Cultivating Curiosity | 25, Issue 21
Despite entering my sixth year of editing 25, I’m (somehow) still astonished at the organic way the editorial team often ends up with some kind of unifying link between all the features despite our best efforts to avoid any “theming” at the start of each cycle.
Nurturing Sustainable Coffee Excellence: The Coffee Science Foundation’s 2024-2025 Research Agenda | 25, Issue 21
MARY BASCO, SCA Research and Knowledge Development Programs Manager, outlines the Coffee Science Foundation’s 2024-2025 Research Agenda and outlines which research projects are on the horizon.
The “Other” Certified Coffee: Understanding Recent Rule Changes to the Intercontinental Exchange | 25, Issue 21
Commodity market analyst JUDY GANES explains the Intercontinental Exchange grading process and considers how recent changes to this practice, which results in exchange-certified coffee and impacts levels of “certified stock,” are likely to impact C market dynamics.
A Point of Tension: What We Know (and Think We Know) about Equitable Value Distribution | 25, Issue 21
SCA Sustainability Director, ANDRÉS MONTENEGRO, writes an “after action review” on the SCA’s Equitable Value Distribution Survey tool, offering insights into its process, highlighting key elements from its results, and providing early insights into how these results will impact the SCA’s Sustainable Coffee Agenda.
What Color is Your Coffee? | 25, Issue 21
University of California Davis Coffee Center scientists LAUDIA ANOKYE-BEMPAH, IRWIN R. DONIS-GONZÁLEZ, and WILLIAM D. RISTENPART describe research undertaken in 2023 with a goal of developing new roast color standards for the coffee industry.
It’s Electric: Understanding—and Reducing—Static Electricity During Grinding | 25, Issue 21
Drs. JOSHUA MÉNDEZ HARPER and CHRISTOPHER H. HENDON discuss the chemistry and physics behind the electrification of coffee during grinding, its effect on extraction, and strategies to mitigate it. All images are adapted from their recent academic publication “Moisture-Controlled Triboelectrification During Coffee Grinding,” published in Matter.
What You Know Matters: The Impact of Storytelling on Coffee Professionals’ Sensory Perception | 25, Issue 21
Corresponding author MATEUS MANFRIN ARTÊNCIO shares the findings of a recent paper, “The Impact of Coffee Origin Information on Sensory and Hedonic Judgment of Fine Amazonian Robusta Coffee,” published in the Journal of Sensory Studies, confirming the significant influence of origin information on the sensory perception of professional coffee tasters.
From Passive to Active: Expanding Our Understanding of Specialty Coffee Consumerism | 25, Issue 21
ALEXA ROMANO explores the emergence of specialty coffee culture as an embedded subculture within the broader coffee industry, and how the resulting shift from passive to active consumption asks us to rethink the consumer’s role in value creation and distribution.