That is good news about the CIA adding coffee to the curriculum. Apart from educational programs for chefs, the other main way that restaurants increase their coffee IQ is via their vendors — the ones that give a damn, I mean. In the Bay Area I feel safer ordering espresso in a venue supplied by Blue Bottle or (the unfortunately-named) Mr. Espresso.

Re the CCA diploma mill, the less said, the better, and that’s speaking from first-hand knowledge (not as a student, thank God!) Their admissions office would in any other company be called a Sales Dept.: the culinary version of Glengarry Glen Ross.