STiR coffee and tea magazine

STiR coffee and tea 59 manufacturers create RTD & Instant products Gentle processing technologies helping Learn More flavourtech.com Are You Looking To Produce MARKET LEADING TEA & COFFEE? Scan the QR code to find out how Aroma Recovery & Brewing Extract Concentration Complete Processing Lines Aroma Concentration with HIGH IMPACT NATURAL FLAVOUR! Improvements in coffee processing have helped Ugandan export volumes and value soar over the last decade. Photo credit: Coffee Quality Institute People weren't speaking the same language before the Q. They couldn't understand each other. But the Q helped us reach a place where there was enough alignment for trade to function and people to understand each other. CQI made a generational commitment to do that, and we succeeded. The PHP program is our next-generation commitment. We will be there to support this journey and build processes that gradually reduce off-flavors and processing-related rejections by first establishing good practices. Then build up to a level of ex- pertise and depth of knowledge where people can begin training others to structure experiments — so we can move into some of the edgier, more revolutionary aspects of processing. STiR: Would you say coffee is evolving in a way similar to wine, where the winemaker is as important as the vineyard? Sheridan: I think that is absolutely what's happening in coffee. And it's incredibly exciting because of the value that it can com- mand in the marketplace. Processing can be a disproportion- ately important part of people's ability to establish their reputa- tions, command value, and gain recognition. Coffee isn't as mature as the wine industry. The number of coffee farmers and farms recognized in a similar manner is limited. And it tends to be limited to mid- to large-sized, quality- focused estates. Which is a great thing for coffee, and it's a great place to start. STiR: What is processing's role within that? Sheridan: The fact that processing can, so dramatically and in a concentrated part of the whole coffee cycle, create such distinc- tive and discernible flavor profiles can make it like a calling card. It's a way to very quickly establish a reputation. But you have to manage the risks. Do you have the market channels to bring experimental coffees to market? Those are big ifs, and we want to be involved with fostering the kinds of relationships in which people innovate responsibly.

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