Paul Songer began his career in the specialty coffee business at Allegro Coffee Company 25 years ago, repairing and installing espresso machines.
He gradually moved from equipment to cupping and training, writing technical manuals and conducting training with sales staff, customers, and internal sensory panels as manager of training and research.
In 1998, Songer took the position of Director of Coffee Operations at Coffee Analysts, an independent lab specializing in the sensory, chemical, and physical analysis of coffee. This led to further independent research and a certificate of sensory analysis at the University of California at Davis. During this period he was a judge for one of the initial barista competitions held at the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) convention in 1998.
He has served for over 10 years on the Technical Standards Committee of the SCAA and has given several technical presentations at their conferences. He has had numerous articles on coffee published and is the co-author of the SCAA Water Quality Manual, which deals with the chemistry of water and its effect on brewing coffee.
He now works as technical director for Cup of Excellence and as an independent consultant specializing in application of sensory analysis techniques to the coffee business, product development, and sensory panel training.
At Nordic Barista Cup 2010 Paul Songer will lecture about basic taste and sonsoric skills. There will be cuppings linked to the subjects.