I am blessed to be able to teach Coffee Quality Institutes course material all over the world. In doing that I have discovered different values associated to the education. It basically divides East and West.

In Western Countries, the primary focus is on the knowledge and skills to be learned. In Eastern Countries the focus is on the certificate as proof of knowledge and less about the knowledge itself.

Below are my 5 reasons to get your Q-Arabica or Q-Rubusta education:

Reason 1: Coffee knowledge

Back when I got my Q certification there were NO classes; just tests! It was interesting to know I could pass, but some things were not clear as to why these are important skills. Since that time many experts have added to the class content. Decades of experience are now crammed into 6 days of training and testing. You learn these important things:

• How we perceive tastes and smells; you will understand evolution and sensory function
  
• How coffee growing, processing and roasting create sugars and acids in coffee and why that is important
  
• How coffee is evaluated green and how to use that information in contracts
  
• That coffee evaluation can be taken from something Subjective and made into something Objective
  
• You will get a vocabulary that matches descriptors used by all Q-Graders.
  

Reason 2: Participate fully in the supply chain

With your new skills you will be able to understand the supply chain and how anyone in it can contribute to the success of creating and delivering specialty coffee as well as how they can screw it up. You will be armed with knowledge that can look back in the chain and solve problems .

Reason 3: Essential tool for buying green and Direct Trade

It stands to reason that if you want to talk with a farmer or mill about coffee in order to get what you want and negotiate a fair price, you both should be talking the same language. They are probably Q-Graders and you should be too!

Reason 4: Confidence in skill and calibration with peers

I always knew what I liked and didn't like. With these tools you will be confident in explaining your preferences. You will also know that you are 'just as good' as anyone else in formulating these opinions and will be able to talk fluently with peers about it.

Reason 5: Another Cert can't hurt!

Take pride in your accomplishment and put your cert on the wall. It shows the world you take this seriously. It also looks good on a resume!

Some companies find it a cost burden to send their students away for training and want to have a more formal  and customized education program at their own facility. International Coffee Consulting can work with you to develop the curriculum as well as  rollout schedule. This can be as specific as one department ie roasting, or a broad coffee awareness program for all employees.

The Q System has 2 different species of the coffee plant that it works with. In Arabica coffee you would become a Q-Grader and in Robusta you would become a Q-Robusta Grader. This is sometimes known as an R-Grader.

Both of these certification courses involve 6 days of intense immersion in coffee with several lectures and 20+ tests that must be passed! It is not an easy class, but when you get certified you know you have earned it!

Q Arabica and Q Robusta Classes

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Company

Rocky Rhodes was asked to take over training development at Diedrich Roasters. This has resulted in a comprehensive 3 day class on profile roasting. The class has spun off a book of research on profile roasting that is now available. Rhodes takes you on a journey of discovery as he explains the protocols for developing a profile and the importance of ALWAYS tasting your results in an objective way.  The data collected and explained in this book has never been put together in any other place. It is the culmination of thousands of dollars of green coffee and hundreds of man hours researching and writing. You can buy the book by itself or with a USB that contains all the profiles in electronic format.

You can order it through: Buy Here at Diedrich

Class Schedule 2022

Custom Education for Your Company

In order to have an intelligent discussion on coffee quality, everyone must be able to agree on what the attributes of the coffee are. This is known as getting 'Calibrated' with the others in the supply chain.

The universally accepted language to use for calibration is The Q System.

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5 Reasons to Get Your Q

Education vs. just a piece of paper

 The New Book 'Profiling Practicum' by Rocky Rhodes

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