Structure First — Coffee

The 20-Session
Coffee Course

Coffee has no single spine. Its character is built by a chain — variety, origin, processing, roast, and extraction — where no one link dominates. This course keeps them separate so you can taste a flavor and name its cause, then fix a bad cup with one compass. Your progress across all seven files is tracked below.

0 of 20 sessions complete
Progress can't be saved in this view. Open the files in your browser (or your hosted site) to keep scores and completion.
A · Foundations & Cupping
The chain, the palate, and the tasting method.
✓01What coffee is + the Cupping Instrument→ ✓02Calibration & the flavor wheel→
B · Processing & Roasting
The two biggest flavor-shapers before it reaches you.
✓03From cherry to green bean→ ✓04Washed / natural / honey→ ✓05The roast spectrum→ ✓06Reading a roast→
C · Origin & Variety
The raw genetic and geographic material.
✓07Species & varietals→ ✓08Origins & terroir→
D · The Category Map
The landscape of coffee forms — your #1 priority, the largest block.
✓09Filter vs espresso→ ✓10Espresso & the milk-drink map→ ✓11Single-origin vs blend→ ✓12Specialty vs commodity→ ✓13Global traditions & reading the bag→
E · Brewing & Extraction
The step that's yours — expanded, because it's where good beans get made or wasted.
✓14Extraction theory→ ✓15The four levers→ ✓16Dialing in & troubleshooting→ ✓17Pour-over / filter technique→ ✓18Espresso technique→
F · Comparative & Consolidation
Isolate one variable, then tie the chain together.
✓19Comparative technique→ ✓20Consolidation & final→
Sourcing Companion
Gear, beans, and the session mapping.
LListThe Coffee Sourcing Checklist→

How to use this course

Twenty sessions, roughly 40 minutes each. Do them in order — the chain builds on itself, and the brewing block assumes the processing and roast blocks. Each session has a tasting instrument or tool, a short "do this now" step, a quiz, and flashcards. Progress saves in your browser per session.

The honest caveat — the one thing this can't give you
Coffee is the second subject in this series where you perform the final step yourself — extraction — and it's the least forgiving. No course can supply the coffee, the grinder, or the reps. Treat the reading as the map and the cup in front of you as the territory; the "do this now" steps only work if you actually brew.
On the chain — read a flavor to its cause
The core discipline: don't call a coffee "bad." Ask which link failed — a field/processing defect, a roast fault, or an extraction error — because each has a different fix. Acidity is a virtue (brightness, not sourness); bitterness is usually roast or extraction, not the bean; and strength (concentration) is not the same as extraction (how much you dissolved).
On grading — this is changing right now
Session 12 covers the SCA's shift to the Coffee Value Assessment (superseding the 2004 cupping form). The 80-point "specialty" reference still circulates, but the framework is a live transition from a single score to a multi-dimensional profile. Treat specific scoring claims as current-as-of-now and worth verifying.

After the course

Recognition is the beginning of skill, not the end. To go deeper:

Additional Readings

Definitive guides to coffee geography, manual brewing, and roasting: