Fandom High School

"For our final class of this session," said Ignis, standing in the front of the classroom with the usual assortment of various coffees and cups, "I'd like to almost go a little full circle, but in a way that expands further on something we've touched on a little bit through each class, and that is the art of coffee tasting. Just as with tasting wines, tasting coffee can sometime require a refined palate, but it is also a palate that can be trained, but only if you know what to look for. We've done a little light comparison and consideration in our tastings throughout the course, but our attention has mostly been in difference in preparation styles and methods, and noticing the more obvious differences, like between, say, a light roast and a dark roast. Today, I'd like to leave you with the tools to go beyond the surface level and into the deeper layers of notes and flavors in a coffee, with an intensive overview of what to seek out when you sip.

"Before me, I've got variety of some of the highest regarded coffee roasts known to this world, one of which," he smiled briefly, "should already be familiar to you. We will have a tasting, and, in doing so, we will break down the essentials for how to do a proper coffee tasting and the finer points of notes and how to find them.

"So, with that...." He began to pour from the first carafe, "let us all come grab a cup and enjoy while we learn..."

"Last week," said Ignis, once class was ready to begin, "I briefly mentioned that instant coffee can sometimes be helpful with recipehs, especially baking, and, this week, I'd actually like to expand a little bit on the that idea, in that coffee, while most commonly, and arguably most effectively, consumed as a beverage, often shines when used as key ingredient in dishes both savory and sweet. Today, then, I'd like to explore ways to utilize coffee in various culinary pursuits.

"I know many of you," there was a soft touch of an appreciative smile there, "already possess a deft hand in cooking, while I"m sure som eof you might not possess a strong skill in that direction. So I have not only chosen a few recipehs that I hope cover a wide range from simple to challenging, but I also invite you to divest from these suggestions entirely with your own ideas and inspiration. Essentially, there are no wrong answers here, just an attempt to explore and appreciate, and if you're needing assistance, well, that is why I am here.

"And, if you're interested in the recipes I've brought for you today, we'll fire up the grill for some nice coffee-rubbed ribs with a coffee barbeque sauce, we've a lovely grilled greens salad with a coffee vinaigrette, and a nice, easy coffee mousse for dessert. If you have other ideas for yourself, though, I would be thrilled to see what you might bring to the table."

Nothing like a good pun to get things started, no? And if you weren't hungry when you showed up, Ignis was certainly hoping you were now.

Ignis' own students would have also received a bit of correspondence regarding their lesson this week, and although the fact that he now had a paramour-turned-cat that he was not about to just leave to her own devices had him contemplating a quick change in his lesson plan, the arrangements of everything had been too much to just turn around and cancel or postpone them. So it was back to the original plan, only this time with a cat, and that meant meeting outside of Portalocity this week.

Probably looking not unlike some kind of spy thriller movie villain, with his distinct style and holding said cat to scritch behind her ears as he spoke, Ignis was just going to assume everyone had gathered in time and began. "This history of coffee on this plane," he began, "stretches back thousands of years and traces back to a country known as Ethiopia. Now, I myself am not particularly partial to Ethiopian coffee; they tend to lean more toward brighter, fruiter, and floral notes, while I prefer darker, smokier, and earthier, but there's no denying that, over centuries, they'd definitely well-established their position in the coffee world. The legend has it that coffee comes to us, actually, from a simple goat herder named Kaldi, who, upon observing how his goats seemed more energetic after eating certain beans that grew naturally in the area, explored this concept further and developed coffee as we know it today. From there, it spread to the Arabian peninsula, where it quickly worked its way into markets as a commodity and cultural staple.

"Today," he said, "we're going to the origins, and visiting the Yirgacheffe region of Ethiopia, to see the process of how the coffee is grown and cultivated, to have the opportunity to speak with some of the farmers themselves, get a first-hand understanding of what all goes into bringing this beloved bean to our mugs, and, of course, to try some of the coffee right at the source."

He gave a faint smile.

"Not a bad way to spend an afternoon. And so, without further ado, we'll head out. I trust you'll all be well-behaved and respectful and hopefully learn some new things. And, even if you're already well aware of Ethiopian coffee production, then at least you'll have some good brew while we're there."