Hello again! I did say two part, so lets have a part 2!
I love this coffee. This coffee is an experience, so I don't drink it often. It is a deeper meditation for me, and although we, the store I work in, isn't currently featuring it, I was grateful I had some on hand at home. The Abakundakawa collective is a processing station in Rwanda. What that means is that farms from the area can bring their crop to a single processing station instead of having to invest and have a processing station on site. This is important in countries in central Africa, especially, because most coffee is grown on small family owned farms, and having a washing station would not only add the expense of setting up and maintaining the washing station, but also cut down on space to grow coffee. This washing station, in particular, is a tremendously important part of Rwandan coffee. It is run by woman. After the civil war, and the intense loss of life, the country of Rwanda faced many unique challenges in rebuilding. The main one I'll focus on here, is the struggle to rebuild financially for the individuals. While farming is mainly seen in the western world as being a male dominated profession, countries in the coffee belt utilize all ages and genders to grow, harvest, and sell, but the management and maintenance of farms and processing stations is still a very male dominated section of the industry. When the male population was decimated during the civil war, the woman needed to band together and rebuild their farms and livelihoods. They did so in an amazing way. The Abakundakawa collective is a way for woman in Rwanda to grow and process their coffee, and it has led to some amazing results. This coffee is not just amazing in its flavor profile, but to be a blended coffee, coming from multiple farms, and still having such flavor distinction, really speaks to me about what amazing work we, as woman, can do, both individually and collectively.
I tend to choose which coffee I brew at home by my mood. If I want something for an easy cup, I will always choose Ethiopian coffee. I have never had a cup of Ethiopian coffee I didn't love. The care and attention they put into the entire process of growing and processing shines through regardless of who handles the coffee in the middle. Today, however, I wanted something more introspective. I've had a rough couple of days, as mentioned in my previous post, struggling with my mental health. It is a daily struggle, and some days are easier than others to work through the tangle of my brain. I broke, for no reason, a few days ago. It wasn't triggered by any single event, and was one of the worst panic attacks I've had in a long time. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around why, when life seems to be going so right, I take such a sharp dive downward. I don't think there is a why. And that's ok. Sometimes you need to break, and rebuild those pieces into something greater. Every time it happens, I have two options. Let it consume me, or let it fulfill me. I've made both choices at different times in my life, and this time I was able to let it fulfill me. It gave me perspective on how important it is to take care of myself physically, and how important it is to be honest. Don't ignore it, don't push it away to be dealt with tomorrow or next week or when things settle down. That is how you take a small break and turn it into something much more difficult to see the other side of. I've been down that dark hole. I came out the other side, but not without significant damage to myself, mentally and physically, and it caused suffering in those around me. I didn't ask for help until it was almost too late, and that was a very hard lesson to learn. Truth be told, I'm still learning to ask for help. We view struggles as a burden to be carried alone, and that isn't something we can ever do. Like those woman in Rwanda, who have a burden much heavier than any I have or will ever have to carry, they choose to carry it together, and by sharing that burden, they were able to create something amazing. This coffee has traveled all around the globe, sharing their story, and allowing us all to take a moment to reflect and share the burden of those woman, and those around us. I choose to walk through this world in love. In love with coffee, in love with myself and my struggles, and in love with the life I have been gifted. I never want anyone to face their struggles alone, whether they are as capable of sharing their burden, or if they just need to be shown love in a small unrelated way, I strive to always do just that.
Go into this weekend, and the rest of your life surrounded by love. My love and the love you get from a cup of coffee. The love of the farmer who manages the land, the pickers who harvest, those processing, buying, roasting, and finally brewing that cup. Each cup you have is a cup of love. Take a moment to smell, slurp, locate, and describe, and be loved by that cup.
Saturday, July 14, 2018
Saturday 7/14/2018 Rwanda Abakundakawa
Good Afternoon!
Sorry for my absence, I had some mental health struggles to attend to this week, but I'm back and doing well! Always take time for self care!
