The Coffee Science Foundation (CSF), supported by the Specialty Coffee Association, today made an exciting announcement. It has embarked on a new research project in collaboration with the UC Davis Coffee Center. This project will zero in on the topic of green coffee defects.
Interestingly, this announcement comes just a month after the SCA and CSF revealed a similar research effort on green coffee defects, this time with the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) in Switzerland. According to the non – profit CSF, green coffee defects are one of its strategic research priorities for the year.
CSF Executive Director Peter Giuliano shared the rationale behind the dual partnerships with DCN. “We decided to collaborate with these two institutions separately because their projects focus on coffees from different origins. The ZHAW research examines coffees and defects from Colombia, while the Davis research looks at those from Brazil and Guatemala,” he explained. “Each of these three origins has distinct environments, processing traditions, and so on. We anticipate that these factors could impact the types of physical defects that occur. By working with two research groups studying different coffees, we can gather more evidence and gain a more comprehensive understanding.”
Both projects are expected to play a crucial role in shaping future green coffee grading standards, as published by the SCA.
William Ristenpart, the director of the UC Davis Coffee Center, highlighted the significance of the research in the announcement of the UC Davis initiative. “Today, coffee is evaluated based on strict physical defect standards. However, there is limited knowledge about how these standards were historically developed. For instance, why are five chipped beans considered equivalent to one fully black bean? Why not four or six?” he pondered. “We’re enthusiastic because we believe our research will help establish a rigorous and quantitative foundation for green coffee defect standards.”
The SCA, the world’s largest coffee trade association with a presence in the United States and Europe, has maintained a green coffee classification system for decades. This system is often presented as a poster and was developed in tandem with the organization’s legacy cupping form. The former Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) first published its Arabica Green Coffee Defect Handbook in 2004.
The SCA further elaborated on the UC Davis research project. It will involve a panel of regular coffee – drinking consumers to determine the impacts of defects on the taste of the brewed coffee. The aim is to see if the numerical equivalencies traditionally assigned to defects in green coffee grading align with what coffee drinkers actually perceive through their senses.
“The research has the potential to refine coffee grading practices by understanding the thresholds at which physical defects become noticeable in brewed coffee,” the SCA stated. “This will provide more scientifically – based criteria for evaluating green coffee quality. Additionally, the findings could have far – reaching applications across the coffee industry, applicable to other coffee origins and a wider range of defects.”
Related Topics：
- Starbucks Teams Up with Harry Kane to Launch New Coffee
- Foxtail Coffee Expands to Newnan, Taking Over Former Heirloom Donuts Spot
- KoKo Coffee Expands to Boston’s North Station with New Location