Jupiter Environmental Laboratories, Inc.

So, I'm not doing what I originally planned for Summer 2008. Earlier in the year, I had hoped to work for a roastery, or a flavored syrup manufacturer. Neither of those possibilities worked out, so I'm here at my back-up internship, Jupiter Labs. Not to say this is at all a bad thing, as it still passes the Test. What is the Test? The Test is a question I ask of myself before making any major life decision: "does (or can) it relate to coffee?" Fortunately for JEL and me, the answer is YES. I suppose learning how to test soil and water for environmental contamination, nutrients, and quality could easily be applied to working with coffee growers at origin in the future. Hooray!
As far as coffee goes at JEL, it's in a sad state. A dirty Gevalia auto-drip and a big can of "100% Colombia Supremo" pre-ground. But I can't blame the lab, it's just part of being in South Florida. If only there were a Volta around here. The first step in coffee improvement was to bring in the 30 oz., Bodum Bistro pour-over, and a refurb Baratza Maestro grinder, and a Bodum Mini-Ibis kettle. What a great combination! So far at the lab, we have enjoyed fresh-roasted coffee from all over Latin America, most recently an El Salvador and a couple of Hondurans.

So far, the initiative seems to be working, with many co-workers appreciating the coffee-brewing intern (really!). Unfortunately, most of the staff does not seem to be afternoon coffee drinkers, but I am working to change that. JEL may soon have a Coffee Snobs cold brewing tower.

I promise, pictures of the JEL coffee lab and Ugly Mug will be showing up at some point, weather permitting.