In this issue, we’re taking a step back and focusing on some big questions that could shape the future of our industry.

Dr. ILJA CROIJMANS explores why the vocabulary we use to describe aromas matters, sharing findings of previous research on the evolution of sensory language from hunter-gathers to wine and coffee professionals.

JENN RUGOLO distils findings of the SCA’s Price Crisis Response (PCR) report and offers some ways we can begin to put some of the report’s recommendations into practice immediately.

Specialty Coffee Association CEO YANNIS APOSTOLOPOULOS shares findings from the recent Coffee Growth Dynamics Report from Euromonitor International.

We know that high-quality coffee comes at a cost, but what are the unseen costs of selling that coffee with a story? EVER MEISTER asks herself this question every day—and now she’s asking all of us.

NOA BERGER explores some of the different ways packaging helps to construct different types of authenticity.

Sitting at the crossroads between Scandinavia and the Baltics, Helsinki has this wonderfully Finnish feeling about it while remaining accessible, vibrant, and dynamic.

“An update on the status of coffee vocabulary is very much called for,” wrote Ilja. And so, when presenting this work at Sensory Summit in Zurich—complete with wine and coffee samples—Ilja also collected data.