Posted Fri Apr 6, 2012, 9:34am Subject: Giving a presentation about coffee to a club - advice please !
For the first time I'm giving a presentation on coffee to one of my clubs. There will probably be around 15 people and it's during the afternoon. I'll have around an hour or hour and a half. Most of these folks have no idea of what good coffee tastes like and I'm hoping will be amazed. They already know I'm crazy about good coffee.
I roast my own so I'm thinking that I'll pick a Sumatra, a Colombia, and a Rwanda. This covers 3 distinct geographical areas of coffee bean production. I plan on having 3 foam cups for each person so they can compare. I've printed off the information sheets for each of the coffees from Sweet Maria's where I bought the green beans. Don't think I'll give out copies to each person but just use it myself. I could send the an email with the links but who knows if they'd even check it out. I don't expect any of them to roast their own but I'd sure like them to raise their standards to expect and brew good coffee in the future. Also, we're going to taste them black, most use something in their coffee. Maybe at the end I'll have them add what they normally use just to see if they like it better.
I also will talk about the importance of a good coffee maker and what makes a coffee machine good. I'm going to mention the Bonavita - even that is likely a stretch for their budget. And I'm going to go over where to buy good beans locally and how to determine freshness. Plus the importance of grinding your own whole beans. And I guess where to buy a decent grinder. I really would be surprised if any of them actually went out and bought even a $100 grinder. What is the least expensive grinder I could recommend?
I'm making Chocolate and Hazelnut Biscotti to serve on the side, after they've at least had a taste of each by itself.
I'm debating whether or not to actually roast coffee during this process. I think I'll have the time. I have a Behmor 1600 and roast inside on my stove with the range hood going. No smoke but it does give the kitchen a strong coffee aroma. I'd love to show them how the coffee bean changes color during the process. And I could give each person a pots worth of beans to take home.
emradguy Senior Member Joined: 31 Mar 2011 Posts: 1,728 Location: Houston Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Izzo Alex Duetto II Grinder: MacapM4T, Macap M4, OE Lido,... Drip: Espro press; Aeropress Roaster: internet
Posted Fri Apr 6, 2012, 9:53am Subject: Re: Giving a presentation about coffee to a club - advice please !
sounds like you already have a good plan laid out., I'm sure they'll love it!
Your idea of roasting in front of them and giving them the beans to take home would surely be a big hit.
Have you considered showing them (via tasting) the difference between fresh and stale beans (same variety/blend)? as far as recommending equipment, it somewhat depends on their brewing method, which ones to recommend. You could alternatively, give them an overview of what's available, focusing on method, cost, differences between different classes of grinder, etc. I'd probably include hand grinder options too.
You might want to consider roasting one batch for them live and taking a manual dripper with you if you have one. You should show the manual and then hang around after the meeting for a tasting. Duno what kinda of club it is but most folks stand around jawing for a while anyway.
You know those people that want to tell you how to raise your kids but have none of their own? That is how i feel when someone with a kitchen appliance tells me how the merits or dis-merits of my machine or how to use it.
Posted Fri Apr 6, 2012, 10:28am Subject: Re: Giving a presentation about coffee to a club - advice please !
It's my book club. The club was started in 1937 (not a typo) and it is not your regular book club. We don't all read the same book and discuss it. Instead we buy 12 new books twice a year and basically have a lending library that members can borrow from. We keep a rolling year and a half worth of books, 36 in total, available. All this for $25 in yearly dues. Instead of the single book discussion we have a casual social period to chat and then bring in local speakers for presentations and lectures on all sorts of topics. Many of the members have quite a bit of specialized knowledge in widely diverse subjects so we always try to have some meetings during the year feature a member. This is my turn. The ages of the members range from 32 to 92 (again not a typo). It is great fun!
I'm lucky and as it turned out, this meeting will be at my house. Just turned out that way - we rotate houses to host the meetings.
Wow, if I had any stale coffee laying around, that would have been a good idea to compare them.
Edit: we now have members who are the third generation.
emradguy Senior Member Joined: 31 Mar 2011 Posts: 1,728 Location: Houston Expertise: I live coffee
Espresso: Izzo Alex Duetto II Grinder: MacapM4T, Macap M4, OE Lido,... Drip: Espro press; Aeropress Roaster: internet
Posted Fri Apr 6, 2012, 10:36am Subject: Re: Giving a presentation about coffee to a club - advice please !
you could buy stale beans from a regional chain grocery store with bins, or even bags that have been on their shelf for a long time. if you leave them in an opened container in your refrigerator, you can accelerate/accentuate the staleness.
Posted Fri Apr 6, 2012, 10:53am Subject: Re: Giving a presentation about coffee to a club - advice please !
Another thought I had was using my brand new QM Silvano and make an espresso or latte - just to show it off basically. If only my latte art was any good - sigh.
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