, most will want to dive deeper into the art and science of roasting, hence the Roasting Intermediate course. This coursework builds upon the introductory concepts of the Foundation course. It is ideal for someone who has some roasting experience and is ready to grow and enhance their knowledge to gain a deeper understanding of the roast profile. We expand on how the roast profile relates to color, the relationship between roast profile and sensory expression, and the impact of development time. Learners will further explore the physical and chemical changes and introductory thermodynamics, and heat transfer during the roast. After that, there will be an introduction to sample roasting and a review of safety and maintenance protocols in the roasting plant. We offer all the above courses individually or in discounted bundles.
More than Just Roasting Coffee
In all our courses, we go beyond the core content required by the SCA. Our coursework adds a healthy dose of business, from regulatory to marketing. We also strive to destroy the dogma in the industry; things you may think are “rules” or best practices but are merely just opinions. We all have them, and we will give our ideas here and there based on our experience. However, we will make sure that our views are just that – the educational material and process we teach are factual and concrete. There is no magic sweet spot or secret to success in specialty coffee; solid education and knowledge will help secure achievement. Check out www.firedancereducators.com or www.diedrichroasters.com for more information, course dates, and to register. We offer all the classes mentioned above once a month in Schaumburg, IL, and every other month in Ponderay, ID. 