KANSAS CITY, Mo., U.S. — After six days of rigorous classes, presentations and more than 20 exams, Parisi Artisan Coffee’s Head Roaster Jonathan Rodick received one of the highest industry honors when he was awarded the Q Grader Accreditation from the Coffee Quality Institute last month. Rodick is one of about 4,400 Q Graders worldwide.
“I can take what I learned through the Q Grader program, to know exactly what I’m tasting and ensure that the Parisi Coffee we’re roasting is the best quality it can be,” Rodick said.
The Q Grader Accreditation Program was established in 2004 as a method of standardizing coffee quality grading. The system quantifies taste attributes such as acidity, body, flavor, aftertaste, uniformity, balance, sweetness etc. to ensure all “graders” are identifying flavor characteristics consistently.
By using the Q system, coffee buyers can communicate quality through the coffee supply chain from the farmer to the exporter to the roaster. By applying a score to a coffee, everyone involved in the process understands the quality of that coffee.
The course is six consecutive days and combines classes, lectures and presentations with a set of 22 exams – all of which must be passed in three days to become an accredited Q Grader. The course must take place in a lab that has been approved by the SCAA with a certified instructor.
“It is a grueling experience both physically and mentally because it demands so much of your senses,” Rodick said. “As part of the test, we were asked to make decisions calmly and quickly based on the expertise of our taste buds.”
Rodick is the head roaster at Parisi Artisan Coffee where he has worked for the past two years. His passion for coffee began when he started in the business as an apprentice for PT’s Coffee in Topeka, Kan. He also worked on a rural coffee farm in Columbia for two years.
As head roaster, Rodick is responsible for Parisi’s customer and employee coffee education programs as well as assessing and validating the quality of all Parisi Artisan Coffee products.
About Parisi Artisan Coffee
Kansas City-based Parisi Artisan Coffee first began roasting coffee in Kansas City in 2006 by a longtime local Italian family who had established several successful artisan food companies under the parent company, Paris Brothers Inc.
All Parisi coffees are small-batch, drum roasted at the company’s Kansas City production facility off Southwest Boulevard near the historic Crossroads Arts District. Parisi Artisan Coffee is available in restaurants and hospitality businesses throughout the Midwest region as well as in region grocery and specialty stores.
Parisi also operates the Parisi Café at Union Station in Kansas City, Mo. where they handcraft espresso, coffee, tea, cocktails and other beverages as well as offer breakfast, lunch and dessert items.
