Coffee News
What to expect in your Q Grader course.
The Q Grader Arabica course typically takes 6 full days to complete. The schedule below provides a typical layout for 3 days of instruction and practice with a subsequent 3 days of cuppings and examinations. Depending on your course instructor or your host, your program may look slightly different.
Have you ever tried the Aeropress Coffee Maker? It’s a personal favorite of mine. However, like most things “coffee” in the world you’ll find mixed opinions and lots of picky recipes.
I LOVE AEROPRESS COFFEE!
In this blog and video I’ll share with you 5 GREAT RECIPES with 5 important rules to help you make a perfect Aeropress Coffee every time! Let’s get started with the video, rules and recipes below.
As a specialty coffee trainer and quality control consultant, I wish I could say that proverbial lead in that, “I always have clients ask me…” Sadly I can’t say that anyone is asking. Perhaps many roasters understand the importance of coffee sizing when it comes to roast impacts:
The size of coffee beans directly correlates with the surface area available to absorb heat during the endothermic roasting stage (before first crack). Thus larger beans roast at a different rate than smaller beans - maybe faster, maybe slower.
The size of green coffee is indirectly related to coffee density - a common idea that most all roasters prescribe to the adage that “higher density coffee = better coffee”. No entirely true, in defense of low elevation coffee growers.
The size of coffee beans affects the way a roaster should blend for even distribution in the bag and in the espresso hopper where consistency between brews and shots is critical to clients.
Before we get too deep into sizes and quality, let’s take a moment to consider where various coffee bean sizes come from. Coffee cherries from the same tree and branch grow along the stem of that branch. The coffee plant transfers nutrients up from the roots, through the trunk and out the branches. Those cherries closest to the trunk will naturally get water and nutrients before those at the end of the branch. If the soil is rich in nutrients and everything the plant needs to be happy, then the produce is abundant with less variance. If the plant is strained those cherries closer to the trunk may get nutrition first, while those further down the branch are lacking. I am not an agronomist or growing expert, but I am a farmboy and you can see how the logic holds that some coffee will be larger, some smaller, and all may potentially differ slightly in the organic composition in fruit and seed.
As I said in my video, there may have been a time where it was reasonable to believe “bigger beans are better beans” and give monikers like “AA” or “AAA” or “Supremo” which insinuate a quality measure. However, today we enjoy a modern era where technology can be held in the hands of farmers and growers. Science, data and communication tools can relay growing and harvest conditions between farm, mill and warehouse for roasters to benefit. It is now time for roasters to recognize (and benefit from) the great advances at origin.
Furthermore, roasters may be willing to pay just as much, or more, for Kenya AB or for a Central Segunda lot, if roasted effectively. We can reward growers and producers for ALL of their coffee when we recognize and appreciate what each size can do!
I believe that roasters should do their part to own screens and build them into a quality control program. Most “specialty coffee roasters” are going to great lengths to monitor quality and roast for nuances with a goal to Wow! their customers. However, they may find that one VERY EASY giant step forward is to roast the 17-18’s separate from the 15-16’s. That subtle size difference causes a variance in roast development … i.e. the nuances of fragrance, aroma, sweetness, acidity, body, mouthfeel, cleanness, and cupping score!
How can coffee producers recognize dramatic gains from strict coffee sizing? When roasters take the first step to understand that an 18 screen size (18/64th inch or 7mm) roasts, cups and blends very different from a 15 screen size (15/64th inch or 6mm) then they will begin to value coffee of all sizes for it’s specific use.
This is a 98% strict screen size 15-16 (6.0-6.5mm) triple sorted clean coffee.
This is a 98% strict screen size 19-20 (7.5-8.0mm) clean shaken natural coffee.
When roasters value 15’s then they will pay growers more appropriately for those once considered inferior beans. Roasters love to tell customers about farms and regions and Meters Above Sea Level (m.a.s.l.) but the truth of the matter is that many times these coffees are coming from farm regions, at various elevations, from various farms. When growers bring them to the central processing station they get blended together.
Perhaps roasters could be proud to share, “We support underdogs and to prove it roast the most delicious small bean coffee. We like to buy the small beans to help the growers, and personally we enjoy their nutty floral qualities!”
More could be said, I’ll step off of my soapbox. What questions or disagreements might you have? I’d love to learn from your perspective and keep the conversation going towards great understanding, improved quality control and more fair recognition for ALL coffees produced by growers.
Thanks for reading! (and watching)
Check out the second Perspectives in Coffee interview with Seife Tuuloskorpi. The founder and face of Seife’s Coffee (since 1967) working with incredible farm cooperatives and producers to add value at origin, produce and process INCREDIBLE COFFEES.
Learn from Seife’s challenging and bold journey from Sweden to invest back into his birthplace Ethiopia. Though born in coffees provenance, he was raised in a traditional coffee market. We can learn from his willingness to risk, struggle and build an enduring legacy.
I highly recommend Seife’s Coffee. Not only as a friend, but as a true partner advocate for the long-term growth and health of our specialty coffee industry - this is a company you should seek to work with and these are coffees you won’t want to miss.
As mentioned in the video, click below to access and download Ethiopian coffee growing region maps as produced by Nespresso with their Technoserve project of which Seife has participated. These maps may be used for your education and decoration but not for commercial or sale purposes.
As mentioned in EP01, with Tim Heinze, we will be holding a Q-Grader Arabica course in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia at Seife’s Lab. Details TBD for March 2022. Join the Email News to stay informed.
For AMAZING coffees, with a POSITIVE impact, to SMALLHOLDER growers, then CHECK OUT Seife’s!
PLEASE CONSIDER SHARING AND LIKING.
THANK YOU!
Check out the first Perspectives in Coffee interview with Tim Heinze. Tim Heinze is the Coffee Education Manager with Sucafina providing support to their offices across the world working at all points in the supply chain. He also is the Director of The Center, and online learning community serving the global coffee industry hosted at thecenter.coffee.
Tim has worked in the coffee industry since 2009 focusing mainly on production, processing, exporting, and trade. He is based in Houston, TX and loves fishing, baseball, and spending time with his family.-
What is the difference between the SCA Sensory curriculum and the Q Arabica Grader course?
How should we plan and prepare for taking the Q Grader course?
What should we expect when traveling and training for a Q course?
What got Timothy Heinze started in coffee?
How did Tim transition from Yunnan Coffee Traders in Pu’er China to the SCA and CQI to Sucafina?
How can we connect with Tim Heinze and learn more about upcoming training?
As mentioned, Adam and Tim, we organize a Q-Grader Arabica course in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Details TBD for March 2022. Join the Email News to stay informed.
Coffee Education Manager at Sucafina and Director of The Center
Personal IG: timheinzesea
Company IG: thecenter.coffee
Podcast: https://thecenter.coffee/podcasts
PLEASE CONSIDER SHARING AND LIKING.
THANK YOU!
In this blog and video, we will address the most common and troubling questions that arise when navigating the many aspects of SCA course registration, getting your Learner ID, a membership and member ID, what payments are required, where fees are paid and by whom, what certifications mean, written exams, practical skills, course pre-requisites, coffee skill program points, how to earn your coffee diploma and more.
Let’s tackle these questions one by one.
How do I register for an SCA course?
What is, and how do I get my Learner ID?
What is SCA membership and what is the member ID?
What payments are required for my SCA course and what fees are paid by whom?
What do SCA certifications mean and when I do get mine?
What should I expect for my SCA written exam?
What should I expect for my SCA practical skills exam?
Are there any SCA course pre-requisites?
How do I gain Coffee Skills Program points and when can I earn an SCA CSP Coffee Diploma?
