Learning resources for specialty coffee professionals and enthusiasts including glossaries, guides, articles, eBooks and more covering different aspects of the specialty coffee supply chain.
"What started innocently as a conversation over a cup of Colombian coffee, and an inquiry to create a quick graphic for a public coffee tasting, soon became an obsession. I’ve been quietly digging into coffee history for some time now, and suddenly I found myself pulling every reference I could. There was a massive gap in our industry’s commonly understood Arabica family tree. Where did these mutations and hybridizations take place? Who was responsible? And when did they occur?"
ReadBourbon coffee traces its global influence back to Réunion Island, where a small genetic pool reshaped arabica cultivation worldwide. This article explores Bourbon’s botanical origins, its spread across Africa and the Americas, and the emergence of Laurina—a rare mutation prized today for its distinctive cup profile and potential for specialty market differentiation.
Read"In a previous guide, we covered all the main coffee plant types, such as varieties, cultivars, hybrids, landraces and more. Now that we know the important distinctions between all these plant types and how they came into being, it’s time to explore the most prominent individual varieties and cultivars. If you’re a roaster, these are the most common names you’ll see on any seller’s offer sheet — names like Bourbon, SL28, Pacamara, Kent, or even the somewhat problematic “heirloom.” Where did they get these names? From which countries did they originate? Who are their parents? Why do roasters prize them? Read on to learn more…"
Read"Coffea arabica has evolved dramatically over the course of history, rising from humble under-canopy trees growing wild in the forests of Keffa in western Ethiopia and South Sudan’s Boma Plateau into globally traded agricultural product. As with the difference between a Valencia and a Blood orange, the specific type of coffee can impact a plant’s morphology (physical appearance), annual yield, resistance to disease and, of course, flavor."
Read"In December 2018, a small group of us drove the mercifully paved high route from Yirga Alem, in Sidama, to Shakiso, in Guji, arriving in the dark. Early the next morning on our way to the farms we stopped at a café for fatira, a flaky breakfast pancake cut into squares, bowls of honey, and boiling hot macchiatos. The early sun was a disco ball in the scuffed windows. It was the beginning of the end of months of unrest in the south and the Gedeo and Guji zones were allowing transit again. A few months earlier, conflict had erupted across the Oromia region, Ethiopia’s largest by area and population, which surrounds the main southern coffee zones of Sidama and Gedeo, and includes Guji."
Read"The only time I’ve ever actually sprinted through an airport to catch a flight, I was on my way to Guatemala City, from Chicago, via Miami. While the Chicago–Miami connection landed on time, the gate was not ready to receive the plane, and we sat for nearly 30 minutes on the tarmac. I just barely made my connection to Guatemala, but my luggage did not. I spent the next few days trekking through Antigua with a single set of clothing and very little else."
Read"“Karibu” is how I’m greeted, in local Swahili dialect. “Asante sana” is the reply. “Thank you very much.” And then I wait for what seems like ages in Dar es Salaam’s cramped, bustling international airport. It’s August, wintertime for the southern hemisphere nation, but that means relatively little at sea level on the coast so close to the equator. Dar is a hot city, and humid. The air is heavy with vehicle emission pollution. During rush hour it can take you 2 hours to reach the heart of downtown or the coastline from the Julius Nyerere International Airport, a mere 11km on a 6-lane divided highway. Downtown Dar es Salaam is like many other downtowns — tall buildings and narrow streets full of people, street artists and business suits and food carts vying for attention, competing with storefronts, residences, and the commercial coastline, all set against the dusky blues of the Indian Ocean."
Read"Ethiopia’s Commodity Exchange, the ECX, celebrated its tenth anniversary with a number of important changes in 2017. The country, with a deeply embedded history in coffee, has much to teach us regarding its forays into state-run auctions. After ten years of evolution of the ECX, it’s worth our time to examine how the past has shaped the present and to analyze what the current system can offer to farmers, traders, and roasters."
Read"Auctioning is perhaps one of the most convoluted and least efficient ways to complete a coffee transaction. It also happens to be one of the very first means used for trading green coffee. It persists today as the primary method for purchasing coffees from nations such as Kenya and Tanzania, and it maintains an important role in the promotion of high quality microlots. It can also, in best case scenarios, function as a method of discovery for roasters and producers, a means toward closer relationships through the supply chain."
Read"At the same time, he directed the revocation of all licenses for traders purchasing coffee directly from farmers, reinstated cooperatives, and mandated all coffee be purchased by exporters through the auction, effectively eliminating the possibility of direct trade from farmer to exporter. As this year’s harvest approaches, Tanzania coffee farmers and traders are facing a stark new reality, and it remains to be seen how the market and the actors involved will navigate the new regulations, or what effect the new system will have on the specialty market. It’s the latest chapter in the long, complex history of Tanzania’s coffee sector."
Read"Ethiopia is, arguably, the most important origin in specialty coffee. It appears on every roaster’s menu, consistently wins competitions like the Good Food Awards, and is generally regarded as the Crown Jewel (heh) of producing countries. As Royal’s Ethiopian buyer, I get to delve deep into this coffee paradise. Composing our lineup of top Fully Washed and Sun Dried Ethiopian selections each year keeps me excited about coffee."
Read"Spuds, yams, tubers – baked, boiled, fried, mashed… There’s almost no limit to the versatility of the root vegetable we often associate with Idaho or Ireland. It might surprise you to know that there are more than 1,000 varieties of potato, and that Peru claims the origin of the plant, as well as the greatest genetic diversity. But this article is not about potatoes. It is about the potato defect — sometimes called PTD, standing for “potato taste defect” — found in coffee. Let’s explore some common questions:"
Read"One day last November I was working at The Crown in Oakland when I received a call from Felix Chambi Garcia, who oversees quality control and exports for Bolivia-based Cooperativa San Juan. It was regarding Bolivia’s 7th annual Taza Presidencial coffee quality competition. “You’ve been invited to participate as a judge,” Felix said."
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