Third-wave coffee explained

Third-wave coffee is a movement in coffee marketing emphasizing high quality. Beans are typically sourced from individual farms and are roasted more lightly to bring out their distinctive flavors. Though the term was coined in 1999,[1] the approach originated in the 1970s, with roasters such as the Coffee Connection.[2] [3]

History

The term "third-wave coffee" is generally attributed to the coffee professional Trish Rothgeb, who used the term in a 2003 article,[4] alluding to the three waves of feminism.[5] However, the specialty coffee broker and author, Timothy J. Castle, had already used the term in an article (Coffee's Third Wave) that he wrote for the Dec 1999 / Jan 2000 issue of the magazine Tea & Coffee Asia.[6] The first mention in the mainstream media was in 2005, in a National Public Radio piece about barista competitions.[7]

United States

In the first wave of coffee, coffee consumers generally did not differentiate by origin or beverage type. Instant coffee, grocery store canned coffee, and diner coffee were all hallmarks of first wave coffee. First wave coffee focuses on low price and consistent taste. Many restaurants offered free refills.

The second wave of coffee is generally credited to Peet's Coffee & Tea of Berkeley, California, which in the late 1960s began artisanal sourcing, roasting, and blending with a focus on highlighting countries of origin and their signature dark roast profile. Peet's Coffee inspired the founders of Starbucks of Seattle, Washington. The second wave of coffee introduced the concept of different origin countries to coffee consumption, beyond a generic cup of coffee. Fueled in large part by market competition between Colombian coffee producers and coffee producers from Brazil through the 1960s, coffee roasters highlighted flavor characteristics that varied depending on what countries coffees came from. While certain origin countries grew to be prized among coffee enthusiasts and professionals, the world's production of high-altitude grown arabica coffee, grown in countries within the tropical zone, became sought-after as each country had particular flavor profiles that were considered interesting and desirable. In addition to country of origin, the second wave of coffee introduced coffee-based beverages to the wider coffee-consuming world, particularly those traditional to Italy made with espresso.

Third-wave coffee is often associated with the concept of 'specialty coffee,' referring either to specialty grades of green (raw and unroasted) coffee beans (distinct from commercial grade coffee), or specialty coffee beverages of high quality and craft.[8]

United Kingdom

In the late twentieth century, instant coffee dominated the UK market. Inspired by the example of Starbucks, Seattle Coffee Company opened in London in 1995, opening over 50 stores before being taken over by Starbucks in 1998. Flat White, an early third-wave café, opened in 2005[9] and James Hoffmann's third-wave roastery Square Mile opened in 2008.[10]

From 2007 to 2009, the World Barista Championship was won by Londoners, starting with Hoffmann, and the 2010 edition of the competition was hosted in London. Hoffmann has since come to be regarded as a pioneer in the third-wave coffee movement in the UK, with The Globe and Mail describing him as "the godfather of London's coffee revolution".[11] [12] [13] [14]

Use of the term

The third-wave of coffee has been chronicled by publications such as The New York Times,[15] [16] [17] LA Weekly,[18] [19] [20] Los Angeles Times,[21] [22] La Opinión[23] and The Guardian.[24]

In March 2008, the food critic Jonathan Gold of LA Weekly defined the third wave of coffee:

The earlier term "specialty coffee" was coined in 1974, and refers narrowly to high-quality beans scoring 80 points or more on a 100-point scale.[25]

Australia

See also: Coffee in Australia. The third wave of coffee has been popular in Australia. Melbourne is known as the "capital of coffee" with its many cafes.[26]

Current status

Across the US and Canada, there are many third-wave roasters, and some stand-alone coffee shops or small chains that roast their own coffee. There are a few larger businesses, more prominent in roasting than in operating – the "Big Three of Third Wave Coffee"[27] [28] in the USA are Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea of Chicago; Stumptown Coffee Roasters of Portland, Oregon; and Counter Culture Coffee of Durham, North Carolina, all of which engage in direct trade sourcing. Intelligentsia has seven bars – four in Chicago, three in Los Angeles, together with one "lab" in New York.[29] Stumptown has 11 bars – five bars in Portland, one in Seattle, two in New York, one in Los Angeles, one in Chicago, and one in New Orleans.[30] Counter Culture has eight regional training centers – that do not function as retail stores – one in each of: Chicago, Atlanta, Asheville, Durham, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, New York, and Boston. By comparison, Starbucks has over 23,000 cafes worldwide as of 2015.[31]

