The Third Wave Coffee Question

people keep asking me so here we go

Back in 2017 I had a request from Sara Marquart, Food Chemist and Curator for the Deutsches Museum Museumsinsel, to write an essay about Third Wave Coffee. They were doing a special exhibition at the museum called Cosmos Coffee (2019) and wanted a piece for the book that would accompany the show. I was happy to do it, if just to help sort out all my own thoughts on the subject. I am sharing that essay here for you now, many years later. I hope it will answer a lot of the questions I am still getting about what third wave is and what the next waves will be. Thank you for reading it all the way through. Before you do that, though, I want to share my personal experience with third wave coffee and the idea of having ideas and sharing them with a whole industry and world

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As some of you know, I am credited with coining the phrase “third wave coffee”, and as a result, I inadvertently helped to define what first and second waves are as well. The idea of coining a phrase and putting it all out there at the very beginning of the century, has been mostly a great thing for me, personally. For the most part, folks have appreciated the concepts, and those who initially did not appreciate it, have decided to relax a little. Thank goodness.

The first article I wrote about third wave coffee came out in an industry newsletter in 2003 at the Boston SCAA Expo– the first and only paper newsletter from The SCAA’s Roasters Guild. It was about three years later that I finally heard that someone else had written about the idea. That was Tim Castle, a well-known coffee writer, and one who I had admired for years. You need to remember that back then, we didn’t have access to articles on the internet like we do today. I had never seen his article about third wave coffee, which I believe appeared in Tea and Coffee Journal Asia in 2000, (I was living in Norway at that time). I can only assume that the Roasters Guild hadn’t seen that either, as it probably wasn’t circulated outside of Asia, and so they had no trouble publishing my little essay. Mind you, I am not the only fan of Tim Castle’s writing. He is a legend to so many of us. Let me just say finally, no, I didn’t steal the idea from Castle. It was what we call “simultaneous discovery” and when I heard about his article, I was elated! Okay, so I got that out of the way…nope, not a thief of ideas…and yes, I acknowledge that Tim Castle also wrote about it. I certianly never went on any campaign to erase his contribution, for heaven’s sake, how and why would I?

As you read the following, I want you to consider that it’s almost entirely relevant today. There are some time queues in there that you’ll need to contextualize – like the C Market price as of that writing. All said and done, this essay holds up after everything coffee’s been through since 2018. Let me know what you think.

The Beginning and End of Coffee’s Third Wave

True coffee aficionados can begin tracking the Third Wave from the story of first place finisher in the Best of Panama competition 2004, the celebrated Hacienda La Esmeralda “Geisha” lot. This extraordinarily floral and fruited cup was the talk of the industry almost as soon as it was introduced to coffee experts, who came from all corners of the globe to taste and rank Panama’s best coffees. While coffee competitions and auctions had been growing in popularity since the turn of the millennia, it seemed that professional tasters had never experienced such a remarkable cup. Some of the industry’s most renown tasters struggled to find the words to describe the coffee’s flavor profile, finally resorting to references to the feeling of overwhelming joy and even referencing the presence of God. Their tasting scores ran well into the 90s on the 100-point scale, with one noted industry leader scoring it a perfect 100. Discovery of this coffee, and the frenzied grab for it at auction, was the top story of industry business journals and books.[1] It broke all expectations with the winning bid that year and has continued to break records at every auction since it was introduced. The biggest specialty coffee story of that decade illustrates just how the goals for specialty coffee were shifting, and the consuming public was more than happy to be swept along with the tide. At the time, perhaps the biggest question was whether this kind of adulation was emblematic of a trendy infatuation, or specialty coffee’s new normal. It felt like a great wave had broken over the coffee industry, carrying with it all the hopes and aspirations of a new generation. But as waves swell, they also subside as another builds and fills the space. Now almost 20 years in, has this third wave of coffee completed its work? Are we poised for another shift, and will it be as successful as the last one was?

Wave Theory has been used to describe patterns in economics and business and more recently, Feminism, which began its third wave in the 1990s as described by Rebecca Walker.[2] Walker asserts that, specifically in America, the feminist movement has experienced three waves. The second and third waves building themselves on the foundations of their predecessors but also pushing past and questioning many commonly held beliefs attached to feminism. Similarly, coffee’s third wave examined and criticized the generations that came before it. The first wave was blamed for the mass-production and cheapening of coffee. We hated the first wave for serving us bad cups, while simultaneously admiring them for their marketing push making coffee an essential part of our lives. There were a lot of expectations on the second wave to rectify what the first wave had done to the product. After the commercialism and commodification of the first wave, consumers craved a delicious cup of coffee but also hoped for a sustainable and humane one. The second wave introduced the face of the coffee farmer and the story of sourcing, as well as the Fair Trade and Organic certifications to consumers. Coffee tasted different from the first wave, mostly because of its improved selection and changes in roasting. Roasting became deep and dark during coffee’s second wave, further pushing the concept that the cup was different than your grandparent’s favorite brand. It was bracing and adventurous, instead of polite and traditional.

The second wave’s shortcomings eventually became obvious, however. One of the most objectionable was that coffee service started to look very much like fast food. Cafes sold consumers on large-sized drinks, heavily doctored with cream, whipped up in a loud blender with perhaps chocolate or caramel, and several doses of sugar. The most popular menu items at the second wave coffee bar looked a lot more like desserts or milkshakes than serious coffee. Cafe décor fit a template developed by new large retail chains. Automated coffee brewers overstuffed easy chairs, and long communal tables didn’t exude exclusivity or quality. Coffee and coffee retailers were as ubiquitous and predictable as one’s own home or workplace.

Third wave Coffee took hold much like the others. It was a continuation of what the second wave had worked hard to establish– that good coffee comes from a specific country or region, that it can be brewed-to-order instead of automated, and most importantly that coffee deserves to be elevated and celebrated as a culinary delight.

But the third wave wanted even more for and from coffee while rejecting the many of the trappings of second wave. In both the coffee industry, and with the customer at the local coffeehouse, service and supply expanded and evolved. Industry saw the beginning of competitions devoted to the baristas’ craft, and the advent of coffee auctions grown out of green coffee competitions at source. Green coffee buyers and roasters traveled far and wide to source the rarest most unique varieties to make good on their claims of exclusivity. From these extraordinary finds, roasters crafted light roasts with a deft hand in contrast to the heavy and overpowering dark roasts of the second wave. Initially, coffee competitions were created for marketing purposes in hopes of capturing the imaginations of the public but evolved to showcase a particular coffee or an individual. Bragging rights became the ultimate prize at competition, and the barista became as celebrated and awarded in competition as the auction lot coffees had been. Fairly quickly, these efforts spilled over into real life and shops all over the world adopted best practices based on competitive standards.

The consumer visited new and sleekly designed cafes for a wide array of premium-priced cups. And they visited regularly enough to make a point of their new appreciation for fine coffee. At first, third wave coffee was considered a novelty, but it gradually established its influence on the entire coffee industry. Consumers and coffee industry insiders shifted away from the formula and fast-food delivery of the second wave. Ordering a simple cup of black coffee at a third wave café often sparked many more questions before the barista could proceed to handcraft a cup. Suddenly, one had to decide many things to order some coffee at the local coffee bar - not just between the classic black or with cream, but which brewing method - pour-over, Aeropress, Chemex, or even an espresso shot. A guest may visit a café during the release of several Colombian micro-lots, for example, in which case the barista would need to describe each selection with detailed sourcing information and tasting notes, as well as how it to best enjoy it. It could be served iced, as an espresso, or all possible ways the café makes coffee and delivered simultaneously as a flight of brew samples. Third wave coffee houses became destinations for a culinary experience, not simply places to grab a quick coffee on the way to work. It’s clear that this phase was important to the coffee industry and to coffee consumption in general. It allowed the world to recognize coffee as the deserving recipient of praise and admiration. This product, several times more labor-intensive than wine, needed the third wave to elevate it. The third wave coffee movement has done that job quickly and without much resistance. At once unconcerned with the market trends, but also completely beholden to them, the world has seen coffee delivered in ways it never was before.

The third wave wasn’t strong enough to completely obliterate the first wave or even erase the most annoying elements of the second wave’s specialty traditions. Indeed, it still revels in the constant comparisons to its predecessors, and therefore, continues to differentiate itself as the standard bearer and high bar for coffee excellence. All waves continue to grow and fuel our daily lives. Strongly established characteristics of each wave are entrenched, growing, and finding new markets. Consequently, we have developed a consumer-base that can distinguish differences and decide to opt in and out of any of the three. A consumer may drink a commercial coffee brand from large industrial brewers at the office, enjoy a blended espresso and chocolate frappe from a multinational coffee retail chain, and purchase a bag of auction lot single origin whole beans from a reputable third wave boutique for a special occasion - all in the same day. This “triple user” is aware of the types of coffee they engage with and how to get exactly what they need to fit the moment. From observing the coffee landscape, the consumer hasn’t necessarily declared which kind of coffee is best, regardless of the flavor in the cup. In some instances, a speedy and convenient coffee wins over quality, and that’s where the first and second waves will happily oblige. The three coffee waves have all fulfilled their goals well. Still, in in some crucial ways, they have all failed us.

If we learned anything from the three waves of Feminism, it’s that the work of women is seen as lesser than their male counterparts. As in many industries, the waves of coffee continue to reflect the cultural landscape, and we’ve seen the role women play either downplayed or completely erased. The National Coffee Association (NCA) estimates that as much as 70% of all labor on coffee farms is performed by women, but unfortunately the dividends of their work are not enjoyed at the same ratio. Just 15% of coffee land is owned by women. And even though the World Barista Championships are in their 18th year, it has only awarded the first-place trophy to a woman one time, (the current and reigning 2018 champion). For all the efforts of toward education and transparency, the issues of equity for women remain unchanged throughout all the years, and coffee’s progressive third wave has not rectified any of these ills sufficiently. The third wave of coffee proposed to celebrate all the actors in coffee, from all sectors of the value chain. There are greater troubles ahead for coffee, especially if half of the coffee professionals available to the world are not empowered to make change.

As of this writing, the Coffee Commodity Market is at an all-time low. Coffee is trading at a base price fluctuating below USD$1. Despite all efforts to educate the consumer and the industry alike, we see a very tenuous coffee future. At such historically low prices, many producers will find it impossible to realize the profits needed to stay afloat. Just as the Geisha from Panama’s La Hacienda Esmeralda legitimized the surge of third wave specialty coffee, with its meteoric rise in popularity and a price to match, its story didn’t change much for the rest. Without a serious combined effort to bring a lasting and meaningful adjustments to the structural failures of the value chain, coffee will transition from endangered to extinct. A glaring commonality of the three waves is the selfish pursuit of profitable trends. In the case of third wave coffee, the need to create a high-end product often left these questions of sustainable production unanswered. Ultimately Third Wave Coffee has failed to prove its claim that a higher priced coffee can bring farmers a good livelihood, let alone the handsome profits we see in consuming countries. If there is to be any progress for coffee, all stakeholders will need to work together toward common goals. Do we stand ready for more and better lessons about quality coffee and, in the process, can we create new goals for ourselves and for the coffee-loving world?

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[1] https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2207593.God_in_a_Cup

[2] http://www.rebeccawalker.com/blog/2009/09/04/third-wave-an-accurate-and-succinct-rendering