Brandon Bir of Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea Obtains SCAA Coffee Taster Certificate
Columbus, Ohio (PRWEB) December 07, 2016 -- Brandon Bir, coffee sourcing and education manager for Columbus, Ohio coffee roaster Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea, has earned a Coffee Tasting Certificate from the Specialty Coffee Association of America. He is one of only 238 certified Coffee Tasters worldwide.
“This is another great affirmation of Brandon’s evolving coffee evaluation skills,” said Crimson Cup Founder and President Greg Ubert. “He plays an instrumental role in our continuing success by helping us source outstanding coffees and establish direct-trade relationships with the farmers who grow them.”
To become a Coffee Taster, Bir completed comprehensive training covering the entire scope of sensory analysis from green coffee to production roast tasting and espresso tasting. Courses included brewing and extraction, coffee farming, coffee processing, green coffee grading, roasting, sensory skills and cupping. After passing examinations in all of these areas, he presented an evaluation of 120 different coffees to complete the certification process.
“The Coffee Taster Certificate has helped me improve my skills as a cupper,” Bir said. “As a result, I’m better prepared to improve coffee quality – both in our roasting and cupping process at Crimson Cup and by offering superior advice to farmers in our Friend2Farmer direct trade program.”
Launched in 2013, SCAA’s Coffee Taster Certificate program complements the Coffee Quality Institute’s Q Grader program, which certifies cuppers to evaluate green coffee at origin.
Earlier this year, Bir became one of about 3,500 licensed Q Graders worldwide. Q Graders help coffee roasters locate specialty coffees at origin and improve coffees that have the potential to meet specialty standards. He also was one of the first 31 graduates of the new SCAA Coffee Buyer Pathway.
About Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea
Columbus, Ohio coffee roaster Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea is Roast magazine’s 2016 Macro Roaster of the Year. Since 1991, Crimson Cup has roasted sustainably sourced specialty and craft coffee in small batches. The company also teaches entrepreneurs to run successful coffee houses through its coffee franchise alternative program, which includes a coffee shop business plan. Crimson Cup coffee is available through a community of more than 350 independent coffee houses, grocers, college and universities, restaurants and food service operations across 29 states, Guam and Bangladesh, as well as the company’s own Crimson Cup Coffee Houses. To learn more, visit crimsoncup.com.
Cheryl Claypoole, Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea, http://www.crimsoncup.com, +1 6143615023, [email protected]
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