I'm starting this two part-er with my tasting notes for Rwanda Abakundakawa! It is a washed single origin Rwandan coffee, (more information on the different types of coffee origins in future posts, but for the sake of information, it means it is from a single processing station that services multiple farms, in this case, but can be from a single farm, or even a single section of a single farm for micro lot coffees)
This coffee has a medium acidity, but I personally taste a brightness without an acidic bite. The professionals note grapefruit acidity with caramel and chocolate notes coming in on the back, and I tend to agree, although I get less caramel flavor and more the smoothness of flavor.
I wanted to break my weekly posts into three sections, the first of the week being my personal thoughts and feelings about coffee in general, or a specific coffee, or whatever personal thoughts I'm inspired to divulge with a cup of coffee present; followed by a more technical post mid week, and a blended ( get it, coffee humor) toward the end of the week, wrapping up the week. This week that didn't happen, because I had a bout of anxiety followed by some physical struggles that can happen after a particularly prolonged anxiety attack. But, we press on...
This week, I want to take you through the finer points of being an amateur coffee taster, and hopefully build up your knowledge so you can enjoy more of the world of specialty coffee.
So, how do you taste coffee?
My stock answer is, however you want!
Coffee is about personal preference, just like food, or wallpaper, or whether or not you like making left hand turns. There are, however, things you can do to make it easier to taste subtle nuances in coffee, and take coffee from fuel to flavor. My professional coffee background is a combination of coffee specific cafes and the wider restaurant world, so I tend to use terms that are interchangeable in those two worlds, but I also love to make coffee approachable to everyone; so I use outside the box terms like colors, times of day, visual terms, etc. to give everyone a better understanding of coffee flavors and characteristics.
Lets start with the most basic "How To" in coffee tasting. I learned to taste coffee using the Starbucks teaching model. It has recently (in the last 3 years) been made available to the general public using the Starbucks digital coffee passport, which I recommend to everyone getting into the specialty coffee world for the first time. They teach using two different 4 part techniques, which I have found blend together very easily to give you a more rounded profile of a coffee.
Step 1 Smell: This gives us the Aroma, kind of goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway. When you smell something, it sends impulses to your brain, and because most of what you taste is directly connected to what you smell, and smells are the most strongly connected sense to the memory centers in your brain, it gives us a lot of background into what you are smelling. So go ahead, smell your coffee. The first thing professional tasters do is smell, and don't worry if your first response is "It smells like coffee". Try to empty your mind. Think of it as your morning meditation. A prayer to the gods of coffee. A clean slate to start your day. Maybe the smell reminds you of something. A favorite vacation, the way the windows fog up when you're baking rolls for Sunday dinner, the peace during a snowfall. This is the aroma of coffee.
Step 2 Slurp: This is done by literally slurping the coffee, with slightly puckered lips through the teeth, the same way your mom always told you not to. This sprays coffee across your whole mouth and allows you to connect the aroma with the second part of tasting, Acidity. Acidity is a very prominent part of a coffees profile. It can be described in any number of ways, from "sour" to "sparkling" depending on the quality of the coffee, the growing characteristics, and the preferences of the drinker. This also gets your mouth, nose, and brain ready for the next part of the tasting journey.
Step 3 Locate: Where does the flavor live? While it isn't completely true that the human tongue has specific regions for each type of taste receptor (taste bud), it is true that they live in concentrated groups across the surface of your tongue, and that makes it easier to identify flavors simply by locating where on your tongue and in your mouth the flavor lives. This is why "sour" flavors hit on the sides of your tongue, causing your mouth to pucker, and why sweet and savory flavors sit more heavily on the top of your tongue. There is a wealth of knowledge of how humans taste flavor, and I will expand on that later, don't fret. This also allows you to determine the Body of the coffee. Does it sit lightly and wash away quickly? Does it sit heavily, like a decadent dessert? Does it linger long after you swallow?
