Tax Seal Dragon making coffee.
Because of her love, she gave up the industry and learned coffee knowledge from scratch; Because of her perseverance, she has made continuous efforts to obtain the international authoritative coffee quality appraiser certification, becoming one of only more than 2,000 people in the world; Because of her persistence, she opened an exclusive store to help more people who love coffee and love the coffee business to complete the transformation. Her name is Tax Xilong - a coffee taster who works hard and with affection in the thick of love.
Tiny coffee beans are full of power.
The word coffee originates from a small town called Kaffa in Ethiopia and means "strength and passion" in Greek. Before becoming a coffee taster, he had 2 years of experience. When asked why he made the switch to becoming a coffee taster, he said, "I first chose this industry because of my love for coffee. I've always had a dream to open my own store. I used to be a shy person and a bit of a social phobia, but after making coffee, I need to communicate with others and pass on my understanding of coffee to others, which requires me to change myself. ”
Yes, change. This may be the sense of power that is in the small coffee beans. In this process, Shui Xilong slowly discovered that the same coffee beans will taste different from each other, and each brew can bring different pleasure and freshness. The most important thing is that the small coffee beans can be brewed with Baiwei. She was fascinated and was curious about coffee all the time, which opened the door to a new world for her.
There are many levels of "bitterness" in coffee, such as the hundred flavors of life.
After 12 years in the industry, Shui Xilong feels that coffee is more like an old friend of hers, who understands each other very well. Just like she understands that there are many levels of "bitterness" in coffee, which needs to be tasted carefully, just like the flavors of life.
Many people have the impression that a coffee taster is a barista, but in fact, a coffee taster is a profession that specializes in the identification and evaluation of coffee quality. They need to have an extraordinary sense of observation, smell and taste, and be able to deduce the roast and freshness of coffee by observing the color and oil status of the coffee; Capture the complex aroma of coffee through the sense of smell, and distinguish different flavors such as fruity, floral, and nutty; From the taste taste, it is possible to accurately analyze the body, acidity, bitterness and sweetness of the mouthfeel, so as to make an accurate assessment of the overall quality of the coffee. So, becoming a professional coffee taster is not easy.
At present, there are about 2,000 registered coffee tasters in the world, and they are certified and proofread every three years, and the cost of signing up for training and exams is also a big expense. In addition to having a solid basic knowledge of coffee, baristas who take the exam must have a keen sense of smell and taste, and be able to identify and grade their respective qualities in a number of different beans.
With diligence, hard work and enthusiasm, Shui Xilong has tasted the "bitterness" of coffee at all levels. In 2011, she entered the coffee industry, and in 2015 she was admitted to the Q-Grader (Arabica Specialty Coffee Quality Grading Taster), and has completed 2 proofreadings, with a third in 2024. In her words, if you want to stay in this industry all the time, you need to learn not only coffee tasting, but also roasting and a series of related industry knowledge, so as to ensure the systematic improvement of your professional level, and to better help those who like coffee as much as she likes and wants to do coffee as a career.
Undiminished enthusiasm Influencing more people around you.
Talking about the development of the coffee industry in Lanzhou, Shui Xilong said that when she first entered the coffee industry, Lanzhou's coffee industry was not favored by the public, and there were only a few cafes in Lanzhou, such as Shangdao and the Bund. But later, the coffee industry slowly took root in Lanzhou, and more and more people opened independent cafes. From 2015 to 2019, the tea industry in Lanzhou began to rise, and then Luckin Coffee entered the Lanzhou market, coffee became more popular and popular, and the equipment of baristas and coffee shops became more and more professional. Lanzhou's coffee industry is gradually on the right track.
I now devote more time to the training of baristas, from the most basic grinding coffee beans, foaming, to being able to make coffee and taste coffee completely, this is a complete system, and it is impossible to do without a link. So in my opinion, it's not that you can do it, but you have to look at it comprehensively. Tax Xilong said.
Now, the company regularly organizes or takes students to participate in barista competitions. Last year, she also participated in the review of the 2023 China Pu'er Coffee Cup World Siphon Pot Competition Lanzhou Division. In her mind, competitions, especially international competitions, are a rare opportunity for baristas to gain knowledge and learn from other competitors. "I hope that the ecology of Lanzhou's coffee industry will get better and better, and the barista group will become more and more professional. In the eyes of the tax dragon, you can still see a lot of enthusiasm and strength. She is like a cup of passionate coffee, with a pervasive aroma, influencing more people around her to taste the beauty of coffee together.
Reporter Wang Xuan, Liu Yilin, Shi Yuhan, Wentu.