From bean to cup, read about how roasters pick Extra Special coffee for you.

<p>Wake up and smell the coffee? ‘Yes please’ says Becky Mundy, whose job is to do just that when she selects <a href="https://groceries.asda.com/shelf/drinks/coffee-tea-hot-chocolate/coffee/coffee-beans/1215135760614-1215684651165-1215685601118-1215657510445?utm_source=referral&utm_medium=article_meet-the-tastemakers-coffee&utm_campaign=Good-Living" target="_blank">beans</a> for the <a href="https://groceries.asda.com/dept/extra-special/extra-special-food-cupboard/1215686353251-1215686353256?utm_source=referral&utm_medium=article_meet-the-tastemakers-coffee&utm_campaign=Good-Living" target="_blank">Asda Extra Special range</a>.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Like many of us, Becky Mundy starts her day with an enlivening cup of coffee. But the comparison between Becky and the rest of us sleepyheads ends right there: only a select few go on to taste another 250 cups before bedtime.</p>
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<p>Becky is a buyer for Taylors of Harrogate, suppliers of the Asda single origin Extra Special range of <a href="https://groceries.asda.com/shelf/drinks/coffee-tea-hot-chocolate/coffee/ground-coffee/1215135760614-1215684651165-1215685601118-1215657510169?utm_source=referral&utm_medium=article_meet-the-tastemakers-coffee&utm_campaign=Good-Living" target="_blank">ground</a> and <a href="https://groceries.asda.com/shelf/drinks/coffee-tea-hot-chocolate/coffee/coffee-beans/1215135760614-1215684651165-1215685601118-1215657510445?utm_source=referral&utm_medium=article_meet-the-tastemakers-coffee&utm_campaign=Good-Living" target="_blank">bean coffees</a>, and one of just 129 accredited Q Graders working in the UK. This elite bunch – trained to be highly skilled in the sensory evaluation of the coffee – are on a mission to ensure we wake up to coffee of impeccable quality. They can taste hundreds of cups in a working day – but it doesn’t all go down the hatch.</p>
<p>‘I don’t swallow the coffee!’ says Becky. ‘In fact, I only drink two cups a day, because I’m sensitive to caffeine. When I’m ‘cupping’ – the technical term for coffee tasting – a table is lined with cups and I walk along slurping from a special spoon before spitting into a spittoon. It’s similar to wine tasting.’</p>
<p>‘I find something new and interesting in every single coffee I taste’.</p>
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<h2>The coffee journey</h2>
<p>Taylors is a Harrogate-based family business that’s been devoted to creating outstanding tea and coffee since founder Charles Taylor first set up shop back in 1886. The company remains a hotspot for coffee expertise today – several of the nation’s small band of Q Graders work there. The company takes enormous pride in ‘doing things properly’, which means showing care and respect to everyone on the coffee journey – from producers in distant lands to the likes of us, who rely on our morning cuppa to face the day.</p>
<p>Though still a Yorkshire family business, that family is an extended one with many honorary members – relationships in the countries of origin are nurtured over decades, and coffee is sourced with care for farmers, their communities, and the environment as essential. This ethos first attracted Becky to the company 10 years ago.&nbsp;</p>
<p>She spent six months visiting coffee producers in East Africa and Latin America as part of her training, clocking up eight countries along the way. She’s visited many more since: ‘You can learn a lot in the UK, but meeting producers face-to-face is so valuable,’ she says. ‘Seeing coffee grown, harvested, and processed in its country of origin takes your knowledge to a whole other level.’ Coffee beans grow in a similar way to cherries.&nbsp;</p>
<p>They look like cranberries on small, bushy trees. The bean is the seed inside the fruit. The most common species are Arabica and Robusta, with arabica regarded as a better-quality bean, with more complex flavours. The outer fruit is removed in the country of origin, leaving the bean in the ‘green’ state, which is how it arrives in the UK, to be roasted in house by Taylors’ expert roasters.&nbsp;</p>
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<p>‘Such knowledge and care goes into the beans before they leave the country of origin,’ says Becky. ‘The farmers care passionately about what they do. I take bags of the roasted coffee to hand out when  I visit and seeing their pride is incredible.’</p>
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<h2>Sourcing the bean</h2>
<p>Taylors sources beans from all over the coffee growing world for the <a href="https://groceries.asda.com/search/extra%20special%20coffee?utm_source=referral&utm_medium=article_meet-the-tastemakers-coffee&utm_campaign=Good-Living" target="_blank">Asda Extra Special range</a>, including Kenya, where a typical producer is a small family farm with around 300 coffee trees, plus bananas, vegetables, and a few animals for  the family’s use.&nbsp;</p>
<p>‘Coffee-growing regions tend to be beautiful – forested, mountainside locations, well o the beaten track,’ says Becky. ‘I’m often invited into the farmers’ homes, to eat with the family.’</p>
<p>Taylors also works with local communities on neighbourhood projects. In <a href="https://groceries.asda.com/product/coffee-beans/asda-extra-special-rwandan-roast-coffee-beans-227-g/1000383169576?utm_source=referral&utm_medium=article_meet-the-tastemakers-coffee&utm_campaign=Good-Living" target="_blank">Rwanda</a>, from where Taylors is sourcing a new Extra Special coffee launching later this year, Becky recently visited farmers harvesting cherry on the shores of Lake Kivu. But it’s back in the UK that Becky’s coffee superpowers really come into play.&nbsp;</p>
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<p>She worked at Taylors as a trainee before taking her Q Grader exams. "Training takes two years, involves 20 exams and is notoriously difficult". Q Graders are taught to grade coffees out of 100 according to the SCA (Speciality Coffee Association) scoring system – all Asda Extra Special coffee is from arabica beans and rated 80 or above, which means it is classed as a speciality coffee.</p>
<p>‘I never stop learning,’ says Becky. ‘Coffee has so many identifiable flavours in it – from the type of tree, the soil, the climate, the altitude. All these things play a part, as does acidity, sweetness, a host of different aromas and ‘mouthfeel’, which is whether the coffee is thin or heavy in the mouth. Roasting then adds another dimension by bringing out the best qualities in each individual coffee.  A coffee from <a href="https://groceries.asda.com/product/ground-coffee/asda-extra-special-brazilian-ground-coffee/80220322?utm_source=referral&utm_medium=article_meet-the-tastemakers-coffee&utm_campaign=Good-Living" target="_blank">Brazil</a> is likely to be full-bodied with nutty, chocolatey, raisiny notes and roasted over a longer period; coffee from <a href="https://groceries.asda.com/product/ground-coffee/asda-extra-special-ethiopian-fairtrade-ground-coffee/910000236729?utm_source=referral&utm_medium=article_meet-the-tastemakers-coffee&utm_campaign=Good-Living" target="_blank">Ethiopia</a> may be given a shorter roast to bring out its lighter character and notes of peach, bergamot and lemon.&nbsp;</p>
<p>‘Coffee from <a href="https://groceries.asda.com/product/ground-coffee/asda-extra-special-kenyan-ground-coffee/910002650038?utm_source=referral&utm_medium=article_meet-the-tastemakers-coffee&utm_campaign=Good-Living" target="_blank">Kenya</a>, like that used in the Extra Special range, is my favourite. The flavour notes are blackcurrant, grapefruit, and lemon – it has amazing sweetness and a delicate, clean and acidic character. It gives you a kind of buzz on the tongue, a bit like eating a lemon sherbet. It’s delicious.’</p>
<p>Wheather you prefer ground, beans or instant, try some of our <a href="https://groceries.asda.com/search/extra%20special%20coffee?utm_source=referral&utm_medium=article_meet-the-tastemakers-coffee&utm_campaign=Good-Living" target="_blank">Asda Extra Special coffee</a> that's bursting with flavour...</p>

