• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

The Coffee Compass

Your Guide for Craft Coffee

  • Home
  • About
  • Archive
  • Map
  • Contact
  • Shop

Archives for February 2016

Cafe Review: White Label Coffee in Amsterdam

February 28, 2016 By Michael 3 Comments

DSCF6011

One has to be careful when asking for a coffee shop recommendation in Amsterdam. But there’s a lot more to the Dutch capital than just legal weed and the red light district. A growing number of local roasters and cafés are making Amsterdam a premier European coffee destination. One of the microroasteries leading the way is White Label Coffee. …

Read More »

Filed Under: Coffee Shop Reviews Tagged With: Amsterdam, Giesen, Holland, Kees van der Westen, White Label Coffee

Meet Reza Kosar, Iran’s First Q Grader

February 23, 2016 By Michael 1 Comment

Reza_Kosar

Recently, I traveled to Istanbul, Turkey to take the Q Grader Exam. I expected to be challenged in my coffee knowledge and abilities as well as make a few new friends in the Turkish coffee scene. I didn’t anticipate  meeting a dynamic young coffee professional from Tehran, Iran. Reza Kosar quickly impressed me with acute sense of smell, thorough knowledge of SCAA cupping protocols, and his enthusiasm for all things specialty coffee. By the end of the week he proved to be Iran’s first Q Grader, a feet which involves passing 20 very difficult exams. We caught up with Reza to ask him what it means to be Iran’s first Q grader and what’s next for him. 

Tell us a bit about yourself.

Well, I’m 24. I work at Sam Cafe as a manager of R&D and the director of coffee. …

Read More »

Filed Under: Stories Tagged With: CQI, Iran, Q Grader, SCAA, Turkey

Cafe Review: Coffee Department in Istanbul

February 17, 2016 By Michael 1 Comment

Coffee Department Istanbul

Not that many years ago, few visitors would have wandered the backstreets of Balat, Istanbul’s old Jewish quarter. The mass exodus of Turkey’s religious minorities in the early 20th century left the area vacant and in disrepair. But the neighborhood has “good bones” and in an booming megacity like Istanbul it’s only a matter of time before a craft coffee shop pops up on some unexpected backstreet. Enter the Coffee Department….

Read More »

Filed Under: Stories

Primary Sidebar

Get Fresh Content

Sign up for Free Updates from
The Coffee Compass.

  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2021