UC Davis has inaugurated a center dedicated to the study and education of one of the world’s most beloved beverages—coffee. Launched in May, the Coffee Center aims to support farmers, assess the sustainability of coffee production, and address food safety concerns. This initiative follows nearly a decade after the university introduced its first course on the science of coffee.
Bill Ristenpart, the center’s director and a professor of chemical engineering, highlighted the historical focus on wine research over coffee. “We’re trying to elevate coffee and make it a topic of academic research and an academic talent pipeline to help support the industry and help support what’s arguably the world’s most important beverage,” he stated.
In the United States, the majority of coffee is imported from countries like Brazil, Colombia, and Vietnam, as per the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Notably, California stands out as one of the few U.S. regions cultivating coffee. The U.S. ranks as the second-largest importer of coffee globally, following the European Union.
UC Davis, known for its extensive research in winemaking and brewing industries, now boasts the nation’s first academic building dedicated to coffee research and education. The 7,000-square-foot facility is located within the UC Davis Arboretum, adjacent to the Robert Mondavi Institute of Wine and Food Science.
Laudia Anokye-Bempah, a graduate student in biological systems engineering, expressed her research interests, stating she aims “to control how your roasted beans are going to come out to the roaster,” and to manage elements like acidity levels.
While other institutions such as Texas A&M University and Vanderbilt University have explored coffee studies, the UC Davis Coffee Center distinguishes itself with its comprehensive approach, encompassing agriculture, chemistry, and more. Edward Fischer, a professor of anthropology and director of the Institute for Coffee Studies at Vanderbilt, emphasized the complexity of coffee and the importance of interdisciplinary research. “It’s really important to bring together all of these different aspects, and that’s what Davis is doing,” Fischer remarked.
Fischer also noted that his students often gain a new perspective on the world through the study of coffee, recognizing the arbitrary nature of academic boundaries. “Coffee is a way of showing how all of those boundaries that we draw in the world are really arbitrary,” he explained.
Camilla Yuan, a UC Davis alum and director of coffee and roasting at Camellia Coffee Roasters in Sacramento, recently visited the Coffee Center. “Having a center and having resources for folks who are interested in specialty coffee or just coffee world in general, I think, is super fascinating and cool,” Yuan said. “I’m glad that something like this is happening.”