How To Give Yourself A Coffee Education





  • This is a guest post by Mike Brinker.

    Ok. So you’ve found some coffee sites and blogs online that seem really interesting. “I want to taste the nuttiness and acidity that these reviewers can taste!” you tell yourself. How do you take your passion for coffee to the next level?

    I propose that you give yourself a coffee education. With the help of a book or two, some fantastic websites, and knowledgeable online friends, it’s not hard to become a real geek about coffee. Below are a few things that transformed me from coffee dweeb to coffee enthusiast.

    General Coffee Knowledge:
    If one seriously wants to learn about all things coffee, than I can think of no better resource to suggest than Kenneth David’s Book, Coffee: A Guide to Buying, Brewing, and Enjoying. Ken’s book covers all the different facets that go into a great cup of coffee. Although it can get pretty technical sometimes, usually that is what the coffee geek craves. All of the major bases are covered here, from growing, washing, roasting, brewing, and enjoying. If you want a rounded coffee education start here.

    Brewing:
    There are many ways to brew coffee. Most of them are outlined in the book that I mentioned above. It’s great to know what others say about each brewing method, but you can only know your preferred method through trial and error. Most people have some sort of drip coffee brewer in their home. Once you secure a fresh supply of beans, do you like the coffee from you drip brewer? If you want to try something else, I would suggest a french press. They are relatively inexpensive as well as easy to operate. From there you can branch out and try all sorts of esoteric brewing methods, whatever your inner coffee geek desires!

    Tasting:
    In order to be passionate about coffee, you have to like it, or love it. For me, it started when my mom would brew coffee at home. I loved the smell of it, but couldn’t quite get into the taste. Once I started college, I would have to drink large amounts of coffee to maintain productivity (aka staying awake?). Eventually I kind of liked the taste. Then I came across Jason Coffee’s site, CoffeeCupNews.org. That guy knows what he’s talking about! Watching him taste coffees and pick out their subtle nuances was the catalyst for my own passion.

    I started out by purchasing a coffee that Jason Coffee had already reviewed. I would first drink the coffee myself and see what characteristics I could detect in the cup (which at first was very little). Then I would taste the coffee along with Jason’s video, trying to understand each of those separate flavors that he so energetically describes. If you want to get into coffee tasting, I would recommend this style of tasting apprenticeship to anyone interested in developing their palette.
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    This is how I began to give myself a coffee education. How did you get into coffee? Sound off in the comments below.

    Photo Credit: MeltedMoments via Flickr


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    September 2nd, 2010 | Jamie | No Comments | Tags: ,

About The Author

Jamie Ferguson

From sunny Sarasota Florida, Jamie Ferguson has been drinking coffee since a very young age. Jamie is just your average jane who has a serious addiction to coffee, but more so has a bigger love for the heart, and the dedication that is put into growing, processing and roasting coffee. Come and join the adventures...