Two years ago in Budapest, we released our first-ever 25 Magazine. It’s exciting to begin our third year of insights, stories, and research with the release of Issue 09!

While the global demand for coffee is steadily increasing, climate change and other threats are posing significant challenges to the future of coffee production. STEPHANIE ALCALA explores the current state of genetic diversity and how we can create climate resilient crops, as she shares some highlights from her research project investigating the genetic composition of the beloved Panamanian Geisha.

Pure water is a thing of ephemerality – outside of a lab in nature or civilization, water is never by itself. MARCO WELLINGER of ZHAW (Wädenswil, Switzerland) explains why alkalinity is more important than pH and why you should adjust your water recipes to your beverage ratio and extraction method.

Until recently, Paris was renowned more for its cafés than the quality of its coffee, but the past decade has seen the city experience a growing wave of specialty coffee shop openings. NOA BERGER traces how French cafés and roasters navigate the “glocalization” of specialty coffee. All photos by Albin Durand for La Fontaine de Belleville.

This year, South Korea's Jooyeon Jeon was crowned the 20th World Barista Champion at the World Coffee Championships in Boston. KELSEY KUDAK traces the evolution of the global competition and its impact on the specialty coffee industry over the past 20 years.

Great coffee is often given distinction through great design. In an increasingly crowded specialty coffee retail market, great design also serves an important function in distinguishing one product from another.