Origin stories do more than add color to your cup: these extrinsic attributes are an integral part of determining the price we pay (and that farmers earn) for coffee. NAMISHA PARTHASARATHY explores the history, challenges, and opportunities of specialty coffee in India.

Lead author SARA YEAGER shares the findings of a recently published paper, “Roast Level and Brew Temperature Significantly Affect the Color of Brewed Coffee,” published in the Journal of Food Science, exploring how coffee beverage color varies with origin, roast level, and brew temperature.

Lead Author JIEXIN LIANG shares findings of a recent paper, “An Equilibrium Desorption Model for Strength and Extraction Yield of Full Immersion Brewed Coffee,” published in Scientific Reports, that outlines a predictive model for the equilibrium strength and extraction of “full immersion brewed coffee” (cupping) between 80°C and 99°C (176°F and 210°F) and suggests we’re more easily able to control our total dissolved solids (TDS) via brew ratio instead of our extraction yield (E).

Efforts to make coffee’s supply chain more sustainable have resulted in more awareness of the labor it takes to produce coffee, but some parts of the chain remain overlooked. ERIKA KOSS sheds light on the vital human labor that makes it possible for farmers to be paid and for baristas to serve coffee.

We’ve written quite a bit, recently, about the value of coffee.

CECILIA HAE-JIN LEE traces the history of coffee in Korea.

DEOGRACIAS KALIMA explores the complex history and state of coffee growing in Malawi.

Professor CARLOS CARPIO, PhD and KATIE VON DER LIETH share a preview of a forthcoming multidisciplinary Coffee Science Foundation research project on specialty coffee labor dynamics in El Salvador and Honduras.

Lead Author NIZAM ABDU shares the findings of a recent meta-analysis of coffee ecolabeling published in Heliyon, an all-science, open access journal.

JANICA ANDERZÉN and Professor V. ERNESTO MÉNDEZ of the Agroecology and Livelihoods Collaborative at the University of Vermont trace the efforts of a new initiative, the State of the Smallholder Coffee Farmer, and explain what’s needed to take the project beyond this first stage.

MARÍA PAZ LOBO ZELEDÓN explains how the cafecito experience is changing in the Costa Rican capital.

Even the simplest communication requires two parties for a message to truly “transmit”: a sender and a receiver.

Sociolinguist ANDRE JOSEPH THENG explores what the application of semiotic theory—the study of signs and symbols—to specialty coffee spaces can tell us about how we construct and identify them (and at what cost). Photos by NIKKO PASCUA.

Lead author Dr. MACKENZIE BATALI outlines findings from a recently published paper, “Titratable Acidity, Perceived Sourness, and Liking of Acidity in Drip Brewed Coffee,” that illuminate a key specialty coffee flavor attribute.

ANDREW COTTER considers the results of recent scientific publications focused on the impact of coffee’s brewing temperature on consumer preferences of brewed coffee.

ELISA CRISCIONE examines the digitalization in coffee and suggests a shift in the current data collection model that could help it become a tool for more equitable value distribution.

New Orleans is today a thriving coffee city, with a world-class specialty coffee scene. But New Orleans also has a deep history, and its coffee legacy makes it one of the most important places for coffee culture in the world.

Issue 15 sponsor, Pacific Barista Series, shares its approach to developing and delivering community support programs.

RAY MWAREYA and NYASHA BHOBO tell the story of Zimbabwe’s coffee collapse and recovery as the country grapples with the legacies of its colonial history.