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A History of Coffee

Advertise on podcast: A History of Coffee

Rating
★★★★★
4.8
from
77 reviews
This podcast has
22 episodes
Language
English
Publisher
James Harper
Explicit
No
Date created
2021/02/15
Latest episode
2026/04/20
Average duration
38 min.
Release period
128 days

Description

A History of Coffee is the story of how a tiny psychoactive seed changed the world and shapes our lives today. Across six episodes, documentary maker James Harper and professional historian Jonathan Morris narrate how humans race coffee across oceans to keep up with demand for this addictive drink. Coffee creates enormous fortunes for some, and misery for others. Sometimes the environment benefits, but more often it is plundered. If we want to make coffee a more equitable industry that’s also kinder to the environment, a place to start is understanding the stories and systems that put the coffee into your cup this morning. Press the Subscribe button so you don’t miss future episodes! Follow Jonathan Morris @coffeehistoryjm and James Harper @filterstoriespodcast. Read full transcripts at www.historyofcoffee.org.

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Check latest episodes from A History of Coffee podcast


Guatemala’s Inconvenient Truth, Part 2: Who does specialty serve?
2026/04/20
Specialty coffee changes the story for the indigenous people of Guatemala. Coffee as a tool of oppression finally offers hope....and then something a bit more complicated. This episode explores the tension between the values of the Mayan communities who grow coffee, and the values that drive the specialty coffee movement. Many of the signals we typically look for in our coffees - super-specialty flavours, Fairtrade certification, “5th generation family farm” - might actually exclude coffee grown by indigenous Guatemalans. This episode might change what kind of Guatemalan coffee you buy. Please spread the word about A History of Coffee! Follow us on Instagram - James (@filterstoriespodcast) and Jonathan (@coffeehistoryjm) - and tag us in an Instagram story. Write a review on Apple Podcasts Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify This free educational content for the coffee community was made possible by Mahlkönig, manufacturers of world-leading coffee grinders for 100 years for your home and cafe. Read Jonathan’s book, Coffee: A Global History Support James’ work directly by buying him a coffee at Ko-fi.com/FilterStories Read James’ article on Dieseldorf, the famous German plantation owner, in Standart Pick up a copy of Prof. Ted Fischer’s excellent book Making Better Coffee: How Maya Farmers and Third Wave Taste Makers Create Value Follow Juan Jose on LinkedIn to keep up with his PhD on coffee farming in Jacaltenango exploring how ecology, generational memory and ritual all shape how Jacalteco farmers tend the land. Check out Standart, the award-winning coffee magazine. Get a free magazine and a free bag of coffee by clicking here. What kind of racing car does the Gaggia Classic GT home espresso machine remind you of? Use discount code FS202610 to get 10% off.
Guatemala’s Inconvenient Truth, Part 1: Whose land is it anyway?
2026/04/20
When you buy a bag of coffee labelled fifth-generation family farm, it feels like a good choice. But in Guatemala, that label might actually be a signal for a more uncomfortable truth. This episode explores how land has been understood, used, and eventually fought over in Guatemala for centuries between indigenous people, Europeans and those in-between. It’s a story of what happened immediately after Guatemala won independence from Spain. This pivotal period of history gets less attention in the history books, but the suffering of the indigenous people of Guatemala gets arguably even worse. Fair warning: it's a dark story, and it will make you think twice about what you're really choosing when you pick up a bag of coffee from Central America. Please spread the word about A History of Coffee! Follow us on Instagram - James (@filterstoriespodcast) and Jonathan (@coffeehistoryjm) - and tag us in an Instagram story. Write a review on Apple Podcasts Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify This free educational content for the coffee community was made possible by Mahlkönig, manufacturers of world-leading coffee grinders for 100 years for your home and cafe. Read Jonathan’s book, Coffee: A Global History Support James’ work directly by buying him a coffee at Ko-fi.com/FilterStories Read James’ article on Dieseldorf, the famous German plantation owner, in Standart Pick up a copy of Prof. Ted Fischer’s excellent book Making Better Coffee: How Maya Farmers and Third Wave Taste Makers Create Value Follow Juan Jose on LinkedIn to keep up with his PhD on coffee farming in Jacaltenango exploring how ecology, generational memory and ritual all shape how Jacalteco farmers tend the land. Check out Standart, the award-winning coffee magazine. Get a free magazine and a free bag of coffee by clicking here. What kind of racing car does the Gaggia Classic GT home espresso machine remind you of? Use discount code FS202610 to get 10% off.
