How to Make the Ultimate Cup of Coffee

George Howell’s Presentation

Cupping with the pros, a glimpse into the world of professional coffee

Cupping with Vermont experts offers glimpse into the world of professional coffee

George Howell Presents: The Long Road to Quality – From Seed to Cup – Saturday March 6th at Coffee Enterprises

George Howell

George Howell

Coffee Ed, a newly founded coffee educational and training company is pleased to host George Howell for a very special slideshow presentation on “The Long Road to Quality – From Seed to Cup.” Following the slide show, George will be facilitating a coffee tasting for attendees on six coffees from coffee-growing regions around the world. Attendees will learn how professional coffee tasting is done and what attributes are characteristic of different growing regions. There is only space for 50 individuals, so please reserve your space today.

This event is being sponsored by Coffee Enterprises at 32 Lakeside Avenue, Burlington VT from 9-1pm Saturday March 6th for a small fee of $15. Only 50 seats are available so please call Coffee Enterprises (802.865.4480) or email: chris@coffee-ent.com to reserve your space!

George Howell, internationally recognized leader in the Specialty Coffee Industry, founded the Coffee Connection in Cambridge, MA in 1975 and went on to found George Howell Terroir Coffee Company in 2002. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Specialty Coffee Association of America in 1996 and was awarded the Specialty Coffee Association of Europe’s Better Coffee World Award in 2007. George also was the co-founder of the Cup of Excellence and currently serves on the Arbitration Panel for the Specialty Coffee Association.

Africa - Rwanda & Ethiopia

In Rwanda, Dan was a featured presenter at the East Africa Fine Coffee Association’s annual meeting. Dan’s presentation on Trends and New Products in the Coffee Industry was attended by over 300 delegates from twenty countries.
Upon leaving Rwanda, Dan traveled to Dire Dawa, Ethiopia where he spent a week teaching a course on cupping and technical coffee tasting to 28 adult students who worked in the coffee industry. Upon completion of the training, Dan administered the rigorous Q Grader exam to the participating students.

January 2009 – New Visitors

The first month of the New Year brought us two visitors from Strategic Coffee Concepts, Michelle Yum and Kelvin Kim, representatives of a roasting firm in Seoul, Korea.
Kelvin and Michelle spent the week training with the staff from Coffee Analysts and enjoying wintry Vermont.

Dan goes to Colombia & Panama

Dan recently trekked to Jarden, Colombia to witness the opening of a new processing coffee mill for the LaMinita Coffee Company.

Jarden is one of the premier coffee producing areas in Colombia, and LaMinita has opened a state of the art mill in order to obtain the quality of coffee their clients demand. While there, Dan participated in their first cupping and inspected the coffee fincas where the coffee is grown. At an altitude of 5,000+ feet, this area remains pristine as the surrounding areas are filled with lush natural forests and wildlife.

Upon departing Colombia, Dan ventured to the Boquete & Vulcan regions of Panama where the most expensive coffee in the world is grown. Hosted by owner Price Peterson of the La Esmeralda Farm, Dan cupped the early harvest of the famous “Geisha” variety of coffee. He also met with owners from neighboring farms and toured the mountains which contain a wide variety of birds, butterflies, snakes and tarantulas! Panama, although among the smallest producers of coffee, enjoys a reputation for small farms that produce distinctive tasting high–quality Arabica coffees.

Dan Cox Quoted in Tea & Coffee Trade Journal

Tea & Coffee Trade Journal asked several key players of the industry for their thoughts on what the year 2009 will bring.

What are the most significant changes/discoveries/advances that you have witnessed in your segment of the industry over the past year? In the industry as a whole? How have you utilized these new aspects to benefit your company?

“Two big changes, coffee by the cup as witnessed by the Keurig System and Nespresso. The Keurig brewer, which uses capsules, is a beverage system, not a coffee maker, with the ability to brew a wide variety of coffees, teas, cocoas and soon chai and others. This is being well received in office and now mainstream consumers. Lots of growth opportunities. Nespresso is the leader in the single cup field with $2.2 billion in sales but just has espresso, although they have around 10 types. The coffees are very good with great crema. They are very popular overseas and are being introduced via their own retail stores in the U.S. as well as high-end advertising.”

Dan Cox, Coffee Enterprises, Vermont

Paul deLima Passes Q Grader Coffee Exam

Paul W. deLima III, Director of Coffee Operations at Coffee Analysts in Burlington, VT has passed the Q Grader Coffee exam. The rigorous exam covers a variety of coffee-related subjects, such as green grading, aroma identification and coffee cupping.

As of August 2008, 395 coffee buyers and cuppers (tasters) worldwide have passed the exam administered by the Coffee Quality Institute, a nonprofit organization that operates as the educational arm of the Specialty Coffee Assn. of America (SCAA).

Coffee Analysts Hosts Anacafe

Coffee Analysts has started a cross training program where invited coffee professionals from a coffee producing country visit Coffee Analysts and spend a week sharing industry practices with the CA staff.

Cesar Eduardo Ambrocio is the Head Coffee Cupper in Guatemala and works at Anacafe. He is responsible for tasting over 10,000 samples per year of coffee from all of the seven regions of Guatemala.

Juan Antonio Silvestre Yanci is the head coffee roaster from Anacafe and is also part of the cupping team there. Both of them hold the prestigious license of being Q grader certified.

While at Coffee Analysts offices they shared their knowledge of Guatemala coffees, which included a heavy schedule of tasting coffees.

Later in the year Coffee Analysts plans to send two staff to Guatemala where they will bring their expertise to Anacafe.