Even for baristas, understanding everything that goes into a coffee before it makes it to the roastery can be a bit of a black box. There’s a lot, and the more you learn the more you realize you don’t even know the half of it. Which is why earlier this year Cafe Imports released ED+U, a free six-part educational series covering multiple facets of the coffee supply chain created by US Brewers Cup Champion and CI Head of Education Dylan Siemens.
And as if knowledge wasn’t its own reward, Cafe Imports is providing a little extra incentive in the form of even more knowledge, this time the hands-on variety. Introducing Field Trip, an all-expenses paid origin trip to Costa Rica with the Cafe Imports team to learn more about the production side of coffee. And (almost) all you have to do to enter is complete the six ED+U courses.
Taking place in January of next year, one lucky learner will join Cafe Imports’ Coffee 101 Trip, where they can get firsthand experience with the ED+U curriculum. Along with a small handful of other attendees, they will spend six days touring multiple farms and micromills in two different grown regions in Costa Rica, visiting the Coffee Institute of Costa Rica, cafe crawling around San José, and other events still in the works. And Cafe Imports will foot the bill.
Entry is easy, at least for those already with an appetite for learning. Open to anyone currently working in the coffee industry age 21 and older, applicants must complete all six Coffee Is courses in the ED+U online academy: Coffee Is a Plant, Coffee Is Agriculture, Coffee Is a Process, Coffee Is an Industry, Coffee Is a Science, and Coffee Is an Art. Then, they must complete two essay questions about why they want to go to origin. From there, Cafe Imports will select the winner. Application deadline is November 23rd.
Thus there is no better time than now to enrich your coffee knowledge. Not only will you better understand the inner workings of coffee production and the supply chain, you may actually get a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience it firsthand, for free!
For more information, a complete list of rules, or to begin the application process, visit the Cafe Imports official website.
Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.
