If you enjoy coffee, this talk will give you a deeper appreciation for all that goes into a great espresso experience. Follow this tantalizing story of how to tease delicate fragrances and complex flavors from coffee into your cup. Through painstaking effort and the science of accurate temperature measurement and years of experimentation, espresso has evolved into a delicious as well as precision culinary art.

David Schomer is the founder of Seattle’s Espresso Vivace, a Seattle area coffee shop and roaster known for its high quality of coffee and roasting practices. Schomer is known within the coffee industry for his innovations, such as how he customizes his grinders and espresso machines to achieve a more constant water temperature, which ultimately leads to a better cup of coffee. Barista and coffee bar owners have traveled to Seattle from as far away as Australia and the UAE to learn from him. He is also credited with developing and popularizing latte art in the US. In 1995, he wrote “Espresso Coffee: Professional Techniques,” and later an updated version “Espresso Coffee 2013.” He has also produced a video course entitled “Caffe Latte Art.”

After several trips to Bali, Asher Yaron finally decided to move there and follow his desire to create a local, organic, sustainable business.

With Balinese coffee farmer friend I Nyoman Wirata, Asher created F.R.E.A.K., that is, "Fresh Roasted Enak (delicious in Indonesian) Arabica from Kintamani," which is involved in all aspects of the coffee business "from the cherry to the cup." Asher also has plans to use pure spring water from Kintamani to further improve the flavor of their coffee and return a percentage of the profits to community projects in the Kintamani region. Asher's upcoming venture: Coffee University.

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.

As a biochemistry major and barista at Beltway Coffee in Abilene, Chandler Graf has a deep passion and appreciation for the integration of science in the art of brewing coffee. Chandler’s TEDxACU talk, filmed at Beltway Coffee and delivered via TED’s live-to-camera video format, shares the science behind choosing the best bag of coffee at the grocery store, making great coffee at home, and even understanding what you’re really ordering the next time you go out for coffee.

Jim Townley started roasting coffee in 2000, with an intense interest in not only how different flavours arise by origin, but also how they can be changed through the process of roasting. Amazed by how much energy roasters require and how much smoke (containing harmful compounds) the roasting process generates, Townley was driven by the sense that there was a missing technological link in the café industry, and so he set out to modernize the coffee roaster. Since then, Jim has invented and produced a nearly smoke-free, ultra-energy efficient, electric roaster.

Mike Fox, co-owner of Blackbeard Coffee Roasters, a specialty coffee roastery and coffee shop in Uptown Greenville, NC, discusses his journey towards becoming a business owner and the definition of a good cup of coffee.
TEDxECU | January 20th, 2018 | Horizons Mike Fox is co-owner of Blackbeard Coffee Roasters, a specialty coffee roastery and coffee shop in Uptown Greenville, North Carolina. He has a B.S. in Accountancy which he earned from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona. He moved to Greenville in 2012, loves Eastern North Carolina, and is excited to see the Greenville area continue to develop into an economic hub in the coming years. He has worked in retail banking at Bank Of America, as an accountant at Arizona Public Service, and as a manager in Student Financial Services at East Carolina University, before setting out as an entrepreneur in the specialty coffee industry. Blackbeard provides handmade coffee, tea, and baked goods in a retail location in Uptown Greenville and coffee for resale to various restaurants, cafes, and organizations. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx