La Taza Habla

Part 3: Unlocking the Secrets of Smell: From Matches to Memory to Coffee

In this intriguing episode of The Nose, we delve into the fascinating world of our olfactory system and its profound impact on our lives. Discover how old-timers used a simple box of matches as a tool to clear the air, and why certain scents can instantly transport you back to childhood memories, like the aroma of freshly baked cookies. Explore the essential role of smell in human survival throughout history, from detecting danger in Neolithic times to enhancing cinematic experiences in the 1950s.

Join us as we unravel the mystery of how your olfactory system begins its work long before your first breath, shaping your flavor perceptions and emotional connections. Learn about the twin pathways of smell, orthonasal and retronasal, and how they come into play every time you enjoy a cup of coffee. This episode will change the way you think about scents, memories, and the profound connection between smell and taste.

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5 Key Takeaways :

1. Your Olfactory System is Primal and Powerful: It's not just for enjoying nice smells; it's deeply wired for survival, memory, and emotion, influencing you even before birth.
2. Smell is the Gatekeeper of Flavor: Much of what we perceive as "taste" is actually aroma detected by our olfactory system, especially through retronasal olfaction when eating or drinking.
3. There are Two Distinct Ways to Smell: Orthonasal (sniffing directly) gives you the initial "fragrance," while retronasal (aromas from your mouth to your nasal cavity during/after a sip) provides the deeper "aroma" and flavor complexity in coffee.
4. Coffee Offers a Two-Part Scent Journey: The "fragrance" of dry coffee grounds is different from the "aroma" released when hot water meets the grounds and when you taste it. Paying attention to both enhances appreciation.
5. You Can Train Your Nose: Understanding the mechanics of smell allows you to consciously engage your olfactory system, improving your ability to discern and enjoy the nuances in specialty coffee.

3 Questions:

1. What's a coffee aroma that instantly transports you to a specific memory or place? Share your story!
2. Have you ever noticed the difference between the fragrance of dry coffee grounds and the aroma once it's brewed? What changes did you perceive?
3. Have you ever been caught off guard by a smell in your coffee—something unexpected, yet unforgettable? What was it?

Olfactory Activity

Want a firsthand demonstration of how powerful your sense of smell really is? Grab a few flavored jelly beans and a science buddy.

1. Close your eyes, pinch your nose, and hold out your hand.

2. Have your partner place a jelly bean in your palm (no peeking!).

3. Still keeping your nose pinched, pop the jelly bean in your mouth and start chewing.

4. It’ll taste like nothing more than sweetness… at first.

5. Now, release your nose about a third of the way through—and get ready. Suddenly, the true flavor (peach? popcorn? cotton candy?) will rush in.

That dramatic shift? That’s retronasal olfaction—your nose and brain working together to decode flavor once scent is reintroduced. It’s a simple, fun way to experience just how much we rely on smell to truly taste.

Glossary

Coffee-Specific Terms

Fragrance
The smell of coffee before brewing—light scents released from dry grounds.

Aroma
The smell released during and after brewing—the full coffee experience.

Volatile compounds
Scent molecules that easily become airborne and reach your nose.

Core Anatomy Terms

Olfactory system: Your body’s complete smell detection network—from nose to brain.

Olfactory receptors: Tiny "smell detectors" in your nose that catch scent molecules.

Olfactory bulb: Your brain's "smell processing center" that sorts and sends smell signals.

Nasal cavity: The hollow space inside your nose where smell detection happens.

Limbic system: The emotional control center of your brain that links smells to memories and feelings.

 

Part 2: What Makes Coffee Good—And How Do They Know?

Join La Taza Habla as we embark on a fascinating 20-year journey into the world of specialty coffee, challenging deeply ingrained notions of "quality." This episode unpacks the intriguing paradox between objective quality, like that of a well-made knife, and the often subjective, performative "quality" applied to coffee. We explore how global definitions of excellent coffee are frequently excluded from mainstream narratives, often due to market leverage. Discover how terms like "ethical," "direct trade," and "sustainable" can sometimes mask power imbalances in the bean to cup journey, leading to farmwashing and greenwashing. From coffee origin to coffee roasting, we scrutinize whose voices define "quality" in the specialty coffee industry and ask: can we redefine quality to be more inclusive, embracing context, culture, and community beyond cupping scores and café aesthetics? This episode promises to shift your perspective on what "good" coffee truly means.

