Activities

We had 3 main experiments that are conducted during the half semester courses in spring 2017: 1) Process Flow of Water Through the Drip Coffee Maker, 2) Effect of Roasting Level on Coffee Acidity, and 3) Grind Size and Mass Transfer of Coffee During Brewing. For each of these, students roasted, ground and brewed their own coffee.

Additionally, students work on projects that have included: creating a digital timeline for coffee, developing a simplified business plan for a coffee venture, running a coffee sale on campus, making ceramic coffee cups, and competing in a coffee tasting contest with one another. We have also taken field trips to Uncommon Coffee of Douglas, MI and Madcap Coffee of Grand Rapids (planned for April 2017), and invited outside speakers, like Matt Scott, owner of Lemonjello's and Ruth Ann Church, coffee importer and graduate student in sustainable development at Michigan State University.

In the fall of 2017 we introduced some new activities, like a lab on water chemistry and its effect on extraction and the taste and aroma of coffee. Students also researched a particular coffee-producing country and gave oral presentations on the role of coffee in its economy over the past 100 years. A field trip was taken to Ferris Coffee in Grand Rapids - they gave us a great overview of running a business in the coffee industry.