Surrogates: Anything but the coffee
2026/03/02
What happens when coffee disappears? This is not a thought experiment! It’s happened many times in history: War, blockades, tariffs, ideology, health panics, sanctions, supply shocks. When coffee is not around, people still need something warm, comforting, and familiar. And throughout history, people have reached for coffee surrogates: roasted plants and grains engineered to look like coffee…but do they actually taste like coffee? In this episode, Jonathan and James time-travel by taste testing a truly alarming number of coffee substitutes. Spoiler: you will hear a lot of spitting! Which leads to the bigger question: can anything actually replace coffee—or will we always come crawling back? Please spread the word about A History of Coffee! Follow us on Instagram - James (@filterstoriespodcast) and Jonathan (@coffeehistoryjm) - and tag us in an Instagram story. Write a review on Apple Podcasts Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify This free educational content for the coffee community was made possible by Mahlkönig, manufacturers of world-leading coffee grinders for 100 years for your home and cafe. Read Jonathan’s book, ‘Coffee: A Global History’ Support James’ work directly by buying him a coffee at Ko-fi.com/FilterStories Read James’ article on the history of decaf technology in Standart See Colin Smith’s amazing coffee museum at Smith’s Coffee in Hemel Hempstead, UK Get nerdy about the intersection of AI and the occult on Karin’s Subtack, Mercurial Minutes Do your own surrogate taste test! Postum Atomo Orzo Fig Dandelion root Dateseed Acorn Chickpea Chicory Root Camp Coffee Check out Standart, the award-winning coffee magazine. Get a free magazine and a free bag of coffee by clicking here. What kind of racing car does the Gaggia Classic GT home espresso machine remind you of? Use discount code FS202610 to get 10% off.
Mother Coffee: The history and heritage of Ethiopia’s wild coffee forests
2026/02/09
Most coffee is grown on vast plantations using machines, pesticides and fertilisers. But in Ethiopia, coffee grows wild in humid forests surrounded by birds. And that wild coffee matters more than most of us realise. It is the genetic ‘library’ we can turn to find new varieties to help us keep coffee thriving in the face of climate change. But the communities who live alongside them and have safeguarded this genetic treasure often don’t earn enough from coffee to make preservation the obvious economic choice. Could a great story be the answer to earn higher premiums for these communities? Could that story be that all the coffee we drink today can actually be traced back to a single “mother tree” in Ethiopia? This episode is about the history of coffee in Ethiopia, how far back the evidence goes, what counts as evidence, and what we should celebrate (and pay for) when we buy “wild” Ethiopian coffee today. Please spread the word about A History of Coffee! Follow us on Instagram - James (@filterstoriespodcast) and Jonathan (@coffeehistoryjm) - and tag us in an Instagram story. Write a review on Apple Podcasts Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify This free educational content for the coffee community was made possible by Mahlkönig, manufacturers of world-leading coffee grinders for 100 years for your home and cafe. Read Jonathan’s book, ‘Coffee: A Global History’ Support James’ work directly by buying him a coffee at Ko-fi.com/FilterStories Discover how James makes these Filter Stories episodes by subscribing to his Substack newsletter Enjoy James’ Standart article about Avicenna and the earliest (supposed) written reference to coffee Read the scientific paper pinpointing where wild coffee forests are in Ethiopia Follow Solomon Tselele's work through his Facebook page Learn more about the Ethiopian coffee ceremony on the Adventures in Coffee podcast Series 3 of A History of Coffee is a collaboration between documentary maker James Harper of the Filter Stories coffee podcast and Jonathan Morris, Professor of History and author of ‘Coffee: A Global History’. Ethiopian forest sounds curtesy of George Vlad. Hear more nature sounds here. Check out Standart, the award-winning coffee magazine. Get a free magazine and a free bag of coffee by clicking here. What kind of racing car does the Gaggia Classic GT home espresso machine remind you of? Use discount code FS202610 to get 10% off.