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<h3><a href="https://groceries.asda.com/product/ground-coffee/asda-extra-special-southern-indian-roast-ground-coffee/80220280?utm_source=referral&utm_medium=article_meet-the-tastemakers-coffee&utm_campaign=Good-Living" target="_blank">ASDA Extra Special Southern Indian Roast Ground Coffee</a></h3>
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<h3><a href="https://groceries.asda.com/product/premium-instant-coffee/asda-extra-special-italian-style-instant-coffee/910001611288?utm_source=referral&utm_medium=article_meet-the-tastemakers-coffee&utm_campaign=Good-Living" target="_blank">ASDA Extra Special Italian Style Instant Coffee</a></h3>
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<a href="https://groceries.asda.com/product/coffee-beans/asda-extra-special-javan-volcanic-island-coffee-beans/910002650936?utm_source=referral&utm_medium=article_meet-the-tastemakers-coffee&utm_campaign=Good-Living" target="_blank"><img src="https://ui.assets-asda.com/dm/asdagroceries/5054781311881_T1"></a>
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<p>Not surprisingly, Becky is unashamedly particular about her own coffee. Her preferred method is to use a V60 coffee dripper – hot water is poured through the grounds into the jug below. She likes it black and sugar-free – and don’t ever offer her ‘the coffee one’ from a box of chocolates.</p>
<p>‘It sounds geeky but I find something new and interesting in every single coffee I taste. I will never get tired of a really good cup of coffee,’ she says.</p>
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<h2>Feeling inspired by our Tastemakers story?</h2>
<p>Try using our <a href="https://groceries.asda.com/product/ground-coffee/asda-extra-special-colombian-fairtrade-ground-coffee/59511765?utm_source=referral&utm_medium=article_meet-the-tastemakers-coffee&utm_campaign=Good-Living" target="_blank">Asda Extra Special ground coffee</a> in this irresistable <a href="https://www.asda.com/good-living/recipe/coffee-crme-brule?recipe_id=a022e7bc-eaac-11ed-86e9-c58107d1fbea" target="_blank">coffee crème brulée</a> recipe. Ground beans add an intense flavour to this popular dessert. You can add a pinch of sea salt to the crisp caramel topping to really bring this luscious pud to life.</p>
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<p><a href="https://www.asda.com/good-living/recipe/coffee-crme-brule?recipe_id=a022e7bc-eaac-11ed-86e9-c58107d1fbea" target="_blank"><strong>Coffee crème brulée</strong></a>&nbsp;</p>
<p><a href="https://www.asda.com/good-living/recipe/coffee-crme-brule?recipe_id=a022e7bc-eaac-11ed-86e9-c58107d1fbea" target="_blank">View recipe</a></p>
<p><strong>Serves:</strong> 4</p>
<p><strong>Ready in:</strong> 40 min</p>
<p><strong>Price per serving:</strong> £1.28</p>
<p><strong>Recipe info:</strong> Vegetarian, Gluten-free</p>
<p><strong>Faff-factor:</strong> 4 out of 5</p>
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<p>Why not try our crème brulée recipe, inspired by Becky's coffee production story, for yourself? Make sure to stock up on everything you need at <a href="https://groceries.asda.com/?utm_source=referral&utm_medium=article_meet-the-tastemakers-coffee&utm_campaign=Good-Living" target="_blank">Asda</a> or pop into <a href="https://storelocator.asda.com/" target="_blank">your local store</a>.</p>

Coffee - Meet the Tastemakers

By Asda Good Living,1st May 2023

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