Discover what it takes to be Douwe Egberts Master Blender

We recently met up with the man behind every great cup of Douwe Egberts coffee & had a chat with him about what it means to be such an important part of the coffee process. 

Hello, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

           My name is Etienne Moernaut, and I am the Master Roaster and Quality manager for Douwe Egberts.

How Many Cups a day do you drink?

          Between 250-300 cups a day.

Why do you taste that many?

        Lots of reasons; to make sure the right coffee is in the right pack, to make sure the coffee is of a good quality, I even taste the coffee fresh from the truck to make sure it is good before it enters the factory.

You obviously have a passion for coffee then, how did that start?

           My passion for coffee started when I was a little boy. I used to go to the market with my mother, and there we would go to the coffee stall, where they had sacks of roasted beans. I would pick out the coffee and take it home with me. On a Sunday morning, it was my job to grind and brew the coffee. I loved the smell now as I did then. That is where I got my passion for coffee.

How do you become a good taster?

           Lots of time, experience and some born skill. Some people have the ability to be a taster, some do not. You can learn about coffee, but you can’t learn the skill of differentiating flavours. It takers about 8 years to become a coffee expert of sorts.

How do you find people with those skills?

           We have tests and things, but people usually volunteer, and we ask all the people at the factory to have a go at the tests too.

And then?

           It takes 8 years to become a good taster, and in those 8 years there are several stages. At the beginning, you can admit you don’t know anything, and accept that, but after a few months, you think you know a lot about coffee, and you go on for a while thinking you know a lot, until you realise that in fact you know only a little bit. Once you realise that, you are heading in the right direction, as even when you do know a lot, after a long time, you will still learn and discover new things.

What qualities do you look for when you taste coffees?

           It boils down to the Body, Acidity, Aroma and Bitterness. These are the four main taste areas of the tongue.

What makes a good cup of coffee then?

           There is so much that decides a good cup of coffee, obviously it starts with the beans, good quality beans. Then the blend matters, as each of our blends can have between 5 and 10 different kinds of beans in it, and those varieties can differ between different batches of the same blend, but the taste will always be the same. We roast our beans very carefully, and the darkness of the roast affects the strength and the bitterness a lot. Lastly, here at the factory we grind the beans. The size of the grind affects what you use it for, be it cafetiere, filter or espresso. The most important thing to a good cup of coffee is the user at home. What they do with the coffee has lots of effect.

So Beans are important?

-          Of course! Every cup of coffee comes from beans, and that’s the most important element, it’s the only element in our coffee. Every truck of beans that arrives here isn’t allowed into the factory until I say so, I taste every single batch that comes in to make sure they meet our strict quality standards.

Thank you for your time Etienne, we certainly appreciate your hard work & dedication in bringing us great coffee!

Click here to explore our new coffee range, inspired by Etienne.