Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/612330
STiR tea & coffee industry international 45 C M Y CM MY CY CMY K WOC_stir_ad_86x124aw.pdf 1 16/11/2015 16:38 Her graduation marked a fork in the road. Should she de- vote her future to helping people sort out their minds, or should she devote her future to sorting out opportunities in coffee? The choice was easy: She decided use her accumulated knowl- edge to stay with coffee. There were so many tempting, different and challenging coffee avenues to pursue. Roasting theories After a brief introduction in Europe roasting remained un- chartered territory. She wanted to prove some theories she had about improving quality by combining botanical varietals. She experimented with various processing methods. The new cof- fee bar enabled her to test her theories directly on consumers. After all, it is the consumer's preference that defines success. She passed SCAA Q-Grader program building theoretical and practical skills and knowledge in assessing green coffee quality and grading. Raposeiras' pioneering roastery/training center/coffee bar and consumer marketing lab gives her control along the entire value-added process in coffee from soil to the end consumers. "Brazilian coffee can be so much more through proper souc- ing, finding the best coffee rather than having it mixed," she said. Getting to know the producers and paying fairly is critical, she says. Coffee Lab offers growers $6 to $10 per pound. "People are leaving coffee because they don't know its value. They haven't been paid enough. Coffee Lab is one way to show them the prices they can get," she explains. Ideally she should have a small coffee farm in the back yard, but as the team in Coffee Lab already was involved in consulting with farms around the country that would have be considered "overkill." Coffee Lab is no longer a one-woman show. The company employs 13 and positions are never hard to fill due to its reputa- tion as one of the most respected places to learn about coffee in the world. Coffee Lab has expanded its reach through multilingual social media educating and informing coffee lovers through its website, blog, newsletter and news releases and with a presence on Face- book, Twitter, and Instagram. A broad perspective Wholesaling coffee has been replaced with a greater focus on education, training, and information. Visiting one finds a variety of technical equipment ranging from a 12-kilo Diedrich roaster to micro sensitive electronic thermometers and refractometers to the latest in espresso machines and good, old-fashioned Bra- zilian caffecino hand brewers. The store is stocked with single- serve machines and highly fashionable cold brew equipment. Raposeiras has come to understand that farmers, consum- ers, baristas, coffee bars, micro roasters to mega roasters must continuously learn, experiment, experience, and hopefully prove or kill old coffee myths, while discovering new ones. "There is more to Brazilian coffee than any of us have expe- rienced to date," she says. In coffee there is only one eternal truth and that is that there is no eternal truth. It has been replaced by open minds. You find them in Coffee Lab.