Both Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea and Stumptown Coffee Roasters were acquired by Peet's Coffee & Tea (itself part of JAB Holding Company) in 2015.[31] At that time, Philz Coffee (headquartered in Oakland, California), Verve Coffee Roasters (headquartered in Santa Cruz, California) and Blue Bottle Coffee (headquartered in Oakland, California) were also considered major players in third-wave coffee.[32]

In 2014, Starbucks invested around $20 million in a coffee roastery and tasting room in Seattle, targeting the third-wave market. Starbucks' standard cafes use automated espresso machines which are faster and require less training than conventional espresso machines used by third-wave competitors.

See also

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2019-10-04 . Trish Rothgeb coined 'third wave' — and is now looking toward coffee's future . 2021-04-29 . Los Angeles Times . en-US . https://web.archive.org/web/20210129182526/https://www.latimes.com/food/story/2019-10-04/third-wave-coffee-trish-rothgeb . January 29, 2021.
  2. John J. Thompson, Jesus, Bread, and Chocolate: Crafting a Handmade Faith in a Mass-Market World, 2015,, chapter "Beyond Fair Trade": "George [Howell]'s influence can be found in all aspects of the Third Wave Coffee renaissance"
  3. Janelle Nanos, "George Howell Coffee: Back to the Grind", Boston Magazine, November 27, 2012 : "the 'third wave,' who fetishize coffee the way oenophiles do a grand cru—and whom Howell himself is largely responsible for inspiring"
  4. Web site: Norway and Coffee . Trish R Skeie (Rothgeb). Spring 2003 . The Flamekeeper . https://web.archive.org/web/20031011091223/http://roastersguild.org/052003_norway.shtml . October 11, 2003.
  5. Web site: The Waves of Feminism & Coffee – Tamper Tantrum . en-US . October 18, 2019 . October 18, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191018003302/http://www.tampertantrum.com/the-waves-of-feminism-coffee/ . live .
  6. Castle . Timothy . The Future of Specialty Coffee and the Next Wave . CoffeeTalk . January 23, 2016 . July 30, 2017 . en-US . July 30, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170730110252/http://coffeetalk.com/ctmagazine/01-2016/21518/ . live .
  7. News: Coffee Barista Preps for National Competition . Stuart Cohen . March 10, 2005 . NPR . April 2, 2018 . September 21, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180921034458/https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4530264 . live .
  8. https://www.perfectdailygrind.com/2017/04/third-wave-coffee-different-specialty// "What is Third Wave Coffee?, 2019"
  9. News: Buranyi . Stephen . 20 June 2020 . How London became a city of flat-white drinkers . Financial Times . 14 December 2021 . 14 December 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211214234224/https://www.ft.com/content/aff67921-6ddb-4cfa-8eac-88be4f7b0539 . live .
  10. Eldridge . Cory . 6 April 2015 . London: The Once and Future Coffee Capital . Fresh Cup Magazine . 9 December 2021 . 9 December 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211209133119/https://www.freshcup.com/the-once-and-future-coffee-capital/ . live .
  11. News: Collins . Robert . Getting a taste of London's buzzing coffee culture . 29 August 2022 . The Globe and Mail . 24 September 2015 . en-CA . 29 August 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220829144201/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/travel/destinations/getting-a-taste-of-londons-buzzing-coffee-culture/article26519112/ . live .
  12. Book: Cohen . Major . Coffee for Dummies . 2021 . John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated . Newark . 9781119679042 .
  13. Web site: Mridul . Anay . 2019-07-18 . Profile: James Hoffmann on his career, talking chains, coffee preferences and Brexit . 2020-09-02 . The Grammatical Nerd . en . 2021-03-26 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210326134309/https://thegrammaticalnerd.wordpress.com/2019/07/18/profile-james-hoffmann/ . live .
  14. News: An Interview With James Hoffmann, Author Of The World Atlas Of Coffee . 11 August 2022 . sprudge.com . 22 December 2014 . 28 October 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231028184312/https://sprudge.com/james-hoffmann-world-atlas-of-coffee-67733.html . live .
  15. News: Do I Detect a Hint of ... Joe? . The New York Times . May 29, 2008 . Hannah Wallace . February 23, 2017 . March 1, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170301191449/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/29/fashion/29Cuppings.html . live .
