Over the first two seasons of the R!WC coffee podcast I’ve gotten to spend hours chatting with Lofty Coffee’s Executive Director of Coffee, Siri Simran Khalsa, and each time we reconnect, I feel a little bit better about the world afterwards. She’s a genuinely good human-being.
This week I asked her how one would go about upping their coffee drinking knowledge, and by extension coffee drinking experience. I’ve been really into coffee for awhile, but it doesn’t come naturally to me. I find myself learning and expanding, and then regressing, only to relearn and expand again. Two steps forward. One step back.
The first advice Siri ever received was to go drink a bunch of espresso, and that is pretty good advice. I’d say espresso or black coffee (or both). Something that you can drink regularly and try to compare from roaster to roaster or coffee to coffee.
I had my first cup of coffee at Star Lounge in Chicago. I remember it was a Dark Matter Coffee medium roast. The paint on wall was a burnt orange, and I was sitting in a table with back to the back wall. When I ordered, I told the barista/coffee-tender it was my first coffee, and he replied, “Today?”
I explained that it was my first coffee ever, and said that I could use some advice on which coffee to drink. I’m not quite sure how, but within moments all six of the shop employees were shouting at each other. Never again would I have this opportunity to have my very first cup of coffee, and they weren’t going to let me f#@k it up.
In the end, I had a pour over in a classic white ceramic coffee mug. I took a sip. Someone asked what I tasted. I replied, “Umm…dirt?”
They responded, “Right, but what kind of dirt?”
I said, “I’m not sure, maybe a chocolatey, bitter dirt?”
It was my first tasting note, and today I can say that bitter and/or dark chocolate is one of my favorite notes to find in a cup of coffee. I also love light floral flavors, citrus, and earthy tobacco notes. It’s pretty amazing what you can taste in a cup of coffee, and for those moments when the flavor description is on the tip of your tongue–literally–resources like the coffee flavor wheel help you narrow it down.
Siri reminds me on the show that coffee can be a full sensory experience, and when you’re actively trying to learn pay attention to the smells, the way the coffee feels in your mouth, and how it looks. You might be surprised at how much you already know.
COFFEE RESOURCES
Sensory Lexicon (World Coffee Research): Available to view, print or download for free. Understand the language and terms used to describe coffee.
Coffee Flavor Wheel (Counter Culture): Available to view, print or download for free in English & Spanish. Use to identify various flavors found in coffee.
The Coffee Flavor Wheel ©Counter Culture Coffee.
FROM THE SHOW
I remembered right! The zebras are living in the suburbs of Maryland. It seems like they’re doing pretty well over there. I still think I might wonder what was slipped into my mug of coffee if I saw one while riding my bike home from the coffee shop.
If you’re into things like coffee smell or latte art competitions check out @sandiegocoffeenetwork on Instagram to see the events Siri and Sophie are facilitating to help grow the local coffee culture.
Photocredits: @sandiegocoffeenetwork
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QUOTES IN CLOSING
Sometimes drinking coffee is the adventure.
“Adventure in life is good; consistency in coffee even better.”
― Justina Chen Headly, Author
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Roast! Coffee Smarter Week 2