Smell fragrant coffee the taste of life of an international coffee quality appraiser

Taste a hundred cups of fragrant coffee a day the taste of life as an international coffee quality appraiser

After being recognized by her international counterparts, Qi Xiaolan did not stop and continued to study coffee in her small world.

Because of her love, she transformed her home into a coffee shop, not for business, but only for research and exchange coffee. because of her persistence, she studied everywhere and obtained the certification of an internationally authoritative coffee quality appraiser, becoming one of only 4000 people in the world. Because of pursuit, in order to drink a cup of fine coffee, she would rather give up a three-day rest time and finally get what she wanted. Her name is Qi Xiaolan, an unknown office worker who has become a little famous in the coffee industry because she does not forget her original ideals and aspirations.

Love coffee and turn your home into a coffee shop.

The sun slanted from the glass to the table, a book, a cup of coffee, a person. When she met Qi Xiaolan, she was sitting in the coffee studio, focusing on her own world.

The coffee studio is transformed from a humble suite, Qi Xiaolan carefully dressed up every corner, simple and emotional, a set of coffee operation bar, a set of tables and chairs and a bookshelf is all. There is everything about coffee on the operating bar: coffee beans from different places, hand pots, siphon pots, French presses, Alopol, and all kinds of cups. All kinds of measuring instruments, such as scales and thermometers, show that the studio is different. The shelves were filled with souvenirs and books she had brought back from all over the country.

Qi Xiaolan told reporters that she arranged her home in accordance with the specifications of the international professional boutique coffee Q-Grader (coffee quality appraiser) course classroom, and did not open to the outside world, just to facilitate her own study of coffee and communicate with people in the coffee industry and coffee lovers everywhere.

Learn coffee and get international authoritative certification.

Qi Xiaolan formed a bond with coffee more than a decade ago. At that time, she often went to the cafe. Although she didn't drink coffee, she liked the atmosphere. Later, she appreciated the skills of baristas and wondered how happy she would be if she made her favorite coffee through her own hands.

The variety and cultivation of coffee is a knowledge, the extraction of coffee is an art, and the roasting of coffee is a skill. Slowly, the more she comes into contact with coffee, the more she feels like a primary school student. Her obsession with coffee prompted her to keep learning and exploring.

Four years ago, she set off to study in Beijing, Shanghai, Xiamen and other places to start the student model-to attend the international certification course of SCAA (American Fine Coffee Association), an influential and authoritative coffee organization in the world.

"I have to drink more than 1000 cups of coffee in nine days to tell the difference." She said that in the intensive training of coffee quality appraisers, olfactory training is the first step, and it is necessary to repeatedly smell and remember the taste and flavor of substances including lemon, potato, pea, coffee flower, honey, caramel, vanilla, malt and so on. Know the information behind it. And taste training is the identification of sour, sweet and salty taste. The constant stimulation of various flavors had made her stomach cramp and even want to vomit.

Difficult devil training, let her develop the ability to appreciate boutique coffee. In 2015, she obtained the international coffee quality appraiser certification (currently only 4674 people worldwide), the American boutique coffee association certified gold cup technician and so on.

Tasting coffee gives up three days off for a cup of boutique

Nowadays, Qi Xiaolan can tell whether the coffee is good or bad by smelling the aroma; by tasting it, she can know the producing areas and varieties of coffee beans. "A good cup of coffee must be inseparable from good quality, good baking and good extraction." She showed the reporter the process of making coffee.

She picked up the hand pot, poured water into the filter paper on the filter cup, → poured water → ground the coffee into powder → sifted → powder → beat powder → weighing → timing → water injection, with the mellow aroma of coffee, a thin stream of coffee liquid slowly flowed into the cup.

"Coffee extraction is very important, and all efforts, from seeds to cups, are finally demonstrated in the extraction process." She told reporters that a good cup of coffee is to grasp a proper extract and extract the aromatic substances we need to ensure a balanced and delicious taste of the coffee.

"if you drink a cup of fine coffee now, you may not be able to drink a second cup in your life." Unlike commercial coffee, the output of boutique coffee is only 1/10 of that of commercial coffee, she said. She once gave up a three-day break for a cup of high-quality coffee she longed for and went to Taiwan to find a friend to taste it. "it's worth it!" She said that a good cup of coffee is the same as a good cup of red wine, need to taste carefully in order to feel the endless charm of coffee beans, "this is the way life is, with the most real feelings to meet that piece of light."

A (reporter Wang Jinzhi intern Li Jingwen / photo)