Dr. Manuel is coming soon! The origin of coffee - coffee processing courses

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The coffee chain has many steps all with the goal of making a delicious cup of coffee (in speciality coffee, at least).

As Guatemalan farmer and processing expert Nilton Perez says,


“Eighty percent of coffee’s flavor is a gift, you cannot change it.”

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Human’s try to be in control of everything, but no matter how hard we try, we cannot change our terroir. If you want to change your altitude or climate, you have to move.

The other 20% of coffee’s flavor can be changed through picking methods, varietals, processing, roasting, and extraction.

One of the growing focuses in the industry is on processing.

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There are plenty of books and videos you can watch about roasting, extraction, brewing, etc. But for processing, the amount of science is growing, but some concepts are still somewhat nebulous. Processing is important for farmers, roasters, and baristas to understand. The more you understand something, the more you appreciate it.

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Even those that don’t know or understand processing still get excited when they hear some guy named Sasa say “carbonic maceration,” or when their bag of coffee says “honey processed.”

Yea sure, it sounds sexy, but what even is it? And does “honey” process really use honey?

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There are several terms in the industry that are probably intentionally complex sounding. I am not sure they should be, but until the industry as a whole has a grasp on processing, this complexity and ambiguity won’t go away.



In March we have Dr. Manuel Diaz coming to teach us about processing.



Dr. Diaz is a leading expert in the coffee industry in processing and has consulted farms in over 10 countries.

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With a pHD Development from the London School of Economics and Political Science and over 15 years of professional coffee experience, Dr. Diaz is continuing to make waves in the industry with his research in farming, processing, sensory analysis and roasting.

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Here’s Dr. Manuel’s self-introduction


Video address : https://v.qq.com/x/page/l0502rw8ii1.html



Dr. Diaz has been a Q-Grader Instructor for 12 years, helped CQI write their R Grader program, and has consulted farms in 10+ different countries.

Dr. Daiz has been to Yunnan several times to share his knowledge with the Chinese coffee industry.

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Check out these quotes below from his previous students.


- “This class opened the door for me and my coffee farm.” -Lisa


- “This class was super useful. I got to understand not only processing, but the chemistry of coffee.” -Banli


- “This course was awesome. It opened my eyes to what coffee can be. The theory I learned from his course 2016 still applies today. I regularly go back and look at my notes to review the knowledge he shared.” -Meizi


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If there was ever a time to learn more about what happens at the farm level or about sensory analysis, this is the perfect chance.

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Dr. Diaz will be teaching SCI Processing Level 2 and 3 March 18th -23rd.

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This will also be the perfect time to come to Pu’er as the Pu’er coffee expo will be happening March 13-17!

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Processing level 1 will be taught by Joel Smith and XuXin from 11th-13th.

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Joel is Torch Coffee Education Manager.



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XuXin is managing Torch Coffee’s Mountain Man processing program.


Then we will take a few day break to go to the expo, enjoy the festivities, and go on a farm tour.

After all of the festivities and talking with farmers at the expo, Manuel will start level 2 on the 18th as we will go out to start our class processing experiments.

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What are you waiting for, this is the perfect opportunity to learn about processing, sensory analysis, see the fastest growing specialty coffee region in the world, and get to learn alongside other professionals.

How to become an SIP?


If you have been following Torch’s WeChat for at least a few weeks, then I am sure you have seen us advertise certified coffee courses for specialized focus points ranging from farming to business. We offer courses through SCA, SCI, and CQI.


SCI is the newest of the bunch, so I want to take 5 minutes to explain to you the goal of SCI, the role courses can plan, and how you too can become an SCI instructor.


SCI

SCI is comprised of 3 letters. 

S: Sustainable

C: Coffee

I: Institute

A few months ago I wrote an article on Sustainability (insert link) and you can check out if you want to know more about the “S.”

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The mission of SCI is to “provide education and business tools to coffee professionals, from farmers to cafe owners… Through training and connections, SCI helps develop a dynamic and thriving coffee chain, one person at a time.”

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The coffee industry is often referred to as a chain: the coffee chain. This is very true, and just like a chain, if one link is weak, the chain breaks. So SCI helps to develop all of the chains in the link.

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This is the role SCI aims to play in the industry: sustainable and equal development. If one link in the chain is weak, the whole chain suffers.



There are potentially many problems a link can face: knowledge, skills, awareness, efficient systems, etc.



Through education with SCI you can learn all of this and are given the chance to meet with other coffee professionals that have gone, or are going through those same struggles.

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SCI doesn’t teach all of these principles to amplify narcissism in baristas as they show off at their bar.

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But rather, SCI teaches these principles so that students go back and teach others, to strengthen the chain. 

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The roasters and baristas go back to their shops and share with their co-workers and customers what they have learned.


We hope all of our students share with their customers what they are learning, but we know some want to become instructors themselves: to teach the next batch of students who will go back to their shops and teach customers.

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At Torch we run a course called SIP, which stands for SCI Instructor Program. The SIP teaches about education, learning theory, and how to teach. 


After you take the SIP course, you are not a certified SCI instructor just yet. You must teach a course, get reviewed, and wait for the reviewers response.


In the SCI program, you can only teach a course that you have taken and passed. So if you want to teach SCI roasting but you haven’t taken any roasting courses, go to www.sci.coffee and find when and where the next course you want to teach is being taught!


If you have taken the SIP course as well as the courses you want to teach, find a time to teach!


The first time you teach you must co-teach with another SCI instructor. When you co-teach you will be responsible for organizing the class and the activities. The other SCI instructor will act as your assistant as well as your reviewer.

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You will get reviewd, and then follow the SCI Instructor Requiments.

New SCI Instructor

Dr . Raj Kumar Banjara . Nepal.

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He was the founder of HImalayan Arabica

SIP instructor - coffee processing course

SIP instructor - coffee processing course, baking course

Representative of the development of boutique coffee cultivation in Nepal



Nima Tenzing Sherpa . Nepal

The founder of Lekali Coffee in Nepal is committed to contributing to Nepal's boutique Coffee industry

SIP instructor - coffee processing course, baking course



Koju . Japan

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Japan's first & only q-grader instructor

AST mentor

SIP supervisor - processing class

Japan is the only country with three accredited instructors

Proficient in English, Thai and other languages

The three instructors came to Pu 'er for processing courses through personal experience and also spread knowledge to more students.