The Science of Coffee

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 spin-off series from James Harper’s documentary podcast Filter Stories.Follow James on Instagram: https://bit.ly/2Mlkk0OListen to Filter Stories: https://bit.ly/3ajoT5

The Science of Coffee is a science podcast hosted by James Harper, with 34 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

James Harper hosts The Science of Coffee, a science show with 34 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #15

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

  Dec 8, 202530 minS3

  <p>For twenty years, the 2004 cupping form profoundly shaped the specialty coffee world.</p> <p> </p> <p>But on the hillsides of coffee farms, some of the form’s byproducts have been disadvantaging producers. </p> <p> </p> <p>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. </p> <p> </p> <p >The new coffee evaluation form, the CVA, is still young, and with any luck it will keep evolving. I hope for a...

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  Episode #14

  Coffee Quality, Part 2: How “quality” became a myth

  Dec 8, 202526 minS3

  <p>If you ask two specialty professionals what makes a high-quality coffee, you’ll likely get a surprisingly consistent answer: clean, sweet, juicy, bright. To an outsider, they would be forgiven for thinking coffee quality is universally defined.</p> <p> </p> <p>But the truth is more sober.</p> <p> </p> <p>In this episode, we examine how a simple cupping form helped create a universal idea of quality. We then look at the evidence that, in fact, it’s just the personal preferences of a small group of people masquerading as universal quality. </p> <p> </p> <p>Please support my work...

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  Episode #13

  Coffee Quality, Part 1: The birth of specialty coffee flavours

  Dec 8, 202524 minS3

  <p>For the longest time, coffees were dull and bitter. But then a small group of pioneers changed the world. </p> <p> </p> <p>In this episode, we travel back to the 1960s and ’70s to meet the trailblazers who realised coffees could taste distinctive: sweeter, brighter, cleaner. </p> <p> </p> <p>We discover how their personal preferences became a movement, then a form, and eventually a global definition of “quality”.</p> <p> </p> <p>Please support my work directly at Ko-fi.com/FilterStories</p> <p> </p> <p>Other ways you can help:</p> <p>Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify<br> ...

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  Episode #12

  How specialty coffee woke up to water’s role in flavour

  Jul 28, 202526 minS3

  <p >For the longest time, the coffee community only cared about water’s impact ruining espresso machine boilers and kettles. But what about water’s impact on coffee flavour?</p> <p > </p> <p >In this episode, I tell the story of how the specialty coffee community came to understand water chemistry: the pioneering work of the computational chemist Christopher Hendon and British roaster Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood, the genesis of the SCA’s Water Quality Handbook, and where we are today understanding the impact of minerals on our water.</p> <p > </p> <p >I strongly recommend listening to the two episodes before this one...

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  Episode #11

  The two ingredients in water that ruin your coffee, and the ancient story behind them

  Jul 28, 202539 minS3

  <p >550 million years ago, earth was perfect. We had perfect water for coffee AND we were living in a vegetarian paradise!</p> <p > </p> <p >But then Earth changed—violently. The planet shifted from a peaceful, plant-eating paradise to a darker, more brutal world. And in this new world, the chemistry of water was forever altered. </p> <p > </p> <p >This is the wild story of how earth-shaking forces and the spirits of long-dead critters ruin your coffees today. </p> <p > </p> <p >This story will help you remember the two invisible ingredients in your water that have a huge impac...

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