We Built This City…On Coffee: Hamburg and the making of Europe’s coffee trade
2026/01/05
On a long walk through Hamburg, somewhere between the fish markets and giant cranes, you might stumble a giant bronze coffee bean looks like its crash landed from space. But this giant coffee bean represents a staggering fact: one in every three cups of coffee drunk in Europe has passed through Hamburg. In the first half of this episode, we explore the many profound ways coffee shaped one of Europe’s most important cities. But then the story flips because, once coffee changed Hamburg, Hamburg began to change coffee. Series 3 of A History of Coffee is a collaboration between documentary maker James Harper of the Filter Stories coffee podcast and Jonathan Morris, Professor of History and author of ‘Coffee: A Global History’. Please spread the word about A History of Coffee! Follow us on Instagram - James (@filterstoriespodcast) and Jonathan (@coffeehistoryjm) - and tag us in an Instagram story. Write a review on Apple Podcasts Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify This free educational content for the coffee community was made possible by Mahlkönig, manufacturers of world-leading coffee grinders for 100 years for your home and cafe. Read Jonathan’s book, ‘Coffee: A Global History’ (https://amzn.to/3dihAfU) Support James’ work directly by buying him a coffee at Ko-fi.com/FilterStories Pick up a copy of Margrit Schulte Beerbühl’s book, Kaffee Ist Fertig! Read James’ article on Frederick the Great’s attempt to ban coffee in Standart Go on your own Hamburg coffee tour! Giant bean Speicherstadt Museum Burg Coffee Museum in the Speicherstadt Becking, 100 year old coffee roasters 1950s Rebuilt Coffee Exchange - and an Instagram post coming on @filterstoriespodcast Go deeper into the story of Mahlkönig’s grinders Early EKs - post coming on @filterstoriespodcast DK (aka Donkey Kong Dreiphasen Kaffeemühle) Grind-by-Sync espresso grinders EK Omnia Guatemala Matt Perger WBC routine demonstrating the EK Filter Stories episode on grinding curves Check out Standart, the award-winning coffee magazine. Get a free magazine and a free bag of coffee by clicking here. What kind of racing car does the Gaggia Classic GT home espresso machine remind you of? Use discount code FS202610 to get 10% off.
Introducing: Series Three of A History of Coffee
2025/12/01
We’re back with more stories about the tiny psychoactive seed that changed the world and continues to shape our lives today. Is it possible to follow the story not just to Ethiopia, not just to a single town, but all the way back to one tree? We’ll uncover the uncomfortable history of Guatemala — a story about who inherited the rich volcanic soil, and who was forced to work it. We explore what happens when our worst nightmare comes true: coffee disappears from the shelves. What did people brew instead? Was any of it actually drinkable? And we tell the story of how coffee can shape the massive port city of Hamburg, and how Hamburg then went on to shape the global coffee world. If we want to make coffee a more equitable industry that’s also kinder to the environment, a place to start is understanding the stories and systems that put the coffee into your cup this morning. Press the ‘Subscribe’ button so you don’t miss future episodes. A History of Coffee is a collaboration between documentary maker James Harper of the Filter Stories coffee podcast and Jonathan Morris, Professor of History and author of ‘Coffee: A Global History’. Follow us on Instagram! Jonathan Morris @coffeehistoryjm and James Harper @filterstoriespodcast. This free educational content was made possible with the support of Mahlkönig, manufacturers of world-class grinders for 100 years. Subscribe to The Science of Coffee podcast   Check out Standart, the award-winning coffee magazine. Get a free magazine and a free bag of coffee by clicking here. What kind of racing car does the Gaggia Classic GT home espresso machine remind you of? Use discount code FS202610 to get 10% off.
