In 2015, Erik Liedholm became the only known Nespresso-certified coffee sommelier in the Pacific Northwest. As we celebrate International Coffee Day, here’s his story on his journey to becoming the first Nespresso-certified coffee sommelier.
To become a sommelier, one must learn much about the subtle complexities of wine, its service and pairings with food. But can that same rigor be applied to the understanding of coffee?
Nespresso, the Nestle subsidiary and global coffeemaker based in Lausanne, Switzerland, thinks so. That’s why Nespresso invited sommelier Erik Liedholm, wine director of and partner in the Seattle-based John Howie Restaurant Group in Seattle to complete a coffee sommelier training program to learn about the botany of coffee, the process of coffee making, as well as pairing coffee with food, spirits or water.
Liedholm, a Master Sommelier candidate, is also co-owner with Howie in the distillery Wildwood Spirits Co. in Bothell, WA, which produces craft vodka, gin and bourbon with a farm-to-distillery approach.
He’s now also the only known Nespresso-certified coffee sommelier in the Pacific Northwest, a region that knows its coffee.
Read more at Restaurant Hospitality.
