The Science of Coffee

James Harper

The Science of Coffee is a journey into coffee’s hidden microscopic secrets to help you make even better coffee at home. Documentary maker and coffee professional James Harper travels the world and speaks with leading coffee scientists to help you appreciate coffee more deeply. You are going to get taken into the science of water, coffee extraction, plant genetics, espresso technology, latte foam, sonic seasoning, our sense of taste and smell, organic farming, roasting, grinding and freshness, and how to think like a scientist. Press the Subscribe button so you don’t miss future episodes! The Science of Coffee is a...

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The Science of Coffee

Episodes (34)

Dec 8, 2025 Coffee Quality, Part 3: When the “quality” myth hits the farm
Dec 8, 2025 Coffee Quality, Part 2: How “quality” became a myth
Dec 8, 2025 Coffee Quality, Part 1: The birth of specialty coffee flavours

The Science of Coffee

Dec 8, 2025
30 minutes
69 MB

For twenty years, the 2004 cupping form profoundly shaped the specialty coffee world. But on the hillsides of coffee farms, some of the form’s byproducts have been disadvantaging producers. In this episode, we follow two producers whose lives collided with the myth of universal quality. These stories reveal how a single idea of “quality” can close doors for the people with the least power in the supply chain. The new coffee evaluation form, the CVA, is still young, and with any luck it will keep evolving. I hope for a...

The Science of Coffee

Coffee Quality, Part 3: When the “quality” myth hits the farm

James Harper

00:00 -30:00