I
am proud to be a consumer member of the Specialty Coffee Association of
America (SCAA), which is the trade
association for the
premium coffee industry. See its brewing page for an
overview of key considerations or to buy a printed brewing guide.
Equal Exchange is a leader in fair-trade coffee. It was from Rodney
North of EE that I took a coffee-tasting seminar and first started to
understand the connection between the field and the cup. When someone
compliments me on a well-prepared cup of coffee, I always answer,
"Thank the farmers!" Like Rodney, I see what I do in my kitchen as
simply a way to honor their hard work and attention to quality. It was
also from Rodney that I learned to think of coffee as a series of about
52 steps. Decisions made at each step -- even down to pouring the
coffee -- can make a difference in the tasting experience! See EE's brewing tips page
for guidance on coffee preparation.
I drink my coffee free of condiments, unless I am faced with
problematic coffee of some kind. If the coffee does not stand on its
own, I probably will not drink it. For many consumers, however, coffee
has essentially become a base for sugared or flavored creamer. Pamela
Hayes-Bohanan has a nice page describing our small role in coffee
marketing history. Years before we realized that I would become a
bit of a coffee fanatic, we were participants in research that Folger's
conducted on coffee condiments for young adults.
Counter Culture Coffee has produced a video
of a barista competition that shows how a connection the farmers can
make a difference in professional coffee preparation.
Coffee
Research is a site dedicated to improving coffee quality through
education and science. Its coffee brewing
page provides a comparison of several brewing methods.
The
Italian coffee
company Lavazza's has a
training page that provides
advice on the preparation of coffee from a European perspective. The
page reveals how differently
coffee is viewed in Italy, where a big mug of coffee is unheard of, and
where decaf is viewed with great suspicion. I
was thrilled to meet with
Lavazza's corporate trainer in New York City in April 2005. From Sal, I
first started to realize how much I still need to learn about coffee!
Lavazza is at the high end of conventional coffees, but is not a
specialty roaster.
For a very special cup, try Kopi
Luwak (tambien
en español). From the other end of a different animal, try monkey business.
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Be sure to turn on
the captions.
Note: Unlike the rest of
my Flickr photos, some of the images in this set are not my own.
Several are stock photos from equipment sellers or other sources.
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