Rachel Northrop

Specialty blending: the return to coffee’s original art

Blending is one of specialty coffee’s original arts. Part of the excitement around sourcing better coffee in the second wave was the ability to roast it well and build a reputation on the consistent quality of new household names. The third wave arrived with a rush of single origins and blends took a backseat. Now, blends are returning to the forefront as specialty coffee returns to its roots, building blends that complement single origins for a complete and balanced coffee menu.

Blending, roasting & processing

Sustainable quality at scale in Brazil and Colombia

Coffee quality and sustainability are sometimes seen as opposing goals, that to achieve high quality means eschewing ecological awareness and that an environmental approach to coffee production does not leave room for additional quality standards. But, as farms in Brazil and Colombia prove, large scale coffee production can leverage its size to achieve both cup quality and overall sustainability in tandem. By Rachel Northrop

Sustainability

Central America: At the forefront of coffee R&D

Central America is home to many of the world’s most important coffee research and development projects. Participatory research involving producers is the new norm, generating localised strategies that account for the realities of managing both smallholder and commercial farms. By Rachel Northrop

Business, Origins