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5 Takeaways:

1. Objective vs. Subjective Quality: Unlike a knife, where quality is objectively measurable (e.g., metallurgy, durability), coffee "quality" is often subjective, performative, and heavily influenced by cultural and market biases.
2. The "Quality" Illusion in Coffee: The coffee industry markets "quality" as an objective standard (e.g., numbers, labels, "specialty" badges), but it's largely defined by Western preferences and buyer gatekeeping, ignoring diverse global understandings.
3. Excluded Voices: Many cultures have their own discerning definitions of good coffee, but these are frequently excluded from mainstream conversations due to a lack of market leverage, not insight.
4. Structural Power Imbalance: Those who define coffee quality are typically buyers, roasters, and marketers, not the growers, cultural stewards, or non-Western consumers, leading to practices like farmwashing and greenwashing.
5. Rethinking Quality: True "quality" in coffee should be re-evaluated to be more expansive, informed by context, culture, and community, moving beyond narrow cupping scores or café aesthetics.

3 Questions:

1. How has your personal definition of "quality coffee" evolved, especially after considering the episode's insights on subjectivity and cultural bias?
2. Can you think of other products or experiences where "quality" is marketed as objective but is, in fact, highly subjective or culturally influenced?
3. What steps do you think consumers can take to better understand the true origins and definitions of coffee quality, beyond marketing labels?

Glossary:

1. "Farmwashing": Using misleading imagery of happy farmers or ethical practices to hide unfair labor conditions or exploitative trade.
2.  "Greenwashing": Exaggerating environmental claims or presenting misleading eco-friendly information to appear more sustainable than a company truly is. 
3. "Q-Grader Certification": A professional certification for coffee tasters, signifying a high level of sensory evaluation skill. Q-graders learn a standardized system to assess coffee quality based on specific attributes like aroma, flavor, acidity, and body. 
4. "Cupping Session": A standardized method for evaluating coffee quality, where tasters systematically assess roasted coffee brewed in specific proportions, usually in a series of cups. 
5. "Cup Score": A numerical rating given to coffee during a cupping session, based on a standardized scoring sheet. A higher score typically indicates more desirable characteristics according to the cupping protocol. 
6. "Roast Profile": The specific roasting process a coffee undergoes, which impacts its flavor, aroma, and body. Different roast profiles (e.g., light, medium, dark) highlight different characteristics of the bean.

 

Part 1: If Coffee Could Talk, What Would It Say?

Have you ever wished you could understand the story behind your daily coffee? In this episode, we journey from a sun-drenched coffee farm in Costa Rica's Valley of the Saints to a bustling Zocalo in Mexico to explore a profound idea: "La Taza Habla" - The Cup Speaks. Host [Don Cox], drawing on 20 years in the specialty coffee industry, shares a transformative moment with a coffee farmer that changed how he tastes coffee forever. This isn't about technical cupping notes; it's about learning how to listen to your coffee.

Discover a simple yet powerful framework to unlock the rich narrative hidden in your mug. We explore how to identify a coffee's personality—is it safe or spunky?—and connect its flavor to your own memories, colors, and food experiences. This episode is the first in a special series on how to taste coffee, designed to help you move beyond just sipping and start a real conversation with your brew. Learn to recognize the coffee flavor story from farm to cup and develop a deeper appreciation for your specialty coffee.

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Key Takeaways

1. Your Coffee Has a Personality: Think beyond flavor notes. Is your coffee adventurous and "spunky," or is it comforting and "safe"? Framing it this way instantly connects you to its character.

2. Flavor is Tied to Memory: The aromas and tastes in your cup can transport you. Let your mind wander to a place, a person, or an experience. This personal connection is a key part of the coffee's story for you.

3. Use Your Existing "Flavor Vocabulary": You don't need to be a professional taster. Your everyday experiences with food—like cinnamon rolls, toast, or berries—are a rich library for describing what you're tasting.

4. Listen Actively: Just like learning a new language, tasting coffee requires you to slow down, pay attention, and focus. This simple shift can transform your experience.

5. There Are No Wrong Answers: Your interpretation of a coffee's color, personality, or associated memory is uniquely yours. This approach is about personal discovery, not objective analysis.

Start your conversation with these four questions:

1. Do you like your coffee safe or spunky? 
2. Does it remind you of a place or experience?
3. If this coffee were a color, what would it be?
4. What food does this remind you of?

