| | Arabian Mocha SananiOne of the things I learned from working at Starbucks was to taste coffee...black. For those you who like their coffee with cream and sugar going "Yech", trust me, it really wasn't that bad.
The process for preparing & tasting coffee was this:
1) Choose a coffee to taste, if there was a Black Apron Exclusive or a seasonal offering...it was best to try one of those. The goal is to finish up the coffee passport within a month.
2) Measure out the correct amount of coffee beans to grind for a French press (the first is the one used in store, the second is a larger version of what I use at home) This particular kind of grind makes for a coarser grind, bigger in look vs the traditional grind for paper filters (think Folgers in the can).
3) Put the grinds into the press, pour HOT water (200+ degrees is ideal) to the appropriate level, and your coffee will be ready in 4 minutes, anything more will make the coffee a bit bitter (imo).
4) Pour out shots of the coffee, cool a bit and taste.
To taste:
1) First, smell the coffee's aroma, decide (from about about 9-12 scents) which it most resembles (for example: "nutty" usually refers to an aroma that conjures up almonds and walnuts, "earthy" usually refers to an aroma similar to dirt...as in soil, and "citric" brings up images of lemons and oranges.
2) Slurp the coffee! It's supposed to bring in the aroma so you can anticipate the flavor, remember that smell has alot to do with taste.
3) Let the coffee roll around on your tongue. What this does is it lets you "weigh" the coffee for body, feel if it's smooth or a bit more acidic, and let's you taste where it hits your tongue the most (insert something about taste buds on the tongue)
4) Pair the coffee with a complimentary pastry. For example, an 'earthy' coffee is best paired with something chocolatey.
Anyway! So I bring this up is b/c I had gotten a half pound of coffee ground yesterday (for a paper filter this time) and I ended up tasting it this morning...and filling in a page for my old coffee passport. I don't know if it became a habit after working at Starbucks or b/c I simply wanted to finish up what I started but I really like knowing what to taste for. The above title coffee, Arabian Mocha Sanani, is one of the more expensive ones that Starbucks carry. No, I didn't buy it, it had been part of my partner markout (a free weekly pound of coffee). In this case, since it was so expensive, I wasn't allowed the whole pound. Anywho, the coffee bean smelled awesome and even more so after I had it ground. The coffee is marked as "Extra bold" but turned out to be not as strong as I thought. Light in body, only slightly acidic and mostly smooth, earthy/spicy/cocoa in aroma...and I chose an almond flavor to compliment it...and it was right on target (imo). Didn't take away from the coffee at all and went well with it.
Mini coffee lesson with my sister this morning brought to mind alot of the things I learned at Starbucks. Short as it was and "it ain't no office job" but it certainly was a good experience. At one point or another I had wished I stayed longer, the hours were all over the place and the pay sucked but learning about the coffee (prep and all) was fun and my coworkers were really cool. When I left, I was still in training mode but I was one of the fastest learners there and had gotten into the swing of things within a week of starting. Anyway, this sounds more like another blog, so...I'll save it for another day =)
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| | Posted 3/7/2008 8:43 AM - 0 comments
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