Sensory careers

It makes the world go 'round for a lot of folks. But some like their coffee sweet, some like it spicy. Two world-class bean-glomerates weigh in with their corporate concepts of what you're looking for in each case. Click here to see what Caribou and Starbucks say is "nutty" and nice.

Java jobs

November 23, 2000
Web posted at: 1:55 p.m. EST (1855 GMT)

In this story:

'Breaking the crust'

Worldly concerns

Zeal for the bean

RELATED STORIES, SITES

In our first "sensory careers" story on coffee, we talked with coffee roaster Doug Bond. This weekend, we focus on the high-caffeine corporates behind "big coffee."

By Helyn Trickey
CNN.com Interactivity Editor

(CNN) -- "I probably cup, or taste, between 100 and 200 samples of coffee a day."

Scott McMartin studied philosophy and history in college, but these days he puts more time into pursuing the wisdom of the bean. As director of green coffee quality for Starbucks Coffee Company, McMartin spends hours each day ruminating over cups of steaming java.

"I also talk with suppliers about different emerging coffee regions around the world," he says."

"We're coffee geeks. We spend our whole days doing this. But our customers don't have that kind of time."

— Stuart Craver, Caribou Coffee

There's no course of study for this kind of work. Instead, folks who find themselves face-to-face with mounds of coffee beans each day usually get there by unusual routes.

Stuart Craver, a coffee specialist with Caribou Coffee, says he was initially drawn to the coffeehouse culture.

"I was really in love with the whole scene, especially the open-mindedness. As I got older, I changed quite a bit, but my passion for coffee remained," he says.

"My favorite part of the job was working with the customers, but it wasn't long before I moved into the roastery."

Most coffee-taster hopefuls spend years in apprenticeship programs in an effort to build their specialized palates, and to learn the subtle intricacies of their favorite stimulant.

"I apprenticed under a taster," says Starbucks' McMartin, "and I spent eight to nine hours a day just cupping samples repeatedly and doing it 10 days in a row so I could see the differences. It took me about two years to become very confident in my position."

'Breaking the crust'

To assess the quality of beans before buying, professional coffee tasters "cup" or sample the brew.

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Yes, please, and I'll take it black -- sounds like a pretty delicious vocation to me.
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TASTER'S CHOICE

Like a professional cyclist with a bad leg, or a singer with laryngitis -- professional coffee tasters face certain occupational hazards.

Chad Trewick, overseer of green buying for Caribou Coffee, says coffee tasters grind beans, place them into a cup and pour hot water over them to begin the cupping process. The grounds rise to the top of the cup and tasters must "break the crust" by taking a spoon edge and separating the floating grounds enough to release a little steam.

"You should place your nose right on top of the cup," Trewick says. After breathing deeply, tasters rank the aroma.

Next, tasters "scoop the scum," or scrape the floating grounds off of the top, and sip the surface of the coffee.

"Use a round, ladle-like type of spoon and slurp the coffee," Trewick says. "A fine mist of coffee should spray your tongue evenly."

As you inhale and taste the brew, be sure to evaluate the aroma and the acidity, or how much the coffee "sparkles" on the tongue.

Next, a taster weighs the body of the beverage, or how "thick" the coffee feels in the mouth. Trewick compares this process to differentiating the weighty nature of whole milk versus the light viscosity of skim milk.

Then tasters consider the flavors of the brews, looking specifically for indigenous tones that should always be present in a coffee from a certain region. For example, a bean from Papua New Guinea should produce an innate rugged, earthy flavor.

The taster usually spits out the coffee he's been sampling from one cup before moving to the next. This can help prevent the jitters from caffeine.

Worldly concerns

Part of the allure of being a coffee taster and buyer for a large coffee corporation is the exotic travel. McMartin packs a suitcase for Indonesia and Kenya regularly and finds he often sticks out in a crowd.

"I was in Papua New Guinea in July," he remembers. "It's a very interesting place and being a Westerner and bald and 6 (feet) 3 (inches), I really part traffic when I walk down the street."

MOCHA MAP

As coffee and coffeehouses have grown more popular and proliferated, international coffees have become better known among fans for their distinct characters. Follow our map of the world to the flavors you like best.

Caribou Coffee's Brett Struwe, manager of coffee production, says it's always inspiring to see other cultures that have strong traditions built around the bean.

While political unrest can shake up any industry, the coffee business is especially vulnerable to strife in nations where the bean is harvested. When infrastructure is damaged in a civil war, for instance, moving a product from harvest to warehouse can be challenging.

"It (political upheaval) hasn't stopped us from buying so much as we don't travel to that area," says Starbucks' McMartin. "The coffee always gets out because it's so integral to a country's stability. They want to get the money."

Weather, on the other hand, can seriously hinder coffee production, making coffee buyers compete for beans from other nations to make up supply differences.

Much big weather news in the coffee world revolves around Brazil, the world's largest coffee-producing nation. Weather fluctuations there affect most coffee suppliers, big and small.

"Obviously I need to be a forward thinker," says Caribou's Trewick. Planning in advance for possible weather events is important, he says, but often "you have to just wait and see what happens."

"There are some people who have a passion for coffee, but just can't seem to taste the complexities."

— Scott McMartin, Starbucks Coffee Company

For example, Trewick says, Kenya has been very dry this year and many of the blends Caribou offers may suffer without the Kenyan bean.

"I would say any given country may have difficulty," says Starbucks' McMartin. "Hurricane Mitch really impacted Nicaragua and Honduras," he says. "There were coffee losses between 20 and 40 percent, and it can take almost two years for a country to recover."

"We try not to walk away from a country we are buying from," says Trewick. "We try to fix what's wrong before we walk away."

Zeal for the bean

Political unrest and weather aside, coffee tasters and buyers say they're attracted to the coffee business because of the bean.

"I'm passionate about coffee," says Caribou's Craver. "When I started with the company I loved coffee, but I was never put in a place where I had to evaluate it," he says.

DOING DECAF

This decaffeinated stuff. Some of us think it's like tonic with no gin. But those who swear by it swear by it. But how does it get that way?

BATTLE OF THE BEANS

On this side, Caribou. Watch for that red nose to happen, 'tis the season. On that side, Starbucks. Christmas Blend time, you know, maybe new shopping bags, too. We asked the two java-giants what they think is best when you're looking for coffee that's nutty, sweet, fruity and spicy. Here are their answers.

If you have a decent palate to begin with, Craver says he believes you can teach yourself to pick up the flavor nuances in a good cup of joe. "I spend so much time everyday teaching my palate to taste," he says. "It's all about practice, practice, practice."

But Starbucks' McMartin says he thinks there's some innate ability needed to thrive in the coffee-tasting arena.

"There are some people who have a passion for coffee, but just can't seem to taste the complexities."

McMartin notes some believe women may be better tasters than men because their palates can detect more delicate tastes.

But isn't a good cup of coffee subjective? Isn't coffee just an elixir meant to jolt us awake in the mornings? Does the bean really deserve all this hullabaloo?

"There's a lot of snobbery around tasting," says Caribou's Struwe with a shrug in his voice. "But what the customers like and what they think is best is important. They shouldn't be afraid to try something new."

"We're coffee geeks. We spend our whole days doing this," says Craver. "But our customers don't have that kind of time."