I have an embarrassing confession to make... Part 1 of 2

I was making a Sumatra Blue Batak Clover for a customer the other day and he asked me a really difficult question. And I felt like the biggest coffee loser when I didn't know the answer. The question: Where is Sumatra?

Oops. I stared at him blankly. 'Well, uh, you know it's, uh...' Stupid, stupid, stupid. It was like all those bad dreams you have of showing up to an exam that you didn't know about... and you're naked.

So, instead of crying myself to sleep that night, I resolved to learn as much as I could about the amazing region of Sumatra and subsequently, every coffee region that I love.

View of Danau Laut Tawar and Takengon, Aceh Tengah, originally uploaded by A_STA.

Here is part 1 of the results of my research:

Sumatra is located on a large island off the coast of Indonesia. It's a tropical island that is the largest exporter of coffee from Indonesia. Indonesia is the 4th largest exporter in the world exporting about 271 000 tons of coffee each year. However, we're only interested in about 25% of this which is of the arabica plant.

Traditionally, Sumatran coffee is known for being full-bodied, earthy with a balanced acidity. It can also have notes of tobacco and some floral, tropical flavours as well. 

I'm going to delve a bit further into the regions and the processing of Sumatra coffees in part two, so stick around! 

Feel free to post your questions and I'll try my best to find out the answers. I'm very excited to not be ignorant any longer to the coffees that I love and hope you'll enjoy these posts as I discover more about this.

–e

COE Cupping with Phil & Sebastian

COE Cupping with Phil & Sebastian, originally uploaded by e.l.y.s.e.

A table of five pretty amazing coffees. It was hard to pick favourites!

Mystery of Community in Coffee

Barista Jam_(Sep1108) -0018, originally uploaded by SlayerEspresso.

What is there to say about the coffee industry in Calgary and Alberta right now? In some ways, and perhaps this is just a result of being in school for 8 months, it feels like since last summer, the PRBC and Barista Jam, that the community has lost a bit of its connectivity. There are definitely connections being formed among the coffee geeks in Calgary but is it growing up more, or leaving people behind? How is community really created among those who love coffee?

There are days I come into Kawa and I often see this one guy in there at the same time I am. I think I've met him before, and I rememeber seeing him at the pre-competition barista jam last year. Obviously he has an interest in the community, in coffee. Where is he connection and why does he continue to frequent the best cafes in the city?

Is it possible that we have created a sort-of "exclusive" inner-circe that only those we approve can enter in to? I would hate for that to be the case. In my opinion coffee is hugely inclusive, allowing everyone to come in and enjoy it at different levels of expertise, building friendships and community along the way. I think that I can often exclude or look down on those people or baristas who I don't feel know as much as I do. This isn't fair and it isn't right at all.

These are just some of my thoughts because building community among anyone who wants to participate in the coffee quest is an important part of the experience. I didn't start drinking coffee because I was the most exciting thing I'd ever tasted. Sure, I think that now, but in the beginning I loved the community. Connecting with people. Isn't that in some ways what drinking coffee is all about? It's not worth just being a coffee snob in pursuit of a "god-shot" if there aren't some sort of relationships formed along the way. Community is coffee. But how does it work to bring together so many people from different viewpoints and create a tight-knit community? It is even possible?

Your thoughts and insights are very welcome!

Photo by Jason Prefontaine.