Barista Magazine

Latest ?? for Barista Magazine . I was honoured to interview Trish Rothgeb and grateful to get a glimpse into the world, thoughts, and early beginnings of a person who is one of the pioneers of specialty coffee. You can read the interview at the link below, but I’m dropping one of the Q&As here for a taste. In the interview we also covered how she famously coined the term “third wave”, what Q Grading was originally about, and so much more. “Sarah Charles: You're a pretty iconic figure in the coffee industry, with over 30 years of experience in diverse coffee roles. Can you tell me briefly about how you started, and what led you to Q Grading? Trish Rothgeb: I started roasting coffee way before it became a cool thing to do. I spent some time in Norway in the late 1990s, at the epicenter of the specialty-coffee movement. That's kind of how I came up with the "third wave" concept, because I saw things shifting in a way that we had never seen before. I wanted to become a Q Grader because as a young woman in the business, I'd show up at a roasting facility, or a cupping table, [only to] be immediately dismissed. I had a desire to prove myself through certification. A lot of it was about testing your sensory perception, your ability to do your job in a way that would shut everybody up. I found it incredibly compelling to show up and do that, not just for myself, but for all the people being dismissed. Getting certified was a great moment for me. I was the first woman Q Grader in the U.S., seventh in total, and became an instructor in 2008.” Read at link below: https://lnkd.in/gFt48PV8