Starbucks Philippines recently conducted a day of learning and exploration about the world of coffee with media partners and top My Starbucks Rewards customers through Starbucks Coffee College. The objective of the journey is to showcase Starbucks heritage as the leading purveyor and roaster of the best Arabica coffee in the world.
The Starbucks Coffee College is a study or coffee journey that took us through the diverse flavors of coffee which are influenced by soil, geographic microclimate, altitude, and production techniques. Starbucks sources coffee from Latin America, Africa and Asia Pacific regions. Different regions produce coffees with distinctive aroma, acidity, flavor and body, which will be unique and complementary to different savory dishes and sweet treats.
Starbucks Single Origin Coffee – unique flavors according to coffee’s birthplace and to appreciate more about it we pair or compare similar taste with peanut, grape fruit and mushroom.
· Relatively full-bodied, with juicy acidity coffees from Kenya are extraordinary and enticing, with floral aromas and flavors of berries and citrus and pair well with grapefruit, oranges, fruit scones and raisins.
· Medium-bodied with medium acidity coffees, such as Guatemala Antigua, tend to be clean, familiar and friendly, with flavors reminiscent of nuts or cocoa and pair well with custard, caramel and semi-sweet chocolate, muffin, curry, lemongrass, eggs with toast and potatoes.
· Sumatra tends to be bold and assertive, full-bodied with earthy and herbal flavors. This pairs well with cheese, oatmeal, mushroom, roast meat and hash browns.
We also learned about the history of coffee and I will share with you a video that I took during the discussion.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvzpyhoK2I0
With its 43-year history of sourcing, roasting, and blending the highest quality coffee in the world, Starbucks sources, sells and serves the top 3% of the world’s high quality Arabica coffee beans, from more than 20 countries, across four continents. Every Starbucks coffee bean is carefully selected, proprietarily roasted and custom blended to bring out the unique flavors of each single-origin coffee, as well as coffee blends that bring out delicious and complex aromas, depth and a variety of roast intensities.
Coffee is naturally an accompaniment to desserts, but the unique nuances of coffee bring out the flavors in savory dishes as well – much like wine. When paired with different food, the flavors dispersed by each coffee can enhance every bite, elevating the culinary experience with memorable taste sensations.
With its 43-year history of sourcing, roasting, and blending the highest quality coffee in the world, Starbucks sources, sells and serves the top 3% of the world’s high quality Arabica coffee beans, from more than 20 countries, across four continents. Every Starbucks coffee bean is carefully selected, proprietarily roasted and custom blended to bring out the unique flavors of each single-origin coffee, as well as coffee blends that bring out delicious and complex aromas, depth and a variety of roast intensities.
Coffee is naturally an accompaniment to desserts, but the unique nuances of coffee bring out the flavors in savory dishes as well – much like wine. When paired with different food, the flavors dispersed by each coffee can enhance every bite, elevating the culinary experience with memorable taste sensations.
We were treated to a 4-course Neo-Filipino cuisine coffee and food pairing lunch conceptualized by Celine Lichauco, Starbucks Philippines, senior category specialist for food and Matt Sanvictores, Starbucks Philippines, senior learning specialist.
The lunch menu featured Filipino dishes with a twist that was delightfully paired with the different coffees of Starbucks. The exciting line-up of dishes started off with a refreshing Grilled Shrimp Salad paired with Starbucks Reserve® Ethiopia Guji Bilida Bukisa Clover Brewed Iced Coffee. It was then followed with a Seafood and Eggplant Cocido paired with Starbucks Tribute® Blend Pressed Coffee, which is distinct for its spicy and full-bodied flavor with berry and dark cherry notes.
The entrée featured a Filipino classic dish with a twist, Adobo sa Balsamic with a trio of chicken, pork and beef adobo, this was also paired with the Starbucks Tribute® Blend Pressed Coffee. We all have room for dessert so we had "Turon sa Halo-Halo" together with a scoop of Mantecado ice cream. Guests were then given a stick of Starbucks VIA Ready Brew Colombia to sprinkle on top of their Mantecado ice cream...yummmm...
The coffee journey continues as the introduction on the different brewing methods at home was introduced like the Pour-Over and the classic Coffee Press. The pour-over brewing method is a beautifully simple and accessible way to brew a single cup of coffee with clean, fully developed flavor and body while a coffee press retains the precious natural oils that paper filters absorb, and extracts the coffee’s full flavor while giving it a consistency that’s thick and rich. In our group I am the one who initiated the pressing job hehhee..and I love it.
The educational coffee journey ended with an exceptional latte art demonstration by 2015 Starbucks Philippines Coffee Ambassador Pao Legaspi.
Thank you Starbucks for the ultimate journey at the Starbucks Coffee College yeay..We all graduated with honors hehee...We are now confident to share with others our coffee passion, which Starbucks embeded with us all. We learned also why you have a passion for serving best cup of coffee for everybody.
