While U.S. alcohol consumption has fallen to a record low amid growing awareness of the health harms, coffee — once considered an almost equal vice — has flourished. A growing body of data now suggest that drinking it is associated with a longer, healthier life. And thanks to the rise of specialty coffee, there’s never been a greater variety of options available if you’re looking to explore the flavor wheel or just branch out from your go-to medium roast.
These five podcasts will help to deepen your appreciation of that next cup of joe, offering explorations of coffee house history, narrative journalism about the global bean industry, and practical tips on how to buy, brew and drink coffee.
‘Filter Stories’
Each episode of this deeply researched series combines interviews and immersive sound design to tell a different tale about coffee. Some are far-reaching stories about the global coffee trade and the people whose lives are shaped by it — one memorable episode, titled “A Girl on a Coffee Farm,” focuses on a teenage girl in Nicaragua whose dreams are upended by financial instability in the industry. Others are more practical: In a recent two-parter, James Harper, the host, explored how water can affect the flavor of coffee, then offered a step-by-step guide on how to test your own tap water’s suitability for brewing, and improve it if it’s lacking. There are also mini-seasons that devote several episodes to a bigger subject, like the surprisingly recent discovery and rise of coffee as told by historian Jonathan Morris.
Starter episode: “Espresso Lungo: The slow road to Italy’s democratic espresso culture”
‘Coffee Lovers Radio’
This conversational podcast is hosted by two java experts: Joseph Robertson, the owner and publisher of the coffee magazine Extracted, and Jesse Nelson, the founder of the wholesale roasting company Conduit Coffee. But there’s no snootiness here — the duo are enthusiasts, not elitists, and are eager to bring as many people as possible into the coffee-loving fold. Their topics include tips on home brewing and roasting, equipment reviews and behind-the-scenes tales of running a coffee shop, and they spend a lot of time exploring different flavor profiles and tasting notes. They also dedicate episodes to some deceptively simple questions with complex answers, like “What is espresso?” and “What coffee should I get?” The show stopped producing new episodes in 2023, but there’s close to a decade’s worth of back catalog to explore.
Starter episode: “How Food Changes Coffee”
‘Making Coffee with Lucia Solis’
There are a surprising parallels between wine and coffee, most notably the coffee tastings (or cuppings) that teach discerning drinkers how to evaluate aroma, flavor notes, body and finish. Lucia Solis is a former winemaker turned coffee-processing specialist, and draws on her experience in this richly detailed series, which pulls back the curtain on exactly what goes into making coffee from seed to bean. The focus is more on coffee farming and production than brewing, with Solis interviewing growers and manufacturers around the globe to get insight into their processes. While the subjects covered are often technical, like fermentation and drying techniques, Solis keeps things accessible to nonprofessionals by relating how each process shapes the final taste of the coffee in your cup.
Starter episode: “A Winemaker’s Perspective on Specialty Coffee”
‘Adventures in Coffee’
This series from Caffeine Magazine is one of the few coffee podcasts that feels truly accessible to newbies, exploring one simple question about the drink, its origins and its culture in each episode. Over the course of four seasons, which ran between 2021 and 2023, the hosts — Jools Walker, Scott Bentley and James Harper — explore questions like how to be a more sustainable coffee drinker, how to tell what specialty beans are actually worth the money, and how to improve your home brewing game. They also dismantle common coffee myths (turns out it probably doesn’t sober you up), trial and review equipment, and tackle hot button subjects like whether espresso pods can ever have a place in the kitchen of a true coffee aficionado. This question divides the hosts enough that they don’t reach a clear verdict, but the bottom line is: If depth of flavor matters to you, it’s a soft no, and if sustainability does, it’s a hard no.
Starter episode: “The Secret To Tasting Coffee”
‘Cat & Cloud Coffee Podcast’
The quirky name of this show refers to the Santa Cruz-based specialty coffee company owned by the co-hosts, Chris Baca and Jared Truby. As such, it’s as much about the ups and downs of running a small business as it is about coffee. With a shared background as competitive baristas, Baca and Truby bring that history to their conversations about grind settings, roast profiling and coffee trends. Alongside sharing glimpses into the day-to-day workings of their own company, the duo also interview fellow roastery owners, farmers and producers, delivering a detailed view of a rapidly changing industry.
Starter episode: “The C Market — Where coffee prices come from”
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