FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM FEBRUARY 20, 2020 • BUZZ • THE QUEENS COURIER 61
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LIC’s Coff ee Project NY off ers premier training camp for baristas
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
aacevedo@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
New York City baristas and coff ee
enthusiasts now have their own community
center in Queens.
Coff ee Project NY, “a passion project
of coff ee, milk and heart,” has set up
camp in Long Island City, becoming the
fi rst and only Specialty Coff ee Association
(SCA) premier training campus in New
York. Th e SCA is a nonprofi t, membership
based organization that represents
thousands of coff ee professionals from all
over the world.
Th e new training spot, with its spacious
and sleek, yet inviting design, is located in
Th e Blanchard Building (21-10 51st Ave.).
Owners Chi Sum Ngai and Kaleena Teoh
invite the community to learn more about
the “complex form of art,” as Sum puts it,
by taking classes that highlight coff ee in
all its forms.
“We’re trying to create a community
hub for people who are interested in
either learning about coff ee … or have
our professional friends come and dial
their coff ee,” Teoh said. “It’s a nice little
platform for people to just come, discuss
and learn about coff ee, and for us
to share what we know about coff ee. It’s
really fun.”
Partners Sum and Teoh were both born
and raised in Malaysia and met while
in college in Minnesota. Although they
obtained degrees in psychology and IT,
they decided to leave that behind and
embark on their own “coff ee dreams.”
“We always wanted to do something
together,” Sum said. “We chose coff ee
because we really liked the culture and the
people. So having a coff ee shop and meeting
other people who come and drink coffee
everyday, it’s a lot more relaxing than
working at a desk.”
Sum comes from a family of coff ee
workers, which made her a coff ee lover
from a young age. She was fi rst a homebrewer,
but aft er attending coff ee expos,
she realized that she could pursue her
passion for coff ee professionally — so she
enrolled in barista school in Portland,
Ore. Sum is also an SCA instructor and Q
Grader, meaning she’s trained in the rigorous
practice of scoring and identifying
individual coff ees.
Teoh, who lived in Queens for almost
nine years before moving to Brooklyn
Kaleena Teoh and Chi Sum Ngai are the owners of Coff ee Project NY.
with Sum, was also always a coff ee drinker,
but got trained on the job and is a certifi
ed SCA instructor. She recently discovered
her own passion in coff ee – roasting.
“It’s so data-driven in that every single
thing that you do is aff ecting the nature
of the beans itself, and it gives me a lot of
story from the supply chain,” Teoh said.
Th ey began Coff ee Project NY in 2015,
when they opened their fi rst location
in the East Village, where they gained
recognition for their unique variations
of deconstructed lattes and pour overs.
Th ey then introduced another location in
Downtown Brooklyn, what they called a
“playground for baristas.”
Th en, the opportunity to open up a
location in Long Island City presented
itself.
It might seem odd to have a training
campus in what feels like an industrial
neighborhood, but Sum and Teoh think
it’s actually reminiscent of Portland and
the West Coast’s coff ee training school,
making it the best place to have their
camp.
Th at, and it’s only a 15-minute trainride
to Manhattan.
“Th is third location is up and running
mainly because we want to focus on roasting
and career development, therefore the
training lab,” Teoh said.
Th ey traveled oft en to Long Island City
and were familiar with the coff ee scene
there, as they used to roast their beans
at the Regalia Roasting Collective. Other
than giving them the chance to have their
own roasting facility, the new space also
gave them a place to create their own coffee
education center.
Photo courtesy of Coff ee Project NY
Teoh said that when getting SCA certifi
ed, the nearest place to enroll in classes
for the certifi cation was in Florida. “We
fi gured that is ridiculous, this is New York
and I have to fl y to Florida to get trained?”
Teo said.
Now, people who are looking to become
SCA certifi ed or undergo those classes
can travel to LIC.
Coff ee Project NY is currently off ering a
wide range of classes, from SCA pathway
courses to recreational workshops.
For those who want to begin their journey
in SCA certifi cation, there are several
classes, including “SCA Coff ee Skills:
Introduction to Coff ee” on Feb. 29 and
March 19, and “Q Cupping Essentials
(Pathway to Earning Q Certifi cation)”
from Feb. 20 to 22.
If you’re looking for an educational class
to enjoy with some friends, there’s also
“Cupping For Beginners” on Feb. 29 for
$85, during which they teach participants
the industry’s standard way of evaluating
the aroma and taste of coff ee. Th ere’s also
an upcoming “History of New York City
Coff ee” taught by NYC UnderGrounds
founder K.A. Keener, for $30.
Sum and Teoh also want to bring awareness
to the diff erent crises in the coff ee
world.
“It’s a really fun process and we hope
that people can come and learn, and actually
see coff ee as more than just a cup of
coff ee that they drink … that cup of coffee
passes through so many people before
it even gets to you,” Teoh said.
For more information adn to keep up
with Coff ee Project NY’s programming,
visit coff eeprojectny.com.
Photo courtesy of Coff ee Project NY
/eeprojectny.com
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