The connoisseur syndrome

Chemex, Bodum, cupping, washed brewing, honey or natural brewing—when you work in the coffee industry, the various concepts and principles seem obvious. Being exposed to this reality daily, we tend to take this knowledge for granted. But sometimes, it's important to go back to basics and make sure everyone is on the same page.

Coffee, a fruit

As many of you know, coffee comes from a fruit, a cherry, which itself comes from a shrub in the Rubiaceae family. Depending on where it grows, this plant produces one or two flowering periods per year; these flowering periods, like those of our apple trees, result in the creation of a small, sweet fruit: the coffee cherry. Once harvested, this cherry goes through several stages of processing.

We went to Costa Rica to witness these transformations firsthand, accompanied by Andrée Robitaille for the program Entrée Principale. As you will see for yourselves, the journey to your cup of coffee can be longer than you might think!