4) Just Friends? America’s love affair with coffee
2023/04/17
America is coffee-obsessed. From Central Perk’s red couch being the centre of major plot twists in Friends to the fact the average American drank more than two cups a day. And the conventional explanation is pretty straightforward: an English colonist introduces coffee to Jamestown in 1607. 150 years later Americans rebel against the British by throwing tea chests into Boston harbour and drinking coffee becomes their patriotic duty. Oh, and of course who won the civil war? The side that had the coffee. But, actually, the truth is much more surprising, and reveals a much more counter-intuitive story of America. In this final episode of Series Two of A History of Coffee, we offer you a story of America through the lens of a black drink, another black drink, a third black drink and perhaps even a fourth. A History of Coffee is a collaboration between documentary maker James Harper of the Filter Stories coffee podcast and Jonathan Morris, Professor of History and author of ‘Coffee: A Global History’. Don't miss future episodes by pressing the 'Subscribe' or 'Follow' button in your podcast player. ----------- Please spread the word about A History of Coffee! Follow us on Instagram - Jonathan (@coffeehistoryjm) and James (@filterstoriespodcast) - and tag us in an Instagram story. Write a review on Apple Podcasts (http://apple.co/3jY42aJ) Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify (https://spoti.fi/3K2h4RQ) This free educational content for the coffee community was made possible by Rancilio, manufacturers of professional Italian espresso machines for your home and coffee bar for almost 100 years (https://link.filterstories.org/3U3oLMz) Read Jonathan’s book, ‘Coffee: A Global History’ (https://amzn.to/3dihAfU) Listen to other coffee documentaries on James’ Filter Stories podcast (https://link.filterstories.org/3ajoT5e) Download all episodes of this second series right now by subscribing to the ‘A History of Coffee’ podcast channel (https://link.filterstories.org/2NArChO) Learn how Brazil massively expanded output in episode three of the first series of A History of Coffee: Coffee Catches Fire (https://link.filterstories.org/2NArChO) Brew up some Yaupon Holly! (https://link.filterstories.org/40R6IuY) Discover Deb Hunter's All Things Tudor podcast (https://link.filterstories.org/3L5OZet) Subscribe to The Science of Coffee podcast  Check out Standart, the award-winning coffee magazine. Get a free magazine and a free bag of coffee by clicking here. What kind of racing car does the Gaggia Classic GT home espresso machine remind you of? Use discount code FS202610 to get 10% off.
3) Espresso Lungo: The slow road to Italy’s democratic espresso culture
2023/04/17
One morning back in the ‘80s, Howard Schultz walks out of his Milan hotel, stumbles into an espresso bar, and fundamentally changes coffee history. He discovered (and then popularises) the iconic, timeless Italian coffee experience: Rich thick coffee, an affordable price and great theatre. But this Italian ritual is surprisingly young, so young that Howard Schultz was in school while some of it was being developed! In this third episode of Series Two of A History of Coffee, we show you why for most of Italy’s history, coffee was thin, expensive, dull to watch…and that’s if you were lucky enough to even be drinking the real stuff at all! A History of Coffee is a collaboration between documentary maker James Harper of the Filter Stories coffee podcast and Jonathan Morris, Professor of History and author of ‘Coffee: A Global History’. ----------- Don't miss future episodes by pressing the 'Subscribe' or 'Follow' button in your podcast player Please spread the word about A History of Coffee! Follow us on Instagram - Jonathan (@coffeehistoryjm) and James (@filterstoriespodcast) - and tag us in an Instagram story. Write a review on Apple Podcasts (http://apple.co/3jY42aJ) Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify (https://spoti.fi/3K2h4RQ) This free educational content for the coffee community was made possible by Rancilio, manufacturers of professional Italian espresso machines for your home and coffee bar for almost 100 years (https://link.filterstories.org/3U3oLMz) Read Jonathan’s book, ‘Coffee: A Global History’ (https://amzn.to/3dihAfU) Listen to other coffee documentaries on James’ Filter Stories podcast (https://link.filterstories.org/3ajoT5e) Download all episodes of this second series right now by subscribing to the ‘A History of Coffee’ podcast channel (https://link.filterstories.org/2NArChO) Go deeper into the story of espresso machines: James' science podcast about Espresso Machine Technology Neapolitan coffee maker (https://link.filterstories.org/3zZCivl) Espresso at 1906 World’s Fair in Milan (https://link.filterstories.org/3MOX7kQ) Rancilio's Museum, Officina Rancilio 1926 (https://link.filterstories.org/3Q7vqTI) "La Cornuta" espresso machine (https://link.filterstories.org/41uBryd) Rancilio's Berlin Showroom, the BER Rancilio Station (https://link.filterstories.org/3mD0lNA) Subscribe to The Science of Coffee podcast  Check out Standart, the award-winning coffee magazine. Get a free magazine and a free bag of coffee by clicking here. What kind of racing car does the Gaggia Classic GT home espresso machine remind you of? Use discount code FS202610 to get 10% off.
