The Science of Coffee

For your coffee to taste its best, it’s crucial you buy fresh roasts and grind fresh.… .….Or maybe not.  When I began creating this episode, I was convinced that ‘fresh is best’. But, after delving into the science of coffee freshness, I don’t believe that anymore.  This episode goes deep into how diffusion and oxidation changes a coffee’s flavours. You’ll learn what it takes to store your coffee grounds unbelievably well. So well, that if you do it right, you will struggle to taste the difference between two month old coffee compared to those same beans freshly ground! But here’s the weirdest thing: Maybe, just maybe, you will prefer old coffee more than the fresh stuff. ---------- Please spread the word about The Science of Coffee! Discover how I make these Filter Stories episodes by subscribing to my Substack newsletter.  Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify Follow me on Instagram and tag me in an Instagram story Write a review on Apple Podcasts Explore Mahlkönig’s range of world leading grinders, trusted by baristas globally. Dive deeper into the science of coffee freshness Do a Certificate of Advanced Studies with the Coffee Excellence Centre Pick up a copy of the SCA’s Coffee Freshness Handbook Connect with my very knowledgeable guests Samo Smrke - Instagram 19 Grams Coffee Roasters in Berlin - Instagram Arnaldo Rodrigues - LinkedIn The Science of Coffee is made possible by these leading coffee organisations: BWT Water and More Marco Beverage Systems ROEST Sustainable Harvest Mahlkönig The Science of Coffee is a spin-off series from James Harper's documentary podcast Filter Stories Subscribe to A History of Coffee podcast

In the last episode, I discovered that rinsing my Chemex filter papers was a waste of time! As a result I’ve managed to claw back over seven days of my life left on earth.  But why stop there?  The coffee industry is full of elaborate ways of brewing and savouring coffee: fancy drippers, cold metal balls, “slurp-able” cupping spoons. These are very fun, but how many of them actually affect the flavour of our coffee? I fear elaborate coffee gear is wasting our time and money. They're distracting us from the existential crises in coffee that actually require all our attention now. For example, the issue of farmers who grow delicious coffees quitting the business because it’s just getting too hard.  But to figure out whether a popular new coffee tool was actually waste of time or not, I needed to think like a scientist.  This episode is the journey I went on to rewire my brain: I had to learn what good evidence looks like, what to do if I can’t find good evidence, and why it’s important to focus mostly on experimental results while resisting the allure of a compelling theory.  Please spread the word about The Science of Coffee! Discover how I make these Filter Stories episodes by subscribing to my Substack newsletter.  Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify Follow me on Instagram and tag me in an Instagram story Write a review on Apple Podcasts Discover this episode’s sponsor BWT’s water filtration products. I use their Penguin magnesium filter cartridges and cafes can use their BestAqua ROC Dive deeper into the science of slurping, water and Signal Detection Theory Do a Certificate of Advanced Studies with the Coffee Excellence Centre Read Georgiana’s paper on soup slurping Learn more about Signal Detection Theory Explore BWT White Paper on the effects of magnesium (German) Browse Christopher Hendon’s book Water for Coffee  Take Barista Hustle's Water course  Watch James Hoffman's water video Connect with my very knowledgeable guests Morten Munchow - Coffee Mind website Jeremy Nelson - LinkedIn Samo Smrke - Instagram Georgiana Juravle - Google Scholar Young Baek - Instagram Frank Neuhausen - LinkedIn Sergio Barbarisi - LinkedIn Alessandro Genovese - LinkedIn The Science of Coffee is made possible by these leading coffee organisations: BWT Water and More Marco Beverage Systems ROEST Sustainable Harvest Mahlkönig The Science of Coffee is a spin-off series from James Harper's documentary podcast Filter Stories Subscribe to A History of Coffee podcast

Should you rinse your filter paper before making a filter coffee? Almost everybody in coffee internet says you should.  But what if most of coffee internet was wrong? In this episode, I show you how I try to answer this question like a professional sensory scientist would.  It’s hard. It’s frustrating. But ultimately, it’s worth it because I end up saving seven days of my life left on earth! Please spread the word about The Science of Coffee! Discover how I make these Filter Stories episodes by subscribing to my Substack newsletter Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify Follow me on Instagram and tag me in an Instagram story Write a review on Apple Podcasts Bring out vibrancy in your coffee with BWT’s magnesium water filters for the home and cafe Dive deeper into sensory science methodologies Take Becky Bleibaum’s free introductory sensory science course!  Set up a triangulation yourself with DragonflySci’s worksheets Understand Rose Marie Pangborn’s three step process better with Morten Münchow (“Pangborn’s Razor”) Do a Certificate of Advanced Studies with the Coffee Excellence Centre Connect with my very knowledgeable guests Morten Munchow - Coffee Mind website Becky Bleibaum - LinkedIn Samo Smrke - Instagram Sophie Vo - LinkedIn The Science of Coffee is made possible by these leading coffee organisations: BWT Water and More Marco Beverage Systems ROEST Sustainable Harvest Mahlkönig The Science of Coffee is a spin-off series from James Harper's documentary podcast Filter Stories Subscribe to A History of Coffee podcast

Farming coffee organically is amazing because soils are more alive, birds and insects are more plentiful, farmers avoid getting sick with agrochemicals. But, if it’s so great, why is less than 10% of the world’s coffee grown organically? The fact is, going organic is hard. Much harder than growing coffee conventionally. In this episode I show you the story of one of Central America’s most successful organic coffee cooperatives, RAOS, and the four big hurdles that stood in the way of their early founders who all dreamed of converting their farms to organic. This story changed my understanding of farming and is now the reason I choose organic specialty coffee whenever I can. Please spread the word about The Science of Coffee! Discover how I make these Filter Stories episodes by subscribing to my Substack newsletter Follow me on Instagram and tag me in an Instagram story Write a review on Apple Podcasts Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify Dive deeper into organic coffee Learn more about Sustainable Harvest’s Most Valuable Producer programme, their cupping app Tastify, and explore their range of certified organic and Fairtrade coffees Explore RAOS (Cooperativa Regional Mixta de Agricultores Organicos de la Sierra)'s story for yourself Are you a coffee farmer? Get in touch with Lalo Perez Varaona Connect with my very knowledgeable guests Lalo Perez Varaona - LinkedIn Jorge Cuevas - LinkedIn Andrea Futterer - GEPA website Osman Contreras - LinkedIn Roberto Rene Gonzales - Farm website The Science of Coffee is made possible by these leading coffee organisations BWT Water and More Marco Beverage Systems ROEST Sustainable Harvest Mahlkönig The Science of Coffee is a spin-off series from James Harper's documentary podcast Filter Stories Subscribe to A History of Coffee podcast