Jennifer Greenwell Earns Licensed Q Grader Certification
Our Commitment to Quality Continues to Grow
Greenwell Farms knows that keeping the quality of Kona’s world famous coffee is important to ensure its sustainability for seasons to come. Quality assurance at Greenwell Farms has been enhanced as Jennifer Greenwell recently earned a prestigious Coffee Quality Institute’s Q Grading certification.
Earlier this summer, Jennifer Greenwell spent an intense week pursuing the prestigious and respected certification as part of a seven-person group testing under the direction of Jodi Dowell Wieser. This was the first Q Grader and Training exam in Hawaii. Greenwell had to successfully pass over 20 intense test sections on coffee related subjects, such as green grading, roast identification, coffee cupping, sensory skills and sensory triangulation.
Prior to the exams, Greenwell prepared and for 30 + days engaged in an Olympic-type coffee cupping training with Chai Neo, the other certified Q Grader at Greenwell Farms. Greenwell had to train her taste buds to respond to the sweet, sour, and salt areas of the tongue and together, Greenwell and Neo cupped and cupped coffee samples from around the world as Greenwell grew more and more confident in her skills. Armed with heavy training, Greenwell headed to Oahu, knowing the difficult and demanding testing she would be up against.
“I’m personally so grateful to Jackie and Ray Suiter of Kona Coffee Purveyors for making the Q Grader certification possible here in Hawaii. They are really the ones that made it happen by certifying their lab, rearranging roasting schedules and getting Jody out here to Hawaii to conduct the certification,” said Jennifer Greenwell.
With this prestigious certification, Jennifer Greenwell joins an elite group of coffee industry experts. Greenwell and Chai Neo are both qualified to cup and grade coffee based on the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s standards and methods. The Q Grading Certification program was created in 2004 to train coffee professionals to better identify the scientific tasting protocols, coffee grading, coffee knowledge and develop sharp sensory skills critical in identifying the common aromatic scents found in coffee. With two Q Graders now on the farm, Greenwell Farms has doubled the quality-based guarantee that its coffee has been strictly evaluated by coffee experts to ensure quality. These two Greenwell Farms Q-Graders will continue to contribute greatly to the Greenwell Farms quality control efforts and the goal of producing the highest quality Kona coffee possible.
“As Hawaii continues to lead the US coffee-growing industry, having cupping certification opportunities is important for the industry as a whole,” stated Tom Greenwell, proud husband and Greenwell Farm President. “With every Q Grader certification, expertise in industry knowledge grows and naturally branches out into the consumer market, making coffee drinkers ultimately more aware of the importance of
