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Classify the latest bourbon roast from North Central College’s state-of-the-art Coffee Lab as a curiosity.

Jerry Thalmann, associate professor of accounting and director of the Coffee Lab, said the green coffee beans harvested from small, family farms in Guatemala were aged for 60 days in a bourbon barrel to lend a hint of the spirit’s aroma.

The resulting brew is more of a novelty than anything else, he said.

“It’s all-natural flavoring in comparison to what other flavoring would be,” Thalmann said. “Certain people really love it. People who like it keep coming back for more.”

It might be more trendy than tasty for a true coffee aficionado, he said.

Thalmann likened the bourbon coffee to other flavored coffees, like pumpkin spice.

“It smells so good, but doesn’t have a lot of flavor,” he said. “If you want good coffee or like good coffee, you may not like this.”

Because the beans are roasted in excess of 400 degrees, any residual alcohol burns off, Thalmann said.

The Coffee Lab is an offshoot of the college’s chapter of Enactus, a student and faculty collaboration that promotes social justice through entrepreneurship. The group sources beans from small plot family farmers in Guatemala that they use to roast, package, market and sell, producing the money needed to fund the enterprise.

Thalmann and Dr. Matthew Krystal lead biannual student trips to Guatemala so they can personally connect with the farmers and learn about how their coffee bean purchases impact the local economy.

Tapping coffee with liquor makes sense when you consider the market for both products.

The National Coffee Association USA’s 2021 fall trends report shows 60% of Americans consumed coffee in the past day, more than any other beverage, including tap water (47%) while Kentucky Distillers’ Association data shows bourbon production has skyrocketed 436% since 1999.

This is the second time the Coffee Lab has attempted the bourbon-barrel process.

Three months ago, beans were aged at intervals of 60, 90 and 120 days, Thalmann said.

“Surprisingly, the most flavor was a 60-day, not 120,” he said.

What’s in the works next? Beans aged in wine barrels.

“But have we no idea that’s going to come out,” Thalmann said.

As of 60 days, the smell remains like that of green coffee beans, which he likened to the aroma of a bucket of rocks.

“We’re going to try it and see if the flavor is there. But I question it,” Thalmann said.

They’re planning to place wet towels around the barrel in an attempt to create more moisture, which might infuse more flavor into the beans.

If bourbon- or wine-flavored coffee isn’t your cup of java, the lab has other blends it’s produced and selling, including:

● Polo’s blend, which is made from Guatemalan beans and named for the bus driver who escorted North Central students on many trips to Guatemala. He died from complications of COVID-19 and a portion of the proceeds from every bag will fund home health care kits for Guatemalan households in Polo’s community who are caring for coronavirus-stricken family members;

● Green Bean is a blend of beans from Guatemala and Costa Rica and supports initiatives led by Green Scene, a student organization dedicated teaching fellow students about environmental sustainability initiatives and developing new ones on campus;

● Cardinal Hope & Help, a Guatemalan blend, which supports student success inside and outside the classroom by providing emergency assistance for food, clothing, shelter, transportation and educational supplies.

● Black Magic Coffee, developed in collaboration with the college’s Black Student Association and being sold in Rwanda, Rwanda/Guatemala and Ethiopian blends. Profits help a scholarship fund set up for an NCC student.

Coffee produced by the lab can be purchased online at northcentralcoffeelab.com.