I took Juliet for her very first coffee cupping yesterday at Denver's NOVO Coffee. This is a wonderful process by which roasters hone the flavors in their beans and a wonderful way to fully understand the flavor complexities in great coffee.

As it turns out Juliet always gifted with an eye for beauty and interest was able to capture some fine photos on the tour of the roaster while learning to cup like a pro.

This very cool machine gently and evenly roasts 60 pounds of raw beans in 11-15 minutes and returns them to room temp in only 3.

This is indeed the fruit of the coffee tree which is quite vibrant before being harvested.

This is where the research takes place. 4 types of beans all from different countries tasted side by side to assess their quality, aromas, and flavor profiles. This appeals greatly to us wine geeks.

Of course, Erich (the genius roaster at NOVO) made us all killer espresso drinks after the class.

Like this one :-)

I will be posting a much more detailed piece on NOVO Coffee this week. I just wanted to whet your appetites for a little Java this Saturday and show off my wife's camera skills.

Like this stunning shot of leaves and sky she saw and snapped as she was getting into the car to leave. Juliet is always inspired by caffeine.