Back in May, sommelier and distiller Erik Liedholm, company wine director for Washington-based John Howie Restaurant Group and co-owner of Bothell, Washington’s Wildwood Spirits Co., added to his already extensive list of awards and credentials by becoming the Pacific Northwest’s first certified coffee sommelier.
The invitation-only Nespresso Coffee Sommelier program is offered each year to a small number of chefs and wine sommeliers. It consists of theoretical and practical training conducted in Lausanne, Switzerland, followed by a rigorous examination process. In spite of his busy schedule, I got a chance to catch up with Liedholm six months after his certification to find out more about the program, how it has impacted him in his line of work and a few of his favorite Northwest-roasted coffees (one of which may surprise you!). Here’s what he said.
Q: How were you selected for the coffee sommelier program?
A: The program was actually one of the prizes I won for winning the Somm Slam competition in New York last October. Nespresso was one of the sponsors of the event and offered the winner an all expenses paid trip to their headquarters in Switzerland to partake in the program.
Q: What was the most challenging part of becoming a coffee sommelier? The most fun?
A: The most challenging part of the program was being able to identify the origin of a particular coffee “blind.” Likewise, pulling a proper espresso is much trickier than one might think. The program itself was such a blast. The other sommeliers from around the world who participated were a lot of fun, too.
Q: Does having a deeper understanding of coffee impact your approach to other beverages, like wine and spirits? How much does the knowledge overlap?
A: Indeed, the intention of the Nespresso program was to help coax out the parallels coffee has to spirits, wine and even water and how you can create harmony between them as the parallels cross. From a theoretical standpoint, appreciating the importance of terroir and where a particular type of coffee cherry is grown is better understood having a reference point with viticulture. While the coffee industry is comparatively young to that of the wine industry, you can start to see signs that coffee topography, climate and soil is playing a role in how it is marketed, sold and regulated.
Q: How often do you get a chance to draw on the coffee knowledge you’ve gained?
A: I have a new appreciation for the botany of the coffee bean and how it is sourced, selected, roasted and brewed. [But] as with wine, I find that there is an inherent danger in taking myself too seriously with this coffee sommelier accreditation. There are so many more accomplished coffee professionals in this town than I.
Q: Any favorite Northwest-roasted coffees?
A: Sure! Heart. Dapper and Wise. Lighthouse Roasters. Caffe Vita. And yes, Starbucks.