A Pirate, an Envoy, and a Plant: The Scandalous Secret of The Caribbean

Season 1 -Episode 4

In this last episode of a three part series on the global cultivation of coffee, we delve into the extraordinary tale of Gabriel De Clou, the French naval officer who risked everything to introduce coffee to the Caribbean. Discover his audacious mission to smuggle a coffee plant across the perilous Atlantic, facing pirates, jealous passengers, and life-threatening conditions.

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"Mexico's Coffee Crossroads: Weather, Tariffs & the Future of Your Morning Cup"

Season 1 - Episode 3

In this special episode of "La Taza Habla," join Bald Guy and his guest, Jacob Frankel, from San Cristobal Coffee Importers, as they discuss how weather, tariffs, and the current instability in Mexico will not only impact local coffee growers but the coffee industry worldwide. This episode offers insights into the inner workings of coffee production and echoes the sentiment of "doing the most good with the least amount of harm", while safeguarding the quality and traceability of your morning coffee.

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• Travel the World from Your Kitchen Table: Bald Guy Brew Coffee Roasting Co.
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"La Taza Habla: My Coffee Journey and How Simple Math Changed Everything"

Season 1 - Episode 0

Master the simple coffee technique that redefined mornings for Bald Guy Brew founder Don Cox. Follow his Java Journey from childhood curiosity to coffee roasting mastery." 

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"From Sacred Smuggling to India's Coffee Legacy: The Untold Coffee Saga"

Season 1 - Episode 2

Journey to 17th century India where a daring Sufi monk's seven smuggled coffee beans changed history. Discover how this sacred theft cultivated a global coffee movement that spread from Indian shores to Indonesian islands.

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"Goats, Rituals, and Legacy: How Ethiopia changed the world!"

Join your host, Don Cox (The Bald Guy), on a deep dive into the legendary and spiritual origin of coffee—Ethiopia, the true birthplace of the Coffea Arabica species. This episode moves beyond the daily coffee ritual to explore the foundation of the specialty coffee world. We start in the Kaffa region with the famous Legend of Kaldi, the goat herder whose unusually energetic, dancing goats led him to the stimulating bright red coffee cherries. More than just a charming tale, Ethiopia holds an unmatched genetic pool of wild Arabica coffee varieties, creating flavor profiles you won't find anywhere else.

Discover how coffee was consumed for centuries before it was brewed—from energy balls mixed with ghee to fermented wine. The true heart of this journey is the Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony (Jabena Buna). This unhurried, multi-sensory process—involving the symbolic washing, the public smelling of the fresh coffee roasting, and the final three-cup service (Abel, Tona, Baraka) in the beautiful jabena clay pot—is a powerful tradition of hospitality and community. Learn why adding a pinch of salt or butter to your cup is actually a nod to ancient traditions, and how this simple beverage continues to bridge divides across cultures and religions. Slow down, be present, and let the 20 years of expertise from La Taza Habla change the way you see your morning brew.

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• Travel the World from Your Kitchen Table: Bald Guy Brew Coffee Roasting Co.

Key Takeaways 

1. Arabica’s Wild Home: The species of coffee we overwhelmingly consume, Coffea Arabica, originates and still grows wild in Ethiopia, which is why the country boasts a vast, unmatched genetic diversity, producing incredibly unique flavors.

2. Brewing Was an Accident: Coffee was originally consumed by Ethiopians in the form of whole beans (chewed) or mixed with animal fat (ghee) and rolled into energy balls for sustenance, centuries before the stimulating drink we know was discovered.

3. The Jabena Buna is a Spiritual Experience: The Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony is a three-hour ritual of unhurried hospitality, led by a young woman or matriarch, using the distinctive jabena clay pot. It involves washing, roasting (and smelling!), hand-grinding, and serving three rounds: Abel (strongest), Tona (lighter), and Baraka (the blessing).

4. A Ceremony of Respect: Refusing to smell the beans when passed around by the host is considered impolite, demonstrating the deep cultural importance of the ritual's sensory elements. The youngest child serves the oldest guest first, a physical manifestation of respect.

5. Ancient Additions: If you enjoy cream, sugar, salt, or butter in your coffee, you are connecting with coffee's oldest traditions! Early consumption often mixed coffee with ghee or honey to balance the natural bitterness.