University Board’s Cultural Arts will be hosting a coffee tasting called “Culturally Caffeinated,” Tuesday in the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union Bridge Lounge. The purpose of the event is to teach students about coffee from around the world.

The tasting will last from 2 p.m. until 6 p.m. or until they run out of coffee to brew, and there will be coffee from a variety of different places.

Katie Caulkins, UB’s cultural arts coordinator, said students will be able to read information about the countries each of the coffees come from and fill out a small survey regarding the taste of each cup of coffee.

“We will have coffee from Ethiopia, Guatemala, Brazil, Indonesia, Hawaii and Yemen,” Caulkins said.

After students take the survey, UB will collect the feedback and put each student’s survey into a drawing for a chance to win some of the cultural coffee.

Caulkins said the biggest difference between the coffees that come from these different parts of the world is their taste.

“Depending on how the beans are grown and in what soil, as well as many other processing details, the coffee could have a sweeter taste, a more bitter taste or a fruitier taste,” Caulkins said.

Members of the University Board will be assisting students with the tasting process and will be answering any questions students might have.

Caulkins said she would also be able to answer any questions students have about the different cultures and flavors of coffee.

Caulkins also said the UB Cultural Arts decided to host the coffee tasting for several reasons.

“The tasting not only introduces students to the culture of coffee tasting events, which are becoming increasingly popular like wine tasting, but also to the cultures of the different countries the coffee is from,” Caulkins said. “Also, college students love coffee, so hopefully this will bring a lot of students out to learn something new.”

Caulkins said the tasting will be a fun but educational event that she hopes people will not only enjoy but also learn something from.

“This event is for everyone, whether students tend to add mountains of cream and sugar to their coffee or if they take it black,” Caulkins said.

The coffee tasting is free and open to the public.

Abbey Whittington can be reached at 581-2812 or anwhittington@eiu.edu