Now we add up the first six parts, Smell and Aroma, Slurp and Acidity, and Locate and Body, and end up with
Step 4 Describe: By taking steps 1-3, we can paint a complete portrait of this coffee, which gives us the final Flavor. Is this coffee a smooth experience start to finish? Maybe it smells differently than it tastes, or the body lingers longer than the smell. By going through these steps, you will slowly build up your base information about different coffees, and be able to move through the world of coffee with a better understanding of what you like and dislike. Building the knowledge base of how coffees from different parts of the world are similar and different, and make your morning (or afternoon, or evening) cup that much better!
So, to summarize: The action steps, Smell, Slurp, Locate, and Describe give us the tools to determine Aroma, Acidity, Body, and Flavor.
Happy Tasting!
Sorry for my absence, I had some mental health struggles to attend to this week, but I'm back and doing well! Always take time for self care!
I'm starting this two part-er with my tasting notes for Rwanda Abakundakawa! It is a washed single origin Rwandan coffee, (more information on the different types of coffee origins in future posts, but for the sake of information, it means it is from a single processing station that services multiple farms, in this case, but can be from a single farm, or even a single section of a single farm for micro lot coffees)
This coffee has a medium acidity, but I personally taste a brightness without an acidic bite. The professionals note grapefruit acidity with caramel and chocolate notes coming in on the back, and I tend to agree, although I get less caramel flavor and more the smoothness of flavor.
I wanted to break my weekly posts into three sections, the first of the week being my personal thoughts and feelings about coffee in general, or a specific coffee, or whatever personal thoughts I'm inspired to divulge with a cup of coffee present; followed by a more technical post mid week, and a blended ( get it, coffee humor) toward the end of the week, wrapping up the week. This week that didn't happen, because I had a bout of anxiety followed by some physical struggles that can happen after a particularly prolonged anxiety attack. But, we press on...
This week, I want to take you through the finer points of being an amateur coffee taster, and hopefully build up your knowledge so you can enjoy more of the world of specialty coffee.
So, how do you taste coffee?
My stock answer is, however you want!
Coffee is about personal preference, just like food, or wallpaper, or whether or not you like making left hand turns. There are, however, things you can do to make it easier to taste subtle nuances in coffee, and take coffee from fuel to flavor. My professional coffee background is a combination of coffee specific cafes and the wider restaurant world, so I tend to use terms that are interchangeable in those two worlds, but I also love to make coffee approachable to everyone; so I use outside the box terms like colors, times of day, visual terms, etc. to give everyone a better understanding of coffee flavors and characteristics.
Lets start with the most basic "How To" in coffee tasting. I learned to taste coffee using the Starbucks teaching model. It has recently (in the last 3 years) been made available to the general public using the Starbucks digital coffee passport, which I recommend to everyone getting into the specialty coffee world for the first time. They teach using two different 4 part techniques, which I have found blend together very easily to give you a more rounded profile of a coffee.
Step 1 Smell: This gives us the Aroma, kind of goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway. When you smell something, it sends impulses to your brain, and because most of what you taste is directly connected to what you smell, and smells are the most strongly connected sense to the memory centers in your brain, it gives us a lot of background into what you are smelling. So go ahead, smell your coffee. The first thing professional tasters do is smell, and don't worry if your first response is "It smells like coffee". Try to empty your mind. Think of it as your morning meditation. A prayer to the gods of coffee. A clean slate to start your day. Maybe the smell reminds you of something. A favorite vacation, the way the windows fog up when you're baking rolls for Sunday dinner, the peace during a snowfall. This is the aroma of coffee.
Step 2 Slurp: This is done by literally slurping the coffee, with slightly puckered lips through the teeth, the same way your mom always told you not to. This sprays coffee across your whole mouth and allows you to connect the aroma with the second part of tasting, Acidity. Acidity is a very prominent part of a coffees profile. It can be described in any number of ways, from "sour" to "sparkling" depending on the quality of the coffee, the growing characteristics, and the preferences of the drinker. This also gets your mouth, nose, and brain ready for the next part of the tasting journey.
