North Central College in the News
North Central College professor and graduate assistant quoted in Naperville Sun
Oct 05, 2021
Jerry Thalmann and Izel Michel shared their coffee expertise as coffee shops per capita continue to rise
Geneva has been crowned Illinois’ most coffee-obsessed city in a study conducted by Zoma Sleep. Based on their findings, Naperville is No. 13, Elgin No. 18 and Aurora No. 19 based on the ratio of coffee shops to population. The Naperville Sun analyzed the coffee shop per capita study and interviewed two coffee experts at North Central College as a result.
Jerry Thalmann, associated professor of accounting at North Central College, suggests coffeehouses have grown in popularity because they’ve become the place people choose to meet family or friends that is not home or work.
“You don’t have to eat, you don’t have to spend a lot of time there, and you can also mingle easier,” said Thalmann, who also is an adviser with the social entrepreneur group Enactus, which has been sourcing coffee beans directly from small plot family farmers in Guatemala since 2005. One of his classes gives an overview of the coffee industry from seed to cup.
What determines a perfect cup of coffee is very subjective, said Izel Michel, a Carol Stream graduate assistant in the coffee roaster lab at North Central College.
“I think a good cup of coffee would be one where it not only tastes good … but also one that I know came from a place of good. Something that was sourced ethically I think is what makes for me, personally, a good cup of coffee,” Michel said.