Sensory Skills - North Star Roast

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SCA Sensory Skills Foundation
Fri, 17th Jan 2020
10:00 - 17:00
Venue: North Star Coffee Academy
£240.00 Add to Cart Info & Book
SCA Sensory Skills Intermediate
Wed, 29th Jan - Thu, 30th Jan 2020
10:00 - 17:00 each day
Venue: North Star Coffee Academy
£480.00 Add to Cart Info & Book

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#whatgoesintoyourcup⠀
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DRYING⠀
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Once the beans have been washed, they need to be laid out to dry to bring down the moisture content for export to avoid mould formation.⠀
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This is done using a variety of methods, for most of our coffees the producers use raised drying beds where they are manually turned several times an hour to encourage even drying. It is also important to protect the coffee during the hottest hours of the day so they are covered between 12 and 3. ⠀
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In some instances, patios are used. Pictured here is Leonecio Guillen who contributes to our El Salvador Chelazos coffee (now available as espresso on the bar) - he completes nearly all of the picking, processing and drying of his coffee himself. It is intense work but he is committed to getting as much of his coffee as possible to a specialty grade for us to purchase. Drying is one of the most important stages of the process and can have a real impact on the shelf life of the coffee. You will see on the back of our bags that we talk about buying with principles of seasonality and longevity of quality in mind. We do not just buy based on quality of the cup at the time of purchase but on the potential that coffee displays to hold on to what makes it special - that potential really comes from this part of the process ⭐️

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#whatgoesintoyourcup⠀
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Once the beautiful ripe cherries have been harvested, it is time for them to be processed for export.⠀
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We are so lucky to work with some of the most innovative producers across the world. Through them, we are able to access a whole range of experimentally processed coffees which push the boundaries of flavour introducing us to new sensory experiences and showcasing the incredible versatility of coffee.⠀
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Within our range, we generally always have washed and natural processed coffees so we will focus on these in the next couple of posts... stay tuned! ☕️

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#whatgoesintoyourcup⠀
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Once the cherries have reached optimum maturity, they are ready to be harvested. For the specialty grade coffee we buy, we are absolutely reliant on an army of skilled workers who traverse the coffee lands throughout the harvest season to selectively pick each ruby red cherry, holding onto all the potential quality that has been carefully cultivated thus far. ⠀
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Much of the worlds coffee is strip or machine picked whereby a whole mix of sticks/stones/ripe/un-ripe cherries can make their way into the lot, dramatically impacting the quality. The advantage of working in this manner is it keeps labour costs to a minimum allowing companies to sell their coffee cheaply. The huge impact of this method is on the quality of the coffee. Not only does this leave the lot more susceptible to defects such as over fermented beans or withered beans, it will also produce a coffee that is very unbalanced with an unpleasant aftertaste. It is for this reason that large companies sourcing commercial grade coffees have to roast their beans excessively to help mask this poor quality.⠀
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The beans we buy have been handpicked one by one as they slowly reach full ripeness. This can often mean passing a farm 10-15 times picking the ripe cherries as you go on terrain so steep and uneven that ropes may be required. It is back breaking work and is possibly the most crucial step in the whole chain in influencing the resulting cup quality.⠀
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Working in this manner is much more costly but we think the result is worth it ☕️

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Chocnog ❄️🎄creamy, mousse-like chocolate eggnog, spiked with rum and served chilled. A perfect little afternoon treat to get you feeling festive ☺️

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Why does it matter?⠀
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Over 30 million smallholder farmers grow more than 70% of the world’s coffee in 50 of the worlds poorest countries.⠀
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This year, coffee as a commodity has been valued at a lower price than it was in 1982.⠀
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Coffee farmers across all producing countries today have an average age of 55 to 57.⠀
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Every trip we complete is full of stories of neighbouring farmers pulling up their coffee plants to harvest maize or coca because that way, they can feed their families and send their kids to school.⠀
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Wouldn’t you do the same? The question is how can we expect to still receive amazing quality coffee in 30 years time if coffee is still purchased the same way it was in the 1980s with no adaptation due to inflation costs or quality? ⠀
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Commercial grade coffee is purchased in this manner and is keeping coffee farmers poor, in some instances it has worsened their situation. Our direct costs are 4-5 times higher than those faced by the likes of Costa yet our price per cup remains near enough the same. This situation is not sustainable for anyone, your local independent specialty shop is literally making the decision to put themselves in financial uncertainty to ensure quality and ethics in what they do. ⠀
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Please please please think twice before you give your money to the chains, it is almost always supporting an exploitative supply chain and you are being taken for a ride - the cup sizes may be bigger but the amount of coffee you receive is less. Support your local shops, show them some love this Christmas and make your money count 💕#whatgoesintoyourcup

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Part 2 of #whatgoesintoyourcup ⠀
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BLOSSOM AND FRUIT 🍒⠀
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Most coffee origins will have one main harvest each year (the exception being Colombia which harvests nearly all year round thanks to the numerous micro climates available). The harvest is triggered by a prolonged period of rainfall which causes the trees to blossom producing the most incredible jasmine like aroma that is only experienced for around 3 days before the flowers are pollinated and they fall off leaving a small bud which becomes a coffee cherry. It can then take up to nine months before the coffee reaches the desired level of ripeness.🍒⠀
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Just 6 years ago you could near enough predict the months of harvest for each producing country. Central America for example would generally be harvesting between December and February which is when the team from @northstarroast tended to book in their origin travel. What we have started to see over the last few years though is more and more uncertainty due to changing weather patterns through climate change. This is causing massive issues with yield through having too much or not enough rainfall. Quality is also impacted due to wet mills and processing stations becoming overcrowded at the wrong times which leaves more coffee at risk of developing defects and losing its specialty grade.⠀
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When yield is reduced, the producer is at risk of losing out because their costs of production have remained the same but the volume available for sale is reduced. This is one of the major issues of how most of the industry operates right now as it leaves no room for adaptation when the producer is in this situation. It is why we choose to work in a manner divorced from the global market, opting to protect the producer by paying a price guaranteed to cover the cost of production with a quality differential added that takes our average price paid to be around four times that paid by Fairtrade. 🌍🤝⠀
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We do this because it is the right thing to do and because we want to safeguard our supply chain in the years to come, the next post of this series will highlight why we are in this situation ☕️