Step 3 Locate: Where does the flavor live? While it isn't completely true that the human tongue has specific regions for each type of taste receptor (taste bud), it is true that they live in concentrated groups across the surface of your tongue, and that makes it easier to identify flavors simply by locating where on your tongue and in your mouth the flavor lives. This is why "sour" flavors hit on the sides of your tongue, causing your mouth to pucker, and why sweet and savory flavors sit more heavily on the top of your tongue. There is a wealth of knowledge of how humans taste flavor, and I will expand on that later, don't fret. This also allows you to determine the Body of the coffee. Does it sit lightly and wash away quickly? Does it sit heavily, like a decadent dessert? Does it linger long after you swallow?
Now we add up the first six parts, Smell and Aroma, Slurp and Acidity, and Locate and Body, and end up with
Step 4 Describe: By taking steps 1-3, we can paint a complete portrait of this coffee, which gives us the final Flavor. Is this coffee a smooth experience start to finish? Maybe it smells differently than it tastes, or the body lingers longer than the smell. By going through these steps, you will slowly build up your base information about different coffees, and be able to move through the world of coffee with a better understanding of what you like and dislike. Building the knowledge base of how coffees from different parts of the world are similar and different, and make your morning (or afternoon, or evening) cup that much better!
So, to summarize: The action steps, Smell, Slurp, Locate, and Describe give us the tools to determine Aroma, Acidity, Body, and Flavor.
Happy Tasting!
Monday, July 9, 2018
Monday, 7/9/2018, Pike Place Roast, continued
Starbucks Pike Place Roast
First developed in 2008 to be the daily house blend offering for all Starbucks stores (not to be confused with House Blend) Pike Place Roast is a medium roast offering, featuring a pre roast blend of washed Latin American coffees. It is, in my opinion, a true medium roast, meaning it has a medium acidity, a medium body, and a very smooth drinkability. It is commonly referred to by baristas as "I guess Pike is fine" which is really underselling the true value of this coffee. I drank it every day while I was in core, or traditional, Starbucks stores, and I still drink it a few times a week when I'm not working. I love this coffee for the simplicity of flavor and the comfortable feeling. It is a house coffee. It is approachable for non black coffee drinkers, it can be "dressed up" however you like your brew. Cream and sugar, splenda and soy, honey, cinnamon, whatever strikes your fancy will go very well with this cup.
I start my first actual post with this coffee because it is the first coffee I ever had as a Starbucks barista, and it seems fitting that I start my new project the same way.
My love affair with coffee didn't start along the conventional lines. I wasn't raised in a coffee household. I wasn't raised in a very coffee friendly state, for that matter. I tried a few coffee drinks during my late teens, White Mochas and similar, but never found much value in the drink. Here is where I eat those words. I was bitten by the coffee bug late in 2008, not because of the actual coffee, but because of a single experience with a barista.
