ESG for You and Me: Takeaways for the Coffee Industry | 25, Issue 18

Originating in the early 2000s as an acronym to capture non-financial areas connected to business performance, the term ESG—short for “environmental, social, and governance”—has become significantly more visible over time. While the term now appears in mainstream outlets more often than it did a decade ago, many people are still unclear on what it really means, how it differs from or aligns with sustainability, and its potential relevance for their own organizations. KELLEM EMANUELE offers an ESG primer tailored for the coffee industry.

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One Size (Does Not) Fit All: The Incommensurability of Sustainability | 25, Issue 18

The word “sustainability” is everywhere, but do we really know—or agree on—what it means? Professor SARAH GRANT explains why, despite its difficulty, understanding “sustainability” as a framework is a worthwhile endeavor, especially in understanding culturally relative perspectives and the power relations inherent in the promotion of sustainable coffee.

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How Do Cuppers Cup? Evaluating and Evolving Elements of the SCA Cupping Protocol | 25, Issue 18

Dr. JORGE BERNY and Dr. MARIO FERNÁNDEZ-ALDUENDA share initial results of a collaborative study examining how cuppers cup and exploring the potential impacts of a proposed component of the reengineered cupping protocol.

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What Would it Cost? Calculating Specialty Coffee Farmworker Living Wages in Honduras and El Salvador | 25, Issue 18

Professors CARLOS CARPIO, PhD and LUIS SANDOVAL, PhD worked with BRENDA MAMANI, MSc to ask: what are the living wages in El Salvador and Honduras, and how would current total costs and profitability of coffee production be affected if farmworkers were paid living wages?

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Amped Up: Using Electricity to Detect and Quantify Molecules in Brewed Coffee | 25, Issue 18

Assistant Professor CHRISTOPHER H. HENDON shares the theory underpinning an ongoing Coffee Science Foundation research project, supported by Simonelli Group, toward deepening our understanding of espresso extraction.

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All in the Mind: How External Cues Impact Brain Activity and Preference | 25, Issue 18

Corresponding author MATEUS MANFRIN ARTÊNCIO shares the findings of a recent paper, “A Cup of Black Coffee with GI, please! Evidence of Geographical Indication Influence on a Coffee Tasting Experiment,” published in Physiology & Behavior, confirming the significant influence an extrinsic attribute like a geographical indication has on consumers’ tasting.

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Walk on the Wild Side: The Future of Wild Coffees in Your Cup | Panel Discussion | Re:co 2022

In late 2018, scientists rediscovered Coffea stenophylla— a species unrelated to either Arabica or robusta—in the wild in Sierra Leone, and later confirmed century-old reports of its high cup quality.

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Welcome to Re:co | Kim Elena Ionescu | Re:co 2022

Over the past 30 years, the concurrent internet-led waves of coffee and globalization have had a profound impact on our coffee consumption habits.

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From Underdog to Frontrunner: The Opportunities of Specialty Robusta | Emi-Beth Aku Quantson | Re:co 2022

While the use of wild coffees is still years away from commercialization, another coffee species already makes up 40% of coffee's global production: Coffea robusta.

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Exploring the Intrinsic: Shifting Landscape, Expanding Possibilities | Hanna Neuschwander | Re:co 2022

In the face of climate change and advances in technology, what is “specialty coffee”?

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Paradigm Shift: The Post-Harvest Processing Revolution | Joel Shuler | Re:co 2022

The current coffee processing revolution offers us means to improve the live of coffee growers and processors not just through direct product improvement, but through a new, powerful narrative that can drive more respect, and value, back to producers.

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Fragmenting Desires: Understanding Today’s Specialty Coffee Consumers | Kim Elena Ionescu | Re:co 2022

As more consumers come to the coffee-laden table, our collective preferences haven’t just shifted; they’ve fragmented.

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Intersecting Identities: Understanding Israel's Booming Specialty Market | Noa Berger | Re:co 2022

Make a quick list of the countries you know are experiencing exponential growth of coffee consumption and a blossoming specialty coffee scene: does it include Israel? If not, it should.

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Vietnam: A New Vocabulary | Will Frith | Re:co 2022

In addition to being the world’s leading producer of robusta, Vietnam also produces more arabica than Kenya or El Salvador – so why don’t we talk about it more?

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The Ethiopian Experience: Learning from the Spiritual Home of Specialty Coffee | Dagmawi I. Eminetu | Re:co 2022

We may be familiar with Ethiopia as the birthplace of coffee, but what can we learn about who engages with coffee and when by more deeply exploring its coffee culture?

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Consuming More than Coffee: Emerging Trends, Mediating Taste | Yannis Apostolopoulos | Re:co 2022

As specialty coffee reaches new markets—and the number of individuals making these choices increases—it becomes increasingly enmeshed with our sense of identity.

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Functional Flavor: Exploring the Growth of the "Coffee And" Segment | Jim Watson | Re:co 2022

As a move towards the "functional" grips the beverage sector, how might this trend shape opportunities for specialty coffee products and consumers?

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New Luxury in Specialty Coffee | Dr. Thomaï Serdari | Re:co 2022

Specialty coffee, although often burdened by coffee's "commodity" status, still needs to compete in the premium market--but is there a way to move beyond?

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Brick by (Virtual) Brick: Tapping the Limitless Potential of New Mediums | Morgan Eckroth | Re:co 2022

Despite (most) of our return to coffee spaces, coffee's unprecedented move online during lockdowns forced social media accounts to pivot from a tool to get people in seats to a destination in and of itself.

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Exploring the Extrinsic: Opportunities for Added Value | Jenn Rugolo | Re:co 2022

Do we really understand the impact of the attributes-based definition of specialty coffee on what is now "specialty"?

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