STORY BY INSTAURATOR
Managing Director – Coffee Logic International.
Around the world, Australia and New Zealand are recognised as world leaders in the espresso realm – quite an achievement for two continents located roughly 12,630 kilometres from coffee’s original birth place in Ethiopia.
However, this shouldn’t be all too surprising, as there are two things Australia and New Zealand share in common – and that’s a love for sports and liquids.
In comparison to the mature wine industry, the coffee industry is only now reaching its adolescence. The appreciation and prestige associated with the wine industry is something that is only beginning to develop within the coffee industry, as consumer awareness and education grows. Odd, considering coffee is the most consumed drink after water, with an estimated 2.25 billion cups served worldwide every day.
It’s a fair observation to make that some of our most experienced and talented baristas and roasters are not viewed in the same light, outside of coffee circles, as wine makers and connoisseurs. There’s science and skill associated with the production of wine and coffee, and an adept palate is a necessity for both. One could even argue this is more important when it comes to coffee, as it’s estimated wine has around 400 distinct flavours, while coffee has 800.
Creating a platform for the Australian coffee industry to standardise and benchmark against the world’s best, while also creating learning and development paths for people passionate about coffee, was a missing element and a key goal for coffee veteran and guru, Instaurator. Together, he and fellow directors, Mick Kiely and Saxon Wright, have recently launched the arrival of Coffee Logic – a company offering internationally recognised development and certification courses in Australia.
These courses are developed, managed and operated by Specialty Coffee Association of America’s (SCAA) charitable trust, the Coffee Quality Institute (CQI).
You must be selected by the CQI as an official International Educational Partner Licensee and run courses from an internationally certified coffee lab, which Coffee Logic have developed in Arndell Park, NSW.
Instaurator comments: “Australia is one of the most sophisticated espresso based coffee consuming markets in the world, and up until now there have been no internationally recognised coffee educational programs based in Australia.”
The Q Coffee System locates specialty coffees at their origin; when a coffee moves through the Q Coffee System and becomes verified as a Q Coffee™, it signifies an independent confirmation of quality that can truly be deemed specialty.
According to the SCAA standards, a coffee that receives a score of 80 or above is considered specialty, Q Coffee™, providing an assurance of quality that consumers can trust. At the backbone of the Q Grading System are licensed Q Graders – professional cuppers accredited by the Coffee Quality Institute.
To become an SCAA/CQI Q Grader, students must pass a battery of tests covering green coffee aspect grading, sensory analysis, and cup evaluation based on SCAA Green Grading protocols.
The Q Grader program is designed for quality control professionals who wish to train under a rigorous program and to regularly test their acuity – and for those who wish to participate as judges in SCAA sponsored, managed or collaborative cupping competitions.
Passing the Q Grader is not an easy task; there are, after all, only 1,300 certified Q Graders currently in the world. To take on the course and examination, you need to ensure you are at an advanced level with traditional cupping knowledge. If in doubt, the Pre Q Grader, which is held over one day, is a good practice course to prepare you for passing the Q Grader. Throughout the Pre Q you will get snippets of all tests in the Q Grader; you basically get a run through and a taste of what is to come.
There are also Barista Guild Accreditation courses covering all areas of brewing and Roaster Guild Accreditation courses, beginning with basic green coffee grading and processing all the way through to a master roaster level, where you will cover everything from plant safety to packaging and blending.
“Offering CQI certified courses on our door step will hopefully assist in putting our local talent alongside the very best. We are really excited about the opportunities for the future,” said Instaurator.
For more information on Q Grader, Roaster and Barista Certification courses, go to: www.coffeelogic.com
