Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood | The Simplest Ingredient? The Complexities of Water and Flavor

In his talk at the 2015 SCAA Symposium, UK Barista Champion Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood told a story of why a coffee that should have tasted amazing tasted “like rubbish.” The culprit turned out to be water. Without realizing it, coffee roasters have been creating roast profiles that are suited to their particular water terroir. But, as Maxwell said in closing, “I’m interested in the terroir of the coffee, not the terroir of the water,” pointing to a possible opportunity for the specialty industry to explore water standardization.