FaCIT brings faculty together for coffee, tea tasting

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Central Michigan University alumnus D.J. Lombardo’s interest in the coffee arts stemmed from car troubles.

“I car pooled with a co-worker because my car broke down one day,” he said. “He was very interested in coffee, and would always talk about it and give interesting facts.”

Lombardo said coffee soon became a passion of his and he started to learn more about it. He would “mix business with coffee” to fuse his interests in a positive way.

He manned the espresso station at “Espresso, Tea and Community,” a coffee and international tea-tasting event Friday at the old Embers Restaurant location and newly renovated Grace Church, 1217 Mission St.

CMU’s Faculty Center for Innovative Teaching sponsored the event.

“This was the first time an event was off campus, and it’s all about community-building events to bring faculty into a network of people,” Director of FaCIT Jim Therrell said.

About 25 people attended the event, including several professors.

FaCIT Events Coordinator Sarah Scoby said the center has organized many get-togethers including jazz dances, beer and wine tasting and a flapjack breakfast.

“It’s all to get faculty to come out and connect in a not-so-formal setting,” she said. “These events can help faculty communicate with students through methods and technology.”

Three stations featuring espresso and coffee, international tea and coffee bean roasting were available.

Guests were given etiquette tips for drinking tea in the Middle East, told some of the plants tea leaves were harvested from and what snacks are served with each tea.

CMU alumnus Mike List gave tips at the tea station. He said he was always interested in other cultures and music, which led him on a trip to India where he learned many different customs.

“I really enjoy Arabic tea and learning about the hospitality traditions because it is so different from Western culture,” List said.

At the coffee bean roasting station, guests learned the stages of roasting beans, phases of when to drink coffee, perfect temperatures and the signs of burning beans.

Wisconsin graduate assistant Chris Hagen was pleased with the event.

“I’m a big coffee drinker and this was fun,” he said. “It was good to see the experts so engaging and telling facts. I like to do this type of stuff, but we don’t always see this stuff in Mount Pleasant.”