COFFEE AROMA – SENSE OF SMELL

The sense of smell can be extraordinarily evocative, bringing back pictures as sharp as photographs of scenes that had left the conscious mind. – Thalassa Cruso (1909 – 1997), plant lover

Smell

We smell and sense the world around us every day. A lot of what we actually “taste” is done through smelling. Our sense of smell could be capable of so much more – if we would train it! George Dodd, who runs the Aroma Academy in Aberdeen, emphasizes: “People don’t realise that the sense of the smell is like a muscle. Use it or lose it.” Our noses are amazing. We just need to pay attention.
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IS IT COFFEE HARVEST BY HAND AN EASY TASK?

“Work hard, be kind, and amazing things will happen.” – Conan O’Brien

Visiting a coffee farm

During our recent visit to Chiang Mai, in Northern Thailand we had been invited by local farmers to their coffee plantation to pick coffee cherries with them. This task was not as easy as we thought it would be!

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COFFEE CUPPING, WHAT IS MEAN?

“May you taste, smell, and touch your dreams of a beautiful tomorrow.” – Jonathan Lockwood Huie, philosopher of happiness

About

Coffee experts and aficionados organize coffee cuppings to taste, analyze and grade various samples of different beans for quality. Exactness and patience are vital skills for successful cupping sessions.

Coffee cupping events are fun and filled with mystery. After all, each coffee bean sample is telling the story of a farm and its farmers. Coffee beans are mirrors of the soil and the climatic environment in which the plants were cultivated. Coffee cuppings highlight the special characteristics of the various different coffee plant varieties. Last but not least, the physical and sensorial characteristics of the beans are also a result of the roasting method. Continue reading COFFEE CUPPING, WHAT IS MEAN? →

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COFFEE TASTE PERCEPTION AND THE COLOR OF OUR CUP

Color is a power which directly influences the soul.

Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944), Russian painter and art theorist

Cups in specialty coffee

Specialty coffee culture is a multi-sensual, aesthetic experience. We experience the preparation and enjoyment of the coffee drink itself with not only our nose and taste-buds but also with all our other senses.

As Aradhna points out: the reason all of our senses matter is because all sensory inputs are ultimately combined into one overall evaluation in the part of our brain called the orbitofrontal cortex.’ Continue reading COFFEE TASTE PERCEPTION AND THE COLOR OF OUR CUP →

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YEMEN – PLACE WHERE COFFEE STARTED ROAD AROUND THE WORLD

History

‘If Ethiopia is the heart of coffee, Yemen is the mind.’ – Albert Zijlstra, Volcanocafé

Between the 8th and the 12th century, wild Coffea plants had been discovered in the jungles of Ethiopia. It is believed that local nomadic mountain people were the first ones noticing the coffee’s stimulating effect.

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KODAWARI AND KISSATEN – JAPANESE COFFEE CULTURE

The passionate pursuit of an ideal

Kodawari

Kodawari is the noun form of kodawaru, an intransitive verb meaning “to be sensitive to minor things”.

Japanese Culture and Behavior: Selected Readings., edited by Takie Sugiyama Lebra, William P. Lebr

“Kodawari, the desired quality of focus and perfection-seeking, is a constant goal for makers of coffee, and fine craftsmen in any art in Japan. What he calls kodawari is dedication to his work, comprising service, skill in making coffee, and an uncompromising sense of the importance of what he does” – Coffee Life In Japan, Merry White (2012)

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THE ART OF COFFEE GRINDING

Grinder

If the grinder, is not of very good quality, you will get lots of dust in the coffee. The dust will get into the coffee mainly when you do coffee via French press, Mokka pot, or you can use steel filters. The brewing process can continue afterwards, and the taste of the coffee drink can change.

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SHADE GROWN COFFEE CHERRIES

The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The next best time is today.
– Chinese proverb

Trees on Coffee plantation

We need trees. Why are trees so important? According to the Irish Botanist, Diana Beresford-Kroeger, trees are the most important living organisms on earth! Trees protect and feed our planet. They provide life-giving oxygen, store carbon and stabilise the soil.

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TASTE OF COFFEE AND ART OF LIGHTING

The art of lighting

“The secret to life is to put yourself in the right lighting. For some, it’s a Broadway spotlight; for others, a lamplit desk. Use your natural powers — of persistence, concentration, and insight — to do work you love and work that matters. Solve problems. make art, think deeply.” – Susan Cain, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking

“The craft of lighting a dining room is part theatre and part magic show” – Brendan McNully, Illuminating Ideas

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MISTAKES AND SOLUTIONS AT FILTER COFFEE

Possible sensory characteristics of the final coffee drink

CORRECT: sweetness, complex acidity/fruit tones, sweet & ripe, full body, long ending
UNDER-EXTRACTED: Sourness, saltiness, grassy, quick finish, lacking sweet, straw feeling
OVER-EXTRACTED: bitter, sharp, dry, saltiness
FLAT FLAVOURS: Usually the problem is not only created during the brewing process (for example by not choosing a suitable preparation method), but often times it’s caused by low quality coffee beans as well.
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Mindful Living with Coffee