Most of these "events" follow the same pattern: silent auction, dinner, live auction, then pledge drive ("let's see if we can make some dreams come true tonight!") The auction items are always well beyond my $10 weekly pocket money.
So imagine my surprise when, at the Opportunity Junction gala, I won an evening of coffee tasting for me and six guests! As you may know, I am something of an artisanal barista (at least, I think that's what people are calling me) so I looked forward to drinking copious amounts of the black stuff. Coffee is the second most traded commodity after oil, so it all fits.
Dave from Epic Coffee arrived this evening with varieties from Brazil, Guatemala, Sumatra and Burundi. His coffee start-up specialises in microproducers and roasting to order, and he took us through the process of "cupping" to make sure that we picked only the best beans. It involved grinding, soaking, breaking the crust...it was very technical. You taste from at least four cups of each to avoid the risk of getting a bad bean. We had to use words like brightness and acidity, and decide whether the aroma was resinous or fruity. Milk and sugar were notable by their absence.
All great fun and very educational, and as we were only tasting teaspoonfuls we didn't end up wired on caffeine. Next time in Starbucks I may forgo my tall half-skinny half-1% extra hot split quad shot latte with whip in favour of a single origin espresso from Burundi. We'll see where that gets me.
Dave sets up.
Santi's mum Willie and Rachel anticipate.
The intro.
The raw ingredients.
Hannah buries her nose in Guatemala.
Santi in Sumatra.
The double pour, the sign of a pro.
On the left is coffee from some lightly roasted beans, on the right from darker. Same beans, completely different taste!
Dwight breaks the crust of soaked grounds and inhales.
We were each given three 5oz tins to take home! Remember what I said about not being wired on caffeine...?
The only commodity you need.
