Learn about Q Grading from Jeremy Brooks of Flat Track Coffee - Ep. 2

For Episode 2 of the Angels' Cup Coffee Hunters podcast, we chat with Jeremy Brooks of Flat Track Coffee. Jeremy is Flat Track's Director of Coffee and also a Q grader. Every single coffee you've tried, from Maxwell House to Panama Geisha, has been tasted and graded by a Q grader. It's the most important step in the coffee value chain that most people have never heard of. In a nutshell, Q graders rate coffees on a scale of 60-100, and these scores have a huge impact on the price coffees receive in the market. But Q grading isn't simply a critic's review, it's a highly standardized process of tasting and rating coffees. The goal is to standardize tastings and calibrate the tasters so that the same coffee would receive the same score no matter who's grading it. As you can probably imagine, this is a daunting challenge. And to make matters worse, the point system is extremely specific. A single point makes a huge difference in the final score. A 91pt coffee is considered to be fundamentally different from a 90pt coffee. As a consumer, a system like this might sound ridiculous. How can all these people be tasting coffees and scoring them the same way, all across the world? Well, that's what we hope to find out. The SCAA has a Cupping form that Q graders use to score coffee (download here). You can follow along as we work though each category on the sheet and learn what makes the difference between 7 or 8 points. Even if you're not interested specifically in Q grading, we hope that working through the sheet will help you: * Understand more about how coffee is judged. * Think about coffee more systematically. * Calibrate your own sense of taste so it's easier to share your experience with others. And two quick offers before you go! 1. Save 16% on your first order from Flat Track Coffee with coupon code "angelscup16". 2. Save 25% on your first delivery from Angels' Cup with coupon code "podcast25". Thanks so much for listening! If you like what we're doing, don't forget to subscribe and/or leave us a review.