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Instructions
Learn about the coffee industry while empowering women farmers to earn a living wage.
First and foremost,
thank you
Thank you. Your gift of time today will impact the lives of farmers in so many ways. Regardless of the cost of our morning coffee, chances are the farmer who grew it is struggling. Crops are battling diseases and climate change, while most coffee farmers do not earn enough to provide their families with a decent standard of living. WeHero and Heifer International are actively trying to solve this.
The Experience: Join the experience to understand the impact of your coffee beyond the morning java jolt. With a keynote by Heifer International, volunteers learn what it takes to farm coffee and will then go through a coffee-tasting experience together! Learn about the importance of biodiversity, how we can support our farmers, and help families earn a sustainable living income. Let’s think outside the cup together!
Instructions
We work to keep things as simple as possible. If you have any questions, please get in touch with your event coordinator or reach out to “Kai” (WeHero Super Dog) in the lower-right corner of this page.
Your materials
- Two glass coffee cups for brewing/tasting
- 1 cup for rinse water
- 1 cup for discard
- One packet of speciality coffee
- One packet of commericla coffee
- 1 tablespoon
- One spoon
- WeHero notebook for tasting notes
- Pencil
Additional items needed to be sourced by participant:
- A kettle (electric or stovetop) or a thermos with at least 2 cups of boiling water
- Timer (a timer on a phone works great!)
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Step 1: Get everything set up
- Place the glass cups in front of you. Use the tablespoon to scoop the specialty grounds into the cup on the left and the commercial grounds into the cup on the right.
- Fill one of the compostable cups with water.
- Set out your materials, timer, and hot water source, so everything is ready to go when needed. If you’re using an electric kettle, this is an excellent time to switch it on.
During the cupping, you will be prompted to notice differences in the coffee. We encourage you to make notes during the process using the notebook and pencil provided.
Step 2: Notice the grounds
- Observe the grounds separately and then together. What do you notice?
- Put your nose into the specialty coffee cup and take a deep inhale.
How would you describe the smell? Can you compare it to any flavors you already know?
Step 3: Get ready to pour
- Set your timer for 4:00 minutes and hit start.
- Using a circular motion, pour roughly eight ounces (one cup) of nearly boiling water over both cups of grounds. Try your best to make sure all the grounds get soaked as you pour.
- After 10 seconds, observe the cups and put your nose right over the cup to inhale the aromas deeply.
How does each coffee smell now?
How do they compare to each other?
How does each compare to what you detected when you initially smelled the grounds?
Step 4:Time to swirl
- When your stopwatch reaches 4:00 minutes, gently swirl the grounds in a circular, outward motion using the back of the spoon held flat on the surface of the specialty coffee.
- Carefully collect and push the grounds toward the outside of the cup. Try to smell the coffee as you do this. Use your tasting spoon to slurp the coffee!
- Swish the coffee in your mouth, then spit it into the empty compostable paper cup (don’t worry if there are still grounds in your cup!). Note how the flavors have changed or evolved.
- After tasting, rinse the spoon the rinsing cup to avoid contaminating the flavor of the other batch.
Is the taste different from what you expected? - Rinse the spoon again and repeat the procedure with the commercial coffee.
Did you notice any differences between the grounds of specialty or commercial coffee?
Step 5: Clothing thoughts
How does the quality reflect the producers themselves, and what can you infer about a cup of coffee that is complex and chocolatey versus one with a simplistic and woody flavor?
Is good coffee always produced and traded in a way that provides farmers with fair incomes?
- Why or why not?
How can you ensure that the coffee you drink is helping families to thrive rather than suffer from an oppressive system?
Would you enjoy your coffee more if you knew it was helping families lift themselves out of poverty?
- How much would that knowledge and experience be worth to you?
Reflect on the cast differences between specialty and commercial coffee.
- How is this compared to other food, drinks, or consumer products?
You've successfully completed the Behind The Grind experience!
Nice work! Now what?
We’d love your thoughts!
Have 32 seconds? We always want to make these experiences better and would love your feedback.
Learn more
Visit the Heifer International website to learn more about their mission and how you can continue supporting them.
Recycling is hard so we made this resource list to make it easier!
We build our events to be as eco friendly as possible. Offsetting the carbon emissions, using recycled cardboard for the boxes, and relying on algae based dyes, are just a few examples!
Let’s Do This
How we offset our carbon footprint
We have partnered with Cool Effect on The Mare Chicose landfill project in Mauritius to reduce methane emissions, generate electricity, create jobs, and promote sustainable development. Investing in the project helps reduce our carbon footprint and support global climate change mitigation.
Learn More
Have questions about your experience?
We’re here to help!
Get in touch with us here or give us a call. Feel free to also chat with Kai and he’ll fetch a member of our team to help!
