#32: Where Is Ripeness? Lessons From Brazil on Brix & Color

Our sugar journey is almost complete as we round out the third installment in the Brix series. I hope the previous podcast episodes helped open your mind to some of the challenges we face in talking about sugar in the coffee industry. Today's episode focuses on ripeness and how counterintuitively sometimes measuring Brix can lead to lower quality coffee. And to help illustrate this point I'm sharing a lesson from one of my favorite industries: the cork industry. Specifically cork wine stoppers. In 2013 I was invited to visit Portugal as part of a Quality Control trip on behalf of the winery I worked for. In this episode we will talk about Brix and fruit maturity (ripeness), I will discuss the results of research done on a Brazilian coffee farm and we will see if there isn't a better instrument than a refractometer to help us look inside the coffee fruit and determine what will make a quality cup of coffee. Support the show on Patreon and get access to research papers. Sign up for the newsletter for behind the scenes pictures. Cover Art by: Nick Hafner Intro song: Elijah Bisbee Mentioned in the Episode: Worms and Germs Video Presentation Comedy Skits: these are weird but hey, maybe you're weird too. SNL Cork Soakers Skit John C Riley Sweet Berry Wine Skit Free conference by The Barista League: High Density Digital Conference Support the show