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ESPRESSO TASTING

An exploration of individuals' own tasting ability or how to discover the secrets preserved in a steaming cup of espresso.

Difficulty: 4/5

A small cup of coffee can reveal many things: the varieties of coffee beans that have gone into the blend, the origin of the beans and skill in selecting them, the care taken in the roasting, and ultimately the art of the barista in the extraction of the espresso. The essential taste and aroma of top-quality espresso can only be truly appreciated when all of the sense organs are called into play.

The course consists of an exploration of the participants’ sensory awareness. It is a collaborative method of discovering the fascinating secrets hidden in a cup of coffee. This type of training exercise results in better judgment; trainees will find pleasure and amusement in checking out the quality of various blends selected and the correct use of the equipment to make a perfect espresso in the correct way. The training session ends with a visit to the Production Laboratory.

COURSE AUDIENCE

This course will be useful for everyone in the coffee business, not only at the point of sale. It is obviously of most benefit to the hospitality sector (coffee bars, hotels and restaurants) but other operators working in or around the sector will also be interested, for example wine experts, journalists, food and drink tasters, salesmen for our coffee, and of course actual consumers.

COURSE CONTENTS

Theoretical

  • Blend: characteristics, types, and composition
  • Espresso tasting: the aim, the atmosphere, tools, and psychological/physical conditions which tasters need for their task
  • The verdict of the sense organs: appearance, olfactory profile, nature of taste and aftertaste
  • The tasting chart: description and method of use.

Practice in tasting

  • Sampling a single-source coffee
  • Sampling blends of different quality coffees
  • Sampling a coffee made by correct and incorrect extraction method