In September 2008, I gave birth to my son. I was 20, and had decided from the moment I found out I was pregnant that I would place my child for adoption. It was the most difficult experience I have ever had. By October, I was ready to end my life. I had my son for 3 days in the hospital, and then gave him to his new family. I wasn't regretting that decision. I have never regretted that decision since, but I felt like I had fulfilled my purpose on this earth, and I have had a life long struggle with my mental health. Those two factors put me in a very dark place. I was driving around a city near my hometown one night, probably around 7 or 8 at night, when I stopped at Starbucks. I had been in a few times, but was by no means a regular. I was driving aimlessly just waiting for my mind to calm down enough to actually follow through with my planned ending. I walked into the cafe, ready to order a cup of coffee, sit in my car and chain smoke, and then end it all. As soon as I walked up to the register, lost in the very twisted maze of my thoughts, I was greeted by the catalyst for change in my life. Her name is Shawna, and she quite literally saved my life. She was half way though giving me her "Hi, what can I get for you?" before she just stopped. She looked at me and said "Whats wrong?" I don't know why I actually paused. I should have given her my stock answer that I had given to that question a thousand times in my life. Living with chronic depression gives you a way of auto-responding to that question. "I'm fine, just tired" But I didn't. I don't know why, but I broke. The tears started. She told me to follow her outside, and we sat on the patio. I lost it. Everything I had been holding inside, all the self loathing, the depression, the all consuming sadness of what I had just experienced came tumbling out of me. She just listened. She didn't know me, and certainly didn't owe me a listening ear and an empathetic heart, but she gave me both. She shared life experiences with me, and was there with me in shared heartbreak and humanity. She gave me something that can never be taken away. She shared with me the pure humanity that exists between all of us, over a cup of coffee. As soon as I was all cried out, and found some level of peace in my heart, that tomorrow would come, and that I could keep fighting, I was hooked. I needed to be part of this experience. I needed to join this company. This brand that I had really never experienced had all of the sudden become my siren call. I NEEDED to join in their humanity. It saved my life, and I spend the next 10 months applying and interviewing and applying again to join their team. I finally got a job at the Orem Starbucks in July of 2009, and the rest is history.
This isn't a typical "Why I work at Starbucks" story. But it is a typical why I continue to work at Starbucks feeling. The sense of belong this company has brought me is something I've heard repeated over and over from hundreds of partners who I've come in contact with over the years. We belong to this coffee community. We come from all over the world, from every background and lifestyle. And we all belong. The family we have all found is irreplaceable. For some of us, it becomes a career, for others, a stop on the way to other paths, but we all belong.
First developed in 2008 to be the daily house blend offering for all Starbucks stores (not to be confused with House Blend) Pike Place Roast is a medium roast offering, featuring a pre roast blend of washed Latin American coffees. It is, in my opinion, a true medium roast, meaning it has a medium acidity, a medium body, and a very smooth drinkability. It is commonly referred to by baristas as "I guess Pike is fine" which is really underselling the true value of this coffee. I drank it every day while I was in core, or traditional, Starbucks stores, and I still drink it a few times a week when I'm not working. I love this coffee for the simplicity of flavor and the comfortable feeling. It is a house coffee. It is approachable for non black coffee drinkers, it can be "dressed up" however you like your brew. Cream and sugar, splenda and soy, honey, cinnamon, whatever strikes your fancy will go very well with this cup.
I start my first actual post with this coffee because it is the first coffee I ever had as a Starbucks barista, and it seems fitting that I start my new project the same way.
My love affair with coffee didn't start along the conventional lines. I wasn't raised in a coffee household. I wasn't raised in a very coffee friendly state, for that matter. I tried a few coffee drinks during my late teens, White Mochas and similar, but never found much value in the drink. Here is where I eat those words. I was bitten by the coffee bug late in 2008, not because of the actual coffee, but because of a single experience with a barista.
