Seattle – Coffee experts from around the Puget Sound will gather at the Burke Museum on Saturday and Sunday, January 24 and 25 to offer samples of their coffee, lead formal cuppings, and share their knowledge of a global industry at the opening weekend celebration of Coffee: The World in Your Cup, a new Burke exhibit that tells the story behind the coffee we drink.

Schedule for Saturday:

• 10 am – Tasting with Fidalgo Bay Coffee
• 10 am – Exhibit tour with Ruth Pelz, Burke exhibit coordinator
• 11 am – Tasting with Pangaea Organica
• 11 am – An hour with Edwin Martinez, coffee grower
  Edwin Martinez is a third generation coffee grower with Finca Vista Hermosa in Guatemala, a U.S. Cup Tasting Champion, and co-founder of Onyx Coffee, a seed to cup consulting firm.
• 12 pm – Exhibit tour with Ruth Pelz, Burke exhibit coordinator
• 1 pm – An hour with David Griswold, Sustainable Harvest
  David Griswold, founder of Sustainable Harvest, will talk about the role a specialty coffee importer plays in creating direct, transparent connections between organic and fair trade coffee growers and coffee roasters.
• 1 pm – Tasting with Finca Vista Hermosa
• 2 pm – Exhibit tour with Ruth Pelz, Burke exhibit coordinator
• 2 pm – An hour with Max Savishinsky, University of Washington
  Max Savishinsky, Director of the UW Exploration Seminar Study Abroad Programs, will discuss some of the complexities and challenges of politically (and environmentally) correct coffee production and consumption.
• 2 pm – Tasting with Victrola Coffee

Schedule for Sunday:

• 1 am – Tasting with Caffé Appassionato Coffee Company
• 1 am – Formal coffee cupping with Stephanie Backus and Marie Franklin from Portland Roasting Company. Cuppings are limited to 10 persons per session. Registration is at the door on a first-come-first-served basis.
• 1 am – Tasting with Trabant Coffee and Chai
• 1 pm – Formal coffee cupping with Stephanie Backus and Marie Franklin from Portland Roasting Company. Cuppings are limited to 10 persons per session. Registration is at the door on a first-come-first-served basis.
• 1 pm – Tasting with Starbucks Coffee Company
• 1 pm – Formal coffee cupping with Stephanie Backus and Marie Franklin from Portland Roasting Company. Cuppings are limited to 10 persons per session. Registration is at the door on a first-come-first-served basis.
• 2 pm – Tasting with Caffé Vita
• 3 pm – Formal coffee cupping with Stephanie Backus and Marie Franklin from Portland Roasting Company. Cuppings are limited to 10 persons per session. Registration is at the door on a first-come-first-served basis.

Coffee: The World in Your Cup is at the Burke Museum through June 7, 2009. It will then begin a national tour.

Coffee: The World in Your Cup was organized by the Burke Museum in collaboration with a panel of advisors from the University of Washington, the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, Seattle University, Seattle Audubon, and the Specialty Coffee Industry. Major support for the exhibition has been provided by The Boeing Company, Microsoft Corporation, Starbucks Coffee Company, and the University of Washington, with additional support from the Seattle Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs. Media sponsorship for the opening weekend celebration has been provided by KUOW.