Coffee Board of India - 'PGD in Coffee Quality Management'

Introduction to the Course

Despite rapid changes in the coffee industry after liberalization, majority of the industry is yet to fully realize the future quality requirements of the global coffee industry especially in view of the WTO agreement. The awareness about food safety and environment concerns are paving the way for imposition of stringent quality regulations by the importing countries.

Besides these, the consumers / importers in the developed countries are placing major emphasis on quality assurance for coffee. There is also a growing demand for specialty coffees like gourmet coffee, eco-friendly coffee, organic coffee eta, which require continuous efforts on quality enhancement.

Thus, the Indian coffee industry needs to focus on capacity building for total quality management of its coffee, in order to compete in the ever demanding global market. This is possible only when there are adequate infrastructure facilities and trained manpower for quality evaluation. At present, the Quality Control Division of the Coffee Board and a few private laboratories in Bangalore are the only ones involved in quality testing of coffee. A few major export houses have established their own quality evaluation facilities. There is an acute shortage of trained manpower in the industry for evaluating the cup quality of coffee produced in the country. In view of the significance of quality evaluation in the coming years, the Coffee Board has taken the initiative for creating adequate trained manpower by instituting a Post Graduate Diploma course in Coffee Quality Management.

Course Details

Duration

A nine month course starting in July, ending in March the subsequent year.

Structure

The course is structured into three trimesters in different locations as shown below.

Trimester I : At Bangalore (July to September)

(12 Weeks) Introductory classes on world coffee situation, Indian Coffee industry, coffee marketing, international quality requirements, quality assurance systems and use of computers, with level-1 practical on coffee quality evaluation.

Trimester II : At Central Coffee Research Institute (October to December)

(12 Weeks) Theory and field work on coffee varieties, crop production, crop protection and on-farm processing, curing, storage and transport of coffee.

Trimester III: At Bangalore (January to March)

(12 Weeks) Intensive sessions on coffee cup tasting, improving communication skills and dissertation.

During each trimester, a specific number of theory and practical classes will be held under each course (Please see details in Course Contents').

Course Contents Trimester - 1

PGDQ 101 - Coffee Marketing and Trade (3 Theory + 0 Practicals)

Profiles of major producing & consuming countries, Indian coffee industry, role of Coffee Board, coffee associations in India, marketing of green coffee, global coffee agreements, coffee trade and quality under WTO agreement, markets for specialty, organic and gourmet coffees.. fair trades initiatives, price determination in the global and Indian coffee markets.

PGDQ 102- Principles of Coffee Quality (2 Theory + 3 Practicals)

Definition and parameters of coffee quality, factors influencing intrinsic coffee quality, physical evaluation of coffee quality, coffee roasting & blending, brewing technology, essentials of cup tasting laboratories. determination of moisture content in coffee. storage of coffee.. packing techniques, soluble / instant coffee processing / preparation, freeze dried coffee.

PGDQ 103-Specialty Coffees (2 Theory + 0 Practicals)

Definition of specialty and special coffees, world specialty coffees, Indian specialty coffees. requirements for the production of special / specialty coffees, quality specifications for specialty coffees, organic coffees, sustainable coffees. fair trade coffees, estate / geographic / varietal coffees, flavored coffees, decaffeinated coffees, marketing of specialty coffees.

PG DP 104-OuaIity Assurance System (I Theory + 0 Practicals)

Grade specifications for trade coffee; BIS/ PEA standards for green/ roasted/ instant coffees; Codex / ISO standards: SIPS issues - macro cleanliness / mycotoxins / pesticide residues / heavy metals: certification of estates: licensing / certification of curing works: logo: HACCP approach for TOM.

PGDG 105-Computer Applications (I Theory + 2 Practicals)

Computer fundamentals, windows 95 & 98, MS Word 97, MS Excel 97, LAN/NET working, Internet services.

PGDO 106-Communication Skills (Only grading)

Course Contents Trimester - II

PGDQ 201 - Coffee Agronomy (3 Theory +1 Practicals)

Coffee varieties of India and the world and their quality features, constitutional bean defects, soil & climatic requirements, influence of weather parameters on quality, raising a plantation, influence of nutrition on quality, pruning & shade and their effect on quality, irrigation and its influence on quality weed management vs. quality, physiological disorders & bean defects, pests and diseases of coffee and their influence on quality.

Practical Classes

Field visit to demonstrate varieties, nursery preparation, field planting, bush management, weeding, shade regulation, pest and diseases.

PGDQ 202 - Post Harvest Technology (3 Theory + 1 Practicals)
(On-farm processing)

Harvesting of coffee, wet method of processing-infrastructure requirement, advantages etc., types of pulpers and washers, different domiciliation methods and their effects on quality, bean defects during processing, special steps to enhance quality - natural fermentation, soaking, tray drying etc., steps in cherry preparation, drying of coffee-types of yards and their effect on quality, moisture measurement, moulds associated with wet and dry processed coffee and their prevention, code of good practice for on farm processing of coffee, on-farm storage of coffee, packing and forwarding of coffee to curing works., treatment of coffee processing effluent.

Practical Classes

Harvesting, sorting of fruits, pulping & washing, drying-moisture estimation, mould estimation and identification of toxigenic moulds, visit to private estates to show different pulpers, washers and effluent treatment plants, estimation of BCD, COD of effluent.

PGDQ 203 -Off-farm Processing (1 Theory + 1 Practicals)

Requirement of a good curing factory, pre-curing handling of coffee, types of curing machinery, post curing handling of coffee-grading, garbling, packing & storage, storage structures, quality assurance systems in curing houses, shipment of coffee - types of containers & their effect on quality, code of good practice for curing factories.

Practical Classes

Sampling of coffee, grading, defect counts.
Visits to different curing factories to see different types of machinery.

Course Contents Trimester - III

PGDCQM 301: Brewing Techniques - Espresso and Value Added Coffees (3 Theory + 4 Practicals)

Definition, commercial quality, Italian espresso, components of espresso machine, machine operation and maintenance, grinding, packing and storage of espresso coffee, mechanism of espresso brewing, physical and commercial coffees. decaffeinated, flavoured coffees.

Practicals

Machine operation and maintenance, raw & roast quality for espresso coffee, roasting of espresso coffee, espresso brewing, extraction of coffee. preparation and cup evaluation of espresso. intensive cupping.

PGDCQM 302 - Intensive Training on Cupping (0 Theory + 5 Practicals)
(On-farm processing)

Brew preparation and extraction of roasted coffees, effect of water quality on the brew, specialty coffee roasting, tasting of different origin coffees, physical and chemical properties of green and roasted coffees, physical and chemical changes in roasted coffees, specialty coffee roasting. analysis of coffee products for BIS/PFA parameters.

PGDCQM 303 - Basic Statistics (t Theory + 0 Practicals)

PGDCQM 304-Dissertation with Internship (2 Theory +0 Practicals)

PGDCQM 305-Marketing Communication / Brand Building (Only grading)

Communication - theory and process, business communication and ethics. marketing and branding, mass communication - media forms and management, direct marketing - direct response and web-based communication, public relations and issue management, conferences, events and exhibitions. retailing and merchandising, business tool-kit-research / information / networks / networking, business cultures and orientation to global and local cultures. communicating with customers or crisis communications, slice of life: stimulation of a typical work day and constructing responses.