INDUSTRY Resources
Raise the Bar is a nonprofit organization committed to building a more equitable and sustainable specialty coffee industry by investing in barista education, leadership development, and access to opportunity. We create pathways for learning, growth, and connection. Especially for those historically left out of traditional coffee institutions.
Education is at the core of everything we do.
Cafe Import’s role in the coffee industry allows them to be students and teachers in every facet of the chain, from the producer level all the way to the barista. They believe that sharing knowledge, experiences, and learning opportunities is the key to creating and sustaining a progressive specialty-coffee industry, and we’re committed to sharing whatever we have and whatever we know with the greater coffee community.
The educational materials available on this platform are here for you to use and share, as well as open to feedback so that we can learn together: We hope that these resources will help you gain insight and inspiration as you continue on your journey through specialty coffee. Enjoy!
SENSORY
These resources will help to sharpen sensory awareness, improve vocabulary, and build calibration among participants. By practicing the identification and description of distinct flavors, aromas, and tactile qualities will strengthen connections to these sensory experiences commonly encountered in coffee and beyond.
Sensory Lexicon
A tool for understanding and measuring coffee’s flavors and aromas. The largest collaborative research project on coffee's flavors and aromas ever done.
Created at the Sensory Analysis Center at Kansas State University, the lexicon identifies 110 flavor, aroma, and texture attributes present in coffee, and provides references for measuring their intensity. The purpose of the lexicon is to advance our understanding of coffee quality and how it is created, so that we may continue to increase it.
The lexicon isn't just the culmination of scientific work, it is an enabler of future research. World Coffee Research is using the lexicon to analyze coffee samples from multiple research projects in conjunction with chemical and genetic analysis in order to understand the origins of coffee quality.
Sensory Analysis by Tim Wendelboe
Tim Wendelboe is the 2004 World Barista Champion, 2005 World Cup Tasters Champion. and eight time winner of the Nordic Roasting Championship.
In this video, Tim demonstrates how to train the palate with exercises you can perform at home.