Written by Elisa Santana PHOTO: Jillian Sipkins | 08 March 2010

José López-Acevedo could make a good cup of coffee with his eyes closed: intrinsically roasting coffee beans, grabbing the cup and filling it to perfection. “If the barista doesn’t know what they’re doing, then they will ruin your cup of coffee…Every stage, from seed to drink affects how your coffee tastes,” he says.

 

López-Acevedo, 37, a communications technician, temporarily moved to the Chicago area in 2005 when he was asked by the U.S. Government to take part in a project involving radio frequencies. During his stay, he ended up meeting his future wife, Jennifer, at a Mexican restaurant. The two got married and moved to Rolling Meadows, Illinois. López-Acevedo says settling down gave him the perfect opportunity to spew out all his knowledge about coffee. López-Acevedo, a certified barista through the International Academy of Specialty Coffee, is currently teaching a class at Harper College in Palatine, Illinois on everything coffee.

Coffee has been a part of his life since an early age. “I’ve been involved with coffee since I was six or seven years old,” says López-Acevedo. “I became very familiarized with the process of cultivating.”

This expert’s knowledge of coffee bean cultivation came from the time he spent roaming through coffee fields in Puerto Rico with his grandfather, who was a plant manager in a coffee plantation. That process involves planting coffee seeds, waiting about three years for the plants to grow and then harvesting the coffee beans once a year, López-Acevedo says. He had his first cup of coffee when he was 8 years old, and enjoyed every drop of it.

Although he is an avid coffee drinker, his interest lies primarily in the planting and processing of the beverage. “Most people associate coffee with the drink, I associate it with the plant,” he says.

This expertise led López-Acevedo to do consulting and marketing for a coffee company in Puerto Rico. “While working with them, I was at one of the biggest food trade shows in Barcelona, and everyone claimed they had the best cup of coffee,” he said. “There were marketing gimmicks everywhere.”

According to him, the problem is that many people don’t have the proper coffee education to make a decision on what is the best coffee bean needed to make the best cup of coffee. “Coffee is enjoyed in the United States and Europe, but is not primarily produced there, so people have a limited knowledge of the process,” he says. “In order to make a good selection they should know what it’s all about.”

After finishing his stint for the U.S. Government and finally settling down he turned his knowledge of how to make a good cup of coffee into a course at Harper College. López-Acevedo says his hopes were that at the end of the class his students would be able to pick the coffee beans of their choice, roast and make their very own cup of coffee at home.

López-Acevedo says that he first educates his students on the different origins and types of coffee. Coffee comes from three regions: “the Americas, Africa and the Pacific…Within these regions, there are two types of coffee beans, arabica and robusta,” he explains.

Arabica beans are grown in high altitudes. They produce the flavorful and aromatic coffee that you see mainly in the specialty coffee industry. On the other hand, robusta beans are grown in low altitudes and have more caffeine, but less flavor. Once students know what they like, they can choose beans from different origins and begin learning how to use a home roaster.

One particular group of López-Acevedo’s students is always eager to make coffee. “In every class or presentation, senior citizens will bring their own roaster or try to buy all the equipment I have,” says López-Acevedo. “You have to slow them down because they need to learn what they are doing.”

Although his class consists of only three, 90-minute sessions, there is much to be learned. López-Acevedo says that he also goes to people’s homes to educate through private parties.

The coffee instructor also has his own coffee brand: Don López. “The brand is registered here in the state of Illinois,” he says. “We use Colombian supreme beans. ‘Don’ means sir in Spanish and it’s an honor to my grandfather.” In the future, he hopes to commercialize his blend for supermarkets.

Another goal of López-Acevedo is to write and publish a how-to book about coffee. He says it’s all about increasing awareness about coffee, even if it means spilling a few secrets.

He says he is always asked if Starbucks, McDonald’s or other commercial coffee retailers have good coffee and who has the best. “The best coffee is the coffee you like,” says López-Acevedo.

So, how does this coffee expert and educator like his café? “I like the double shot espresso with no sugar on it,” he says. “You can taste the coffee you’re drinking better, and when I go to the coffee shop I like to taste what they have to offer.”

INFOBOX

For a video demonstration on how to roast coffee at home, visit http://goforward.harpercollege.edu/page.cfm?p=5535

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