2) A Lasting Stain: Haiti, Colonialism and Coffee
2023/04/17
Haiti was once the biggest, most profitable coffee growing region in the world. But today Haiti is one of the world’s poorest nations where you can’t get a bag of Haitian beans delivered to Berlin in a week for love nor money. In this second episode of Series Two of A History of Coffee, we show you how colonialism and racism dragged Haiti into poverty, and the role of coffee at the centre of it. Be warned: this episode contains graphic descriptions of violence. A History of Coffee is a collaboration between documentary maker James Harper of the Filter Stories coffee podcast and Jonathan Morris, Professor of History and author of ‘Coffee: A Global History’. ----------- Don't miss future episodes by pressing the 'Subscribe' or 'Follow' button in your podcast player Please spread the word about A History of Coffee! Follow us on Instagram - Jonathan (@coffeehistoryjm) and James (@filterstoriespodcast) - and tag us in an Instagram story. Write a review on Apple Podcasts (http://apple.co/3jY42aJ) Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify (https://spoti.fi/3K2h4RQ) This free educational content for the coffee community was made possible by Rancilio, manufacturers of professional Italian espresso machines for your home and coffee bar for almost 100 years (https://link.filterstories.org/3U3oLMz) Read Jonathan’s book, ‘Coffee: A Global History’ (https://amzn.to/3dihAfU) Listen to other coffee documentaries on James’ Filter Stories podcast (https://link.filterstories.org/3ajoT5e) Download all episodes of this second series right now by subscribing to the ‘A History of Coffee’ podcast channel (https://link.filterstories.org/2NArChO) Subscribe to The Science of Coffee podcast  Check out Standart, the award-winning coffee magazine. Get a free magazine and a free bag of coffee by clicking here. What kind of racing car does the Gaggia Classic GT home espresso machine remind you of? Use discount code FS202610 to get 10% off.
1) It’s Just Coffee? How coffee houses changed the world
2023/04/17
A coffee shop is a lot more than just a place to drink coffee. The seats and sofas encourage you to invite a friend, and chat. And chatting is powerful: ideas that emerge from these caffeine-fuelled conversations give birth to modern finance and even the founding of great artistic and scientific institutions. Meanwhile, other ideas threaten those in power, and have led to many attempts to ban coffeeshops (and even coffee itself!) these last 500 years. In the first episode of Series Two of A History of Coffee, we show you how the coffee shop changed the world, and we ask whether it still has what it takes to upend society. A History of Coffee is a collaboration between documentary maker James Harper of the Filter Stories coffee podcast and Jonathan Morris, Professor of History and author of ‘Coffee: A Global History’. ----------- Don't miss future episodes by pressing the 'Subscribe' or 'Follow' button in your podcast player Please spread the word about A History of Coffee! Follow us on Instagram - Jonathan (@coffeehistoryjm) and James (@filterstoriespodcast) - and tag us in an Instagram story. Write a review on Apple Podcasts (http://apple.co/3jY42aJ) Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify (https://spoti.fi/3K2h4RQ) This free educational content for the coffee community was made possible by Rancilio, manufacturers of professional Italian espresso machines for your home and coffee bar for almost 100 years (https://link.filterstories.org/3U3oLMz) Read Jonathan’s book, ‘Coffee: A Global History’ (https://amzn.to/3dihAfU) Listen to other coffee documentaries on James’ Filter Stories podcast (https://link.filterstories.org/3ajoT5e) Download all episodes of this second series right now by subscribing to the ‘A History of Coffee’ podcast channel (https://link.filterstories.org/2NArChO) Subscribe to The Science of Coffee podcast  Check out Standart, the award-winning coffee magazine. Get a free magazine and a free bag of coffee by clicking here. What kind of racing car does the Gaggia Classic GT home espresso machine remind you of? Use discount code FS202610 to get 10% off.
Introducing: Series Two of A History of Coffee
2023/04/03
We're back with more stories about the tiny psychoactive seed that changed the world and continues to shape our lives today. In Series Two, we reveal how the invention of the coffee shop revolutionised societies, why colonialism, racism and coffee have kept once prosperous Haiti poor today, how Italy's revered espresso culture was created, and we debunk many myths around America's supposed love affair with coffee. If we want to make coffee a more equitable industry that’s also kinder to the environment, a place to start is understanding the stories and systems that put the coffee into your cup this morning. Press the ‘Subscribe’ button so you don’t miss future episodes. A History of Coffee is a collaboration between documentary maker James Harper of the Filter Stories coffee podcast and Jonathan Morris, Professor of History and author of ‘Coffee: A Global History’. Follow us on Instagram! Jonathan Morris @coffeehistoryjm and James Harper @filterstoriespodcast. This free educational content was made possible with the support of Rancilio, manufacturers of professional Italian espresso machines for almost 100 years. Join us live at the London Coffee Festival 2023! We have three time slots for you to choose from: Saturday, 22 April, 11:00-11:30 and 14:30-15:00, and Sunday, 23 April,14:30-15:00. Subscribe to The Science of Coffee podcast  Check out Standart, the award-winning coffee magazine. Get a free magazine and a free bag of coffee by clicking here. What kind of racing car does the Gaggia Classic GT home espresso machine remind you of? Use discount code FS202610 to get 10% off.
