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Study Coffee
Deet's Place will be holding its third Coffee College Course on Tuesday, April 3, at 7 p.m., with a hands-on lab about coffee cupping. The event is run by and takes place at Deet's Place, located on the lower level of Dietrick Dining Center. Anyone is welcome to attend free of charge.
According to the "coffee geek," Brian Babcock, assistant manager of Deet's Place and presenter of Coffee College Course #4, coffee cupping is the sensory evaluation of a specific coffee's flavor and aroma profiles, much like wine tasting.
"The course will discuss the science behind sensory evaluations; what flavor and aroma components are in coffee and how to look for them; basic cupping protocols and industry variations; and how growing environment, processing, roasting, and brewing affect the coffee's profile," said Babcock.
After the course discussion there will be a hands-on lab in which students can practice the cupping skills they have just learned on several different coffees, said Babcock. "We will contrast coffees from different growing regions and also by roast levels."
"Brian's classes give you an insight and appreciation into what coffee is really about," said Justin Murphy, geography major. "From the farm to the cup, it is a complex network of interconnected elements," said Murphy. "Brian taught us all of this."
Although the course is called Coffee College Course #4, it will be the third course in the series due to a rescheduling of Coffee College Course #3, said Babcock. The intended third course, "Coffee Sustainability," has been rescheduled for April 24 at 7 p.m., because Babcock was given the opportunity to visit a coffee farm in Nicaragua during the original date.
According to Babcock, Deet's Coffee College Course is a new program that began in the fall semester of 2006. The first two courses took place during the fall, bringing in about 25 people per event. This will be the first course offered this spring.
Attendance at the previous classes is not required in order to participate in this course. "Taking all of the courses helps you to better understand each successive course," said Babcock, "but you won't be completely lost by taking this course only."
Murphy enjoys the small attendance of the classes because it allows Babcock to interact with all the students. "His passion for coffee is definitely conveyed to us," said Murphy, "and he makes learning about it very interesting."
According to Babcock, Coffee College Course #1 offered students a basic introduction to coffee, covering the history of coffee, as well as the process of growing, processing, shipping, roasting, and brewing coffee. The course also included a slide show of photographs from a coffee farm in Zimbabwe.
Coffee College Course #2 was a hands-on demonstration of how the grind size and brewing method can affect the flavor of the coffee, said Babcock. "I explained the basics for brewing coffee: coffee to water ratio, water temperature, water purity, grind particle size, and contact time of water and coffee grounds."
"I really liked the class where we were able to grind different coffees on different coarseness levels and do a side-by-side comparison between them," said Murphy.
Murphy decided to take the classes because he enjoys coffee. The courses have expanded his knowledge of coffee and helped him to identify what he likes and what he doesn't like out of all the different types of coffee.
www.planetblacksburg.com
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