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Getting Educated About Coffee at the Learner’s Lab

Published on September 23, 2015 By Emily. Updated on September 23, 2015

A few weeks ago, I was browsing Facebook when I came upon an event – Learners Lab: Coffee Brewing, hosted by the Berkshire Museum.  I’m not a huge coffee person, but Brian is and this event sounded like a fun way to spend part of our Saturday.  I looked into the Learners Lab program a little more and discovered that the Berkshire Museum hosts events monthly on a variety of topics.  The events are free with regular museum admission.  We made our reservations (space is limited) and, last Saturday, enjoyed an awesome morning learning to brew better coffee.

Learners Lab French Press demo

The Coffee Brewing Learners Lab was held in a small meeting room at one end of the museum.  There were only about ten of us there, but that turned out to be the perfect sized group for easy coffee tasting and asking of questions.  Julia Doyle, from Assembly Coffee Roasters, presented and she was fabulous. During the course of the 75 minute event, she walked us through how to use a French Press, Chemex,  Clever Coffee Dripper and AeroPress.  She explained how each system worked, the amounts of water of coffee grounds and the pros and cons of each device.  Copies of the instructions were provided to each attendee, but Brian and I also took some notes.  There was just so much good information.

Learners Lab Chemex demo

I’d never seen the Clever Dripper or AeroPress in action before. They both make easy, fast coffee that tasted good to me.  Brian currently makes most of his coffee using a basic pour over drip coffee maker, but these two options really got us thinking.  I’m pondering the Clever Coffee Dripper because it combines steeping and drip, which I think could also be used to make an awesome cup of tea.

I also loved having the opportunity to try coffee from each of the different coffee brewing techniques.  I usually use decent amounts of cream and sugar in my coffee, but drinking each of the samples black and in a short period of time meant that I could actually taste the differences brought about by the different brewing methods.  They were all good, but I think I like the Chemex the best (which is sort of irrelevant, because we’re not going to buy a Chemex any time soon).

Learners Lab Clever Drip demo

Julia did an awesome job of fielding questions.  Throughout the course of the event, she provided information about coffee storage, filter options, Starbucks, cold brew iced coffee, other brewing tools, types of packaging and more.  It also turns out that Assembly Coffee Roasters is right in downtown Pittsfield, on East Street, which I hadn’t realized.  The roastery is open on Wednesday afternoons and they sell their coffee beans at a number of local establishments and markets.  I’m hoping to stop by sometime in the coming months.

I am so glad we decided to go to this event.  I feel like I understand coffee a bit better now, in a way that’s actually useful.  Julia was intentional about bring tools that we could actually purchase and use in our homes and I feel like I can make better coffee now.  We’ve already started storing our grounds in a container that’s more airtight and in the dark, and I’ve noticed Brian moistening his filters before adding the coffee.  We’ll see what new coffee making tools find their way into our home as well.

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Filed Under: events Tagged With: Berkshires, coffee, museum

« Catching Up (CSA Menu Plan #37)
Menu Planning is Like Lesson Planning + Printable (CSA Menu Plan #38) »

Comments

  1. Rachel says

    February 16, 2016 at 12:57 pm

    This looks like so much fun, would love to go to something like this in my area! So jealous :-) Thanks for sharing.

Trackbacks

  1. Happy 7th Birthday, Relishments! {Giveaway} | Relishments says:
    December 26, 2015 at 7:02 am

    […] Blend Coffee (note: these are whole beans, not ground coffee) – read about my experience at the Berkshire Museum Learner’s Lab where I met Julia from Assembly Coffee and learned how to make a decent […]

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Emily
Spring has finally come to the Berkshires! It has Spring has finally come to the Berkshires!
It has been such a joy to finally spend time outside regularly and see everything in bloom.

I bought myself a bike and, after the initial adjustment of learning how to ride again after a nearly 25 year hiatus, it's become one of my favorite ways to experience the outdoors. (None of these photos was taken while riding. I barely stay upright with both hands on the bike.)
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#igers413 #InTheBerkshires #WesternMA #WesternMass #Berkshires  #VisitTheBerkshires #AshwillticookRailTrail
Last week Brian and I finally got around to hiring Last week Brian and I finally got around to hiring a sitter for a rare night out. We went to dinner at @publicna and took advantage of the opportunity with drinks, appetizers and dessert.

Pictured:
- Citrus Braised Beef Tacos
- "Chicken and Waffles"
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#igers413_food #igers413 #BerkshireFoodies #InTheBerkshires #EatLocal #WesternMA #WesternMass #Berkshires  #VisitTheBerkshires #NorthAdams #NAmazing #PublicEatAndDrink
New year, new theme word! This year's word is "enr New year, new theme word!
This year's word is "enrich" and I'm really excited about it.

I've written more about this year's theme on the blog. Click in the link in my profile or follow the link below to read the post.
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https://www.relishments.com/blog/my-2023-theme-word-enrich/
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#YearlyTheme #MyOneWord #2023 #enrich2023 #NewYearsResolution
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2. A reel from North Carolina where I could have watched birds all day.
3. The @thelazygenius book giveaway.
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6.@sculpture.now at @themountlenox 
7. @massmoca 
8. @mountainviewfarm413 
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New on the blog: My 2022 reflections on last year' New on the blog: My 2022 reflections on last year's theme word - resume. 

I was able to get back to many activities that were meaningful to me this year and I'm calling this theme a success. Follow the link below or click the link in my profile to read more.
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https://www.relishments.com/blog/reflections-on-resuming-in-2022/
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#resume2022 #newyearsresolution #myoneword #yearlytheme
New on the blog: My Favorite Recipes of 2022. For New on the blog: My Favorite Recipes of 2022.

For the fourth year, I've recapped the best new (to me) recipes I made this year in the hope that they'll give you some new dishes to try. This year's list is short, but delicious. It includes @budgetbytes My Favorite Recipes of 2022
Published on December 30, 2022 By Emily. Updated on December 30, 2022

It’s hard to believe that 2022 is basically behind us. Though overall this year found me getting back to the person I want to be (post-babies and “post”-pandemic), I did not try nearly as many new recipes this year as I used to. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I’d made note of any new-to-me recipes I wanted to share in this post. This year’s list is short, but delicious. It includes recipes from @budgetbytes, @smittenkitchen and @howsweeteats.
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Read the post by visiting the link in my profile or 
https://www.relishments.com/blog/my-favorite-recipes-of-2022/
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#RecipeRoundUp #BestRecipes2022 #FavoriteRecipes
@coastalmainebotanicalgardens continues to be one @coastalmainebotanicalgardens continues to be one of the highlights of all my return trips to Boothbay and their annual Gardens Aglow event continues to impress. It was great to be back to walking the gardens instead of the pandemic drive through and there seemed to be more lights than ever.  I'm already looking forward to next year.
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#Boothbay #BoothbayMaine #CoastalMaineBotanicalGardens #GardensAglow #BotanicalGarden #MidcoastMaine
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Fall in the Berkshires is always incredible, but t Fall in the Berkshires is always incredible, but this year we've had weather that has also been outstanding. The past 2 weekends have included time at Jaeschke Orchards, the Greylock Glen, and the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail as well as stopping to photograph any random foliage I see. 
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