Education

The sexy beast of a Loring roaster we got to play with during class

It's been a little while since we talked, but there's good reason for that! At Boxwood we've been increasing our brain power and honing our skill sot continue to bring you all better coffee than ever before.

Two weeks ago I had the incredible opportunity to attend the Roaster Pathway 1 course provided by the SCA and hosted by our partners in crime at Royal Coffee New York! I, along with five other thirsty students got to soak up an incredible amount of knowledge and hands-on experience with the guidance of the lovely Candice Madison as we drank the warehouse out of coffee. Coffee growing, processing, storage, cupping, flavor wheels, roasting profiles, temperature curves and a whole lot of jargon were just a few of the things we hammered into our skulls that week, and that's not to mention the fleet of ridiculously hi-tech equipment and machinery we got to work with!

As a group, we became able to perform proper coffee cuppings, identify traits and flaws in coffees and how to control those traits as a roaster to gain the best possible qualities from the bean. Many of the things we learned were things that I had a bit of experience with, but more importantly many of the thing we learned were things I didn't know that I didn't know. Prior to this class I was happy with my coffee, and without sounding boastful I do believe that it was a better quality than Boxwood's immediate competitors. After, though, I now knew that the level of quality I could grow to acheive woud be something I never really understood before, and I became excited to challenge myself.

Now I'm not saying that I took one class and now thing of myself as a coffee god, there is a lot of practice to be made and probably a lot f wasted coffee as I tinker and toy with my machine back home. Acheiving next level standards of quality nd controll will take time and patience and more resources, but I know a lot more than I did before and I know how to seek out the information that I don't know. I find myself very lucky to be where I am and I love the fact that I can share my experiences and offerings with an incredible crowd of customers who will give me feedback. At Boxwood we value every word that each one of you say, and we use both praise and critique to fuel ourfire to keep of making better and better coffee for all of you.

Stay tuned for more info about the behind the scenes stuff and also for some fresh beans hitting the shelf! Ethiopia is out of stock, but I am picking up a beautiful Kenyan on Monday to stock the shelves very soon.  Until then stay cool everyone!

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