  16. News: Los Angeles: Intelligentsia . The New York Times . March 9, 2008 . Gregory Dicum . July 1, 2009 . May 18, 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080518011754/http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/03/09/travel/09foraging.html . live .
  17. News: Bean Town . The New York Times . October 24, 2008 . Ted Botha . February 23, 2017 . March 1, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170301171347/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/26/nyregion/thecity/26coff.html . live .
  18. News: La Mill: The Latest Buzz . LA Weekly . March 12, 2008 . Jonathan Gold . https://web.archive.org/web/20081219141056/http://www.laweekly.com/2008-03-13/eat-drink/the-latest-buzz . December 19, 2008.
  19. News: The 10 Best Dishes of 2008 . LA Weekly . December 31, 2008 . Jonathan Gold . 2009-07-01 . 2014-12-26 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141226224759/http://www.laweekly.com/2009-01-01/eat-drink/the-10-best-dishes-of-2008/ . dead .
  20. News: Tierra Mia Explores Coffee for the Latino Palate . LA Weekly . August 20, 2008 . Jonathan Gold . 2009-07-01 . 2014-12-26 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141226224923/http://www.laweekly.com/2008-08-21/eat-drink/palate-food-amp-wine-charcuterie-that-39-s-a-cut-above/ . dead .
  21. News: Artisans of the roast . Los Angeles Times . October 25, 2006 . Amy Scattergood . July 1, 2009 . May 30, 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090530093827/http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-roast102506,0,1608401.story . live .
  22. News: Coffeehouse Serves the Latino Community . Los Angeles Times . September 15, 2008 . Cyndia Zwahlen . July 1, 2009 . May 31, 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090531171441/http://articles.latimes.com/2008/sep/15/business/fi-smallbiz15 . live .
  23. News: Cafe Gourmet Pese La Crisis . La Opinion . September 7, 2008 . Yolanda Arenales . es . July 1, 2009 . September 14, 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090914164735/http://www.impre.com/negocios-finanzas/2008/9/7/cafe-gourmet-pese-a-la-crisis-79359-1.html . live .
  24. News: It's the third wave of coffee! . The Guardian . March 16, 2009 . Stuart Jeffries . December 17, 2016 . March 1, 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20170301230600/https://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2009/mar/16/best-barista-britain-coffee . live .
  25. Web site: Are Your Small Batch Coffee Beans Special? . fairtradeamerica.org . 15 April 2017 . April 18, 2018 . 19 April 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180419120721/http://www.fairtradeamerica.org/Media-Center/Blog/2017/April/Is-Your-Coffee-Special . live .
  26. Web site: The Third Wave of Coffee and How It Came to be | Foodifox . 2023-03-04 . 2023-03-04 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230304045200/https://foodifox.com.au/the-third-wave-of-coffee-and-how-it-came-to-be/ . live .
  27. http://www.portafilter.net/2009/12/decades-top-ten-in-specialty-coffee.html The Decade's Top Ten in Specialty Coffee
  28. Web site: Good to the last drop . June 30, 2008 . Monica Bhide . . April 7, 2010 . June 12, 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090612083324/http://www.salon.com/mwt/food/eat_drink/2008/06/30/coffee/index1.html . live . Elaborates that these three were widely cited in the industry as most influential.
  29. Web site: New York Training Lab - Intelligentsia Coffee . December 13, 2015 . December 22, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20151222115818/http://www.intelligentsiacoffee.com/location/new-york-training-lab . dead .
  30. Web site: Stumptown Coffee Roasters - Coffee Shop Locations . Stumptown Coffee Roasters . December 13, 2015 . December 10, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20151210025841/https://www.stumptowncoffee.com/locations/ . live .
  31. News: Peet's rides coffee's 'third wave' with stake in Intelligentsia . Reuters . October 30, 2015 . October 31, 2015 . November 19, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20151119081737/http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/30/us-intelligentsiacoffee-m-a-peets-idUSKCN0SO24220151030 . live .
  32. News: Li . Roland . Jan 5, 2024 . Philz Coffee shutters S.F. shop, moves HQ out of the city . June 25, 2024 . San Francisco Chronicle.

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