There's something brewing at K&F Select Fine Coffees. And no, it's not the specialty coffee they've been handpicking since 1983 or the fact that the Portland-based company has offered an organic coffee selection even before "organic" became the new buzzword in the industry almost 20 years later.
It's the company founder and head Roastmaster Don Dominguez and his new certification that he gets to hang on his wall. Of course, while the piece of paper is a big deal, how Dominguez got to become a "certified professional coffee Q Grader" by the Coffee Quality Institute is even more amazing.
After three days of testing and to achieve his certification, Dominguez passed 22 challenging sensory tests in which he consistently distinguished brewed coffees from each major coffee-growing region by taste and smell, and proved his ability to grade coffee according to established criteria.
"The whole purpose of this certification is to better understand specialty grade coffees and help growers know why and how to create a better coffee, ultimately helping the consumer in the end," remarked Dominguez.
Dominguez, a third-generation coffee purveyor, is now one of 100 Licensed Q Graders in the United States and one of 801 worldwide.
Coffee, to say the least, is part of the Dominguez lineage as his father was in the coffee business for 50 years as a taster, buyer and blender for a large coffee company. His great-grandfather was a captain of a schooner and was stationed outside of San Francisco. Captain Fredrickson sailed the world in the late 19th century buying the world's finest coffees.
"There are three generations in every cup," mentioned Dominguez.
Dominguez personally selects, buys and samples every batch of Arabica beans that arrives at K&F Select Fine Coffees' door.
Here are a few tips from Dominguez to follow when selecting your favorite roast:
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Remember that coffee flavor comes from the caramelization of the bean so lighter roasts will allow you to taste the integrity of the bean and dark roasts will have spent too much time being roasted and it'll be difficult to distinguish flavors over the carbon-like taste from these
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The nose knows, meaning listen to your nose as you can't taste without it
- Full-bodied means after the coffee touches the roof of your month and settles on your tongue... how long does the taste linger (longer equals full-bodied)
Pick up one of K&F's BellaSelva Organic Coffees at:
- Clinton Street Coffeehouse: 2706 SE 26th Ave; 503-238-2547
- Union Block Coffee (McMinnville): 403 E. 3rd St.; 503-472-0645
- City Coffee: 932 Southwest 4th Avenue, Portland - (503) 223-2885
- All Portland area Whole Foods store
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