In September 2008, I gave birth to my son. I was 20, and had decided from the moment I found out I was pregnant that I would place my child for adoption. It was the most difficult experience I have ever had. By October, I was ready to end my life. I had my son for 3 days in the hospital, and then gave him to his new family. I wasn't regretting that decision. I have never regretted that decision since, but I felt like I had fulfilled my purpose on this earth, and I have had a life long struggle with my mental health. Those two factors put me in a very dark place. I was driving around a city near my hometown one night, probably around 7 or 8 at night, when I stopped at Starbucks. I had been in a few times, but was by no means a regular. I was driving aimlessly just waiting for my mind to calm down enough to actually follow through with my planned ending. I walked into the cafe, ready to order a cup of coffee, sit in my car and chain smoke, and then end it all. As soon as I walked up to the register, lost in the very twisted maze of my thoughts, I was greeted by the catalyst for change in my life. Her name is Shawna, and she quite literally saved my life. She was half way though giving me her "Hi, what can I get for you?" before she just stopped. She looked at me and said "Whats wrong?" I don't know why I actually paused. I should have given her my stock answer that I had given to that question a thousand times in my life. Living with chronic depression gives you a way of auto-responding to that question. "I'm fine, just tired" But I didn't. I don't know why, but I broke. The tears started. She told me to follow her outside, and we sat on the patio. I lost it. Everything I had been holding inside, all the self loathing, the depression, the all consuming sadness of what I had just experienced came tumbling out of me. She just listened. She didn't know me, and certainly didn't owe me a listening ear and an empathetic heart, but she gave me both. She shared life experiences with me, and was there with me in shared heartbreak and humanity. She gave me something that can never be taken away. She shared with me the pure humanity that exists between all of us, over a cup of coffee. As soon as I was all cried out, and found some level of peace in my heart, that tomorrow would come, and that I could keep fighting, I was hooked. I needed to be part of this experience. I needed to join this company. This brand that I had really never experienced had all of the sudden become my siren call. I NEEDED to join in their humanity. It saved my life, and I spend the next 10 months applying and interviewing and applying again to join their team. I finally got a job at the Orem Starbucks in July of 2009, and the rest is history.
This isn't a typical "Why I work at Starbucks" story. But it is a typical why I continue to work at Starbucks feeling. The sense of belong this company has brought me is something I've heard repeated over and over from hundreds of partners who I've come in contact with over the years. We belong to this coffee community. We come from all over the world, from every background and lifestyle. And we all belong. The family we have all found is irreplaceable. For some of us, it becomes a career, for others, a stop on the way to other paths, but we all belong.
Monday, 7/9/2018, Pike Place Roast
Good Morning, Happy Monday, and Welcome!
I've been playing with this idea for a long time, years really, and it's Monday, so why not. Monday is so full of promise. The whole, new week, new me, mentality. So here goes nothing.
Hi! I'm Jo, as in "Cup of". Although truth be told, I don't know that my parents had this in mind when they chose this name. If they had gone with the other option, Olive, I might have a completely different life. I digress...
I've been professionally pouring coffee for the last 9 years, Most of that while wearing the "Green Apron" (although I moved on to black, and now canvas and leather) and I couldn't imagine another career that could possibly offer me so much love. During that time, I have moved from barista, to shift supervisor, store manager, and in February I packed up my entire life and moved to the motherland to join the team at The Starbucks Reserve Roastery. I was born and raised in Utah, and am now living my best coffee life in Seattle, Washington.
What will follow will be a journey through my eyes into my personal thoughts, feelings and experiences while learning as much as my brain will hold about the world of coffee. Sometimes personal, sometimes professional, but always mine.
For the sake of continuity, I will always title my posts with the day, date, and current coffee. I will try my best to start my posts with my thoughts and personal tasting notes about that coffee. Just in case you feel like following along.
I've been playing with this idea for a long time, years really, and it's Monday, so why not. Monday is so full of promise. The whole, new week, new me, mentality. So here goes nothing.
Hi! I'm Jo, as in "Cup of". Although truth be told, I don't know that my parents had this in mind when they chose this name. If they had gone with the other option, Olive, I might have a completely different life. I digress...
I've been professionally pouring coffee for the last 9 years, Most of that while wearing the "Green Apron" (although I moved on to black, and now canvas and leather) and I couldn't imagine another career that could possibly offer me so much love. During that time, I have moved from barista, to shift supervisor, store manager, and in February I packed up my entire life and moved to the motherland to join the team at The Starbucks Reserve Roastery. I was born and raised in Utah, and am now living my best coffee life in Seattle, Washington.
What will follow will be a journey through my eyes into my personal thoughts, feelings and experiences while learning as much as my brain will hold about the world of coffee. Sometimes personal, sometimes professional, but always mine.
For the sake of continuity, I will always title my posts with the day, date, and current coffee. I will try my best to start my posts with my thoughts and personal tasting notes about that coffee. Just in case you feel like following along.
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