Do you know where your coffee comes from?
The exhortation to “get to know” your food by buying it from a farmers’ market or preparing and consuming it in its unprocessed state doesn’t really work that well when it comes to coffee. Most people in this country have never seen a coffee plant or an unroasted berry in person. And unless you live in a select few places in the U.S., you won’t meet a coffee farmer at your local market.
Coffee, which grows in a latitudinal band around the equator, is one of those tropical crops that — thanks to a long and complicated supply chain — remains disconnected from its origins for many people in the United States. Despite the fact that we drink, on average, 440 million cups of it per day.
Thanks to a movement known as Third Wave Coffee, there are people who know coffee’s origins, seeking out particular brands, countries of origin or certifications. They might invest in a fancy grinder or be able to identify certain flavor notes of various beans or roasts. But even the deepest coffee nerds might have some questions about the steps involved in coffee getting to their cups.
In the latest episode of our podcast, “What You’re Eating,” we speak to three coffee experts — Dakota Graff of Onyx Coffee Lab, Bartholomew Jones of Cxffeeblack and Anna Canning of the Worker-Driven Social Responsibility Project — to dive into where coffee comes from, culturally and geographically; how it grows and where; how it makes its journey from those far-flung places to our cups here in the U.S.; what labels and certifications to look for; and what it might mean for coffee, in this country, to be “local.”
Get the latest food news, from FoodPrint.
By subscribing to communications from FoodPrint, you are agreeing to receive emails from us. We promise not to email you too often or sell your information.
Top photo by hedgehog94/Adobe Stock.
More Reading
RFK Jr. pushes to close a food additive loophole – but is a gutted FDA up to the task?
April 14, 2025
Our latest podcast episode on pistachios: The making of a food trend
April 1, 2025
Americans love olive oil. Why doesn't the U.S. produce more of it?
February 28, 2025
Finding a pet food that aligns with your values
February 11, 2025
The EPA finally acknowledged the risks of PFAS in sewage sludge. What’s next?
February 10, 2025
How refrigeration transformed our palates and our supply chain
January 28, 2025
The truth about raw milk
January 24, 2025
The environmental benefits — and limitations — of hunting as a food source
January 6, 2025
What to expect in food & farm news in 2025
December 24, 2024
Can sail freight tackle the large carbon footprint of food transport?
December 17, 2024