Want to go out for coffee?
It’s an innocuous question with nothing complicated about it. Or so it seems, until that coffee menu is read and it’s realized that the coffee is complicated. What does it mean if it’s a bold blend? What in the world is the difference between drip and pressed coffee?
In a coffee class presented by the UMC Nite Bite and conducted by the Alferd Packer Grill’s Retail Manager, Marc Rich, CU students had an opportunity to learn everything they could ever want to know about java.
The class was informal and aimed to teach students to decipher the menu when they reach the counter at their favorite coffee shop. Rich encouraged students to have a cup of coffee and participate fearlessly in the conversation-style forum.
Rich’s six years of experience was put to the test by the participants. Twenty-seven-year-old chemical engineering student Lila Saade said she and her friends came to get their questions answered.
“…And I’m completely addicted to caffeine,” Saade said.
Students said they were appreciative to have a class that showed them something different, like 20-year-old psychology major and self-proclaimed coffee lover Marc Seyferth.
“I think it’s great that the UMC puts on classes like this,” said Seyferth. “It’s nice to hear about the different aspects and variety.”
Variety was top of the list when it came to the topics covered. Rich described not only the differences between regional coffees, but also how preparing the same coffee different ways can bring out different flavors.
Rich said coffee flavors can vary region by region.
“Indonesian coffee has an earthy flavor that it gets from the clay tiles it bakes on,” Rich said. “While Latin American coffees have a characteristic nutty flavor that can even taste like walnuts or peanuts. Coffee can be juicy. Juicy coffee is coffee that literally makes your mouth water.”
Not all students were coffee crazed.
“I’m not a big coffee drinker,” said 24-year-old chemical engineering grad-student Blake Langdon. “It’s good to know about it when I am one. I expect to be one.”
Coffee can be complicated, and even after attending the class students may find themselves overwhelmed with the choices available in Boulder’s coffee culture.
“Peoples’ palates get trained with a certain type of coffee,” Rich said.
It doesn’t matter if an individual’s drink is four espressos every morning, like Rich, or a plain drip coffee like Seyferth.
“The bottom line with coffee is: if you’re enjoying your coffee, keep enjoying it,” Rich said.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Ana Faria at Ana.faria@colorado.edu.
