For the first time, with the third edition of the Master’s Program, we have students coming from coffee consuming countries. If students coming from the producing countries find it useful to understand how the coffee sector behaves in the consuming countries, it is also essential the contrary: students from consuming countries must understand the origin of the product in order to be aware of the importance of sustainable development.
Our first non-coffee producing country representative to enroll in the Progam was Michael Justin Kaiser from Florida, USA - Class of 2013.
Michael wrote the following post in February 2013 for a previous blog and shared his words and feelings about his first weeks of this Coffee Adventure. Enjoy!
New to the city of Trieste, it is hard to select just one place with which to set the scenery for an opening piece of writing. One could begin by spelling out their usual spot near the coat rack and window of the “Etnolinguistica e Antropologia” section the University of Trieste’s language department library; but a change in location and several days later, would tempt them to include the photographs of the Namibian coastline, and the wood stained table decorating the small bookshop and café near the city center, he or she originally had hoped would serve as a productive place for study.
So undecided and, with a half dozen horizons and city treasures to tell of, one's best hope for clarity may be in stating a simple, more direct purpose:
To introduce the start and early progress of the Illy Master's program in Coffee Economics and Science from the perspective of the students, now entering our fourth week of classes and second month of life in Italy.
But like the multiple aspects of scenery, it is quite difficult to begin with any one feature of either of those two topics. That said, I have chosen to introduce myself, and in a few paragraphs provide you with a description of who we are as students, and where we are at this point in time of the Illy Masters, with the hopes that you will visit our blog again, to read about the content and details of our coursework, as well as hear our stories of adventure in Italy, as we pursue the highest quality of academics and character of living, with a welcomed amount of coffee along the way.
My name is Michael Justin Kaiser, and I am a citizen of the United States, studying with illycaffè's Master's program in Coffee Economics and Science. I am 25 years old, a graduate of Social Science & Education at South Florida’s: Palm Beach Atlantic University, and most recently, a legal working resident of the Republic of El Salvador; where I manage quality and relationships for a coffee milling and exporting company named: Cuatro M, Single Origin Coffees.
I am one of 18 total students, representing 13 countries from around the world, enrolled in the Program. We span five continents, and embody experiences and understanding from nearly every aspect of the coffee industry. Some of us are agronomists, some inspectors, others writers, economists, chemists, engineers and hopefuls; but we have all come to learn, to grow and gain insight from one of the most historic and respected coffee companies and centers of research, with certainly the clearest and most well defined ideas on quality in the world; alongside the scientists and experts from the Universities of Trieste and Udine, and various others around the world.
This past Friday ended our third week of classes, containing content ranging from Industrial Processing to Botany and Plant Physiology, and our last official lesson in Coffee Genetics. Monday begins a new week and holds our first written exam, new classes in Agricultural Chemistry, various dishes of pasta and a myriad of espressos.
So, as I return to the stone walls, wood floors, book shelves and chess boards of this café; and to reviewing plant metabolites and the chromosome number in allotetraploid species Arabica, I will speak on behalf of all of the students, in saying that it is an honor to have begun our studies here in Trieste, and we are excited for you to hear about every aspect of life in the coming weeks and months.
From Trieste, Ciao.
You can read Michael's blog at michaelkaiser.blogspot.it dedicated to Coffee, his travels and of course, about Michael himself.
Our first non-coffee producing country representative to enroll in the Progam was Michael Justin Kaiser from Florida, USA - Class of 2013.
Michael wrote the following post in February 2013 for a previous blog and shared his words and feelings about his first weeks of this Coffee Adventure. Enjoy!
New to the city of Trieste, it is hard to select just one place with which to set the scenery for an opening piece of writing. One could begin by spelling out their usual spot near the coat rack and window of the “Etnolinguistica e Antropologia” section the University of Trieste’s language department library; but a change in location and several days later, would tempt them to include the photographs of the Namibian coastline, and the wood stained table decorating the small bookshop and café near the city center, he or she originally had hoped would serve as a productive place for study.
So undecided and, with a half dozen horizons and city treasures to tell of, one's best hope for clarity may be in stating a simple, more direct purpose:
To introduce the start and early progress of the Illy Master's program in Coffee Economics and Science from the perspective of the students, now entering our fourth week of classes and second month of life in Italy.
But like the multiple aspects of scenery, it is quite difficult to begin with any one feature of either of those two topics. That said, I have chosen to introduce myself, and in a few paragraphs provide you with a description of who we are as students, and where we are at this point in time of the Illy Masters, with the hopes that you will visit our blog again, to read about the content and details of our coursework, as well as hear our stories of adventure in Italy, as we pursue the highest quality of academics and character of living, with a welcomed amount of coffee along the way.
My name is Michael Justin Kaiser, and I am a citizen of the United States, studying with illycaffè's Master's program in Coffee Economics and Science. I am 25 years old, a graduate of Social Science & Education at South Florida’s: Palm Beach Atlantic University, and most recently, a legal working resident of the Republic of El Salvador; where I manage quality and relationships for a coffee milling and exporting company named: Cuatro M, Single Origin Coffees.
I am one of 18 total students, representing 13 countries from around the world, enrolled in the Program. We span five continents, and embody experiences and understanding from nearly every aspect of the coffee industry. Some of us are agronomists, some inspectors, others writers, economists, chemists, engineers and hopefuls; but we have all come to learn, to grow and gain insight from one of the most historic and respected coffee companies and centers of research, with certainly the clearest and most well defined ideas on quality in the world; alongside the scientists and experts from the Universities of Trieste and Udine, and various others around the world.
This past Friday ended our third week of classes, containing content ranging from Industrial Processing to Botany and Plant Physiology, and our last official lesson in Coffee Genetics. Monday begins a new week and holds our first written exam, new classes in Agricultural Chemistry, various dishes of pasta and a myriad of espressos.
So, as I return to the stone walls, wood floors, book shelves and chess boards of this café; and to reviewing plant metabolites and the chromosome number in allotetraploid species Arabica, I will speak on behalf of all of the students, in saying that it is an honor to have begun our studies here in Trieste, and we are excited for you to hear about every aspect of life in the coming weeks and months.
From Trieste, Ciao.
You can read Michael's blog at michaelkaiser.blogspot.it dedicated to Coffee, his travels and of course, about Michael himself.