BONUS: Coffee’s Ticking Time Bomb
2022/05/31
We have an exciting announcement....AND, a story about Sri Lanka and coffee history we think you're really going to like. Sri Lankan coffee has delicious notes of chocolate and caramel. But it’s basically impossible to find, and we’re going to bet you’ve never drank it. But that's really odd, because Sri Lanka has the perfect climate to grow coffee, and was once one of the biggest coffee growing countries in the world. But Sri Lanka was the victim of an ecological ticking time bomb. And this bomb is still ticking, and is going to explode again. In this episode of Adventures in Coffee, producer James Harper takes co-hosts Scott and Jools on an adventure back in time, across Ethiopia, Yemen, Sri Lanka to trace the origins of this ticking bomb, and what it’s going to take to defuse it. — Subscribe to Adventures in Coffee here: https://link.filterstories.org/300V4jS Listen to Jonathan's guest appearance on negative coffee advertising here: https://link.filterstories.org/3uOXYc0 Read Stuart McCook’s excellent book, Coffee Is Not Forever: https://link.filterstories.org/3320rob Listen to James’ stories about El Salvador on his Filter Stories channel: https://spoti.fi/3Lcnuhg Help other people find the show by leaving a rating on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3JYduHY Help others find the show by creating a screengrab of this episode on your podcast player and sharing it on your Instagram stories. Tag us and we’ll reshare it! Scott Bentley / Caffeine Magazine: https://link.filterstories.org/3oijQ91 Jools Walker / Lady Velo: https://link.filterstories.org/39VRGew James Harper / Filter Stories: https://link.filterstories.org/2Mlkk0O Read Jonathan’s book, ‘Coffee: A Global History’ here: https://amzn.to/3dihAfU A massive thanks to Lawrence Goldberg of Hansa Coffee, Ajantha Palihawadana, Professor Stuart McCook and Harm van Oudenhoven. Subscribe to The Science of Coffee podcast  Check out Standart, the award-winning coffee magazine. Get a free magazine and a free bag of coffee by clicking here. What kind of racing car does the Gaggia Classic GT home espresso machine remind you of? Use discount code FS202610 to get 10% off.
BONUS: A History of Tea
2022/02/15
Coffee has a fascinating history stretching back hundreds of years. But tea takes it to the next level, stretching back thousands. And it too was colonised by Europeans with huge repercussions that we are still feeling today. We hope you enjoy episode 11 from the excellent The Tea History podcast: Europeans Discover Tea, produced by Laszlo Montgomery. Listen to the rest of The Tea History Podcast: https://link.filterstories.org/3BnDjgr Explore Laszlo's The Chinese Sayings Podcast: https://link.filterstories.org/3BiITAT Discover The China History Podcast: https://link.filterstories.org/3GTekmd Sign up for the 2022 Barista League's High Density (free!) conference here: https://link.filterstories.org/3BjAI78 Visit Jonathan’s Instagram (https://link.filterstories.org/37eMS3F) and Twitter (https://link.filterstories.org/3jNr9ou) & James’ Filter Stories Instagram (https://link.filterstories.org/2Mlkk0O) and Twitter (https://link.filterstories.org/3baTsJk) Help other people find the show by leaving a review on... Apple Podcasts: http://apple.co/3jY42aJ Castbox: https://link.filterstories.org/38sXdcH Read Jonathan’s book, ‘Coffee: A Global History’ here: https://amzn.to/3dihAfU Listen to other coffee documentaries on James’ Filter Stories podcast: https://link.filterstories.org/3ajoT5e Subscribe to The Science of Coffee podcast  Check out Standart, the award-winning coffee magazine. Get a free magazine and a free bag of coffee by clicking here. What kind of racing car does the Gaggia Classic GT home espresso machine remind you of? Use discount code FS202610 to get 10% off.
BONUS: Decolonising Coffee History
2021/06/22
Each sip of coffee we drink is steeped in dark colonial past. The reason we can enjoy it every morning is because it's relatively cheap, and many people suffered under European colonisers to create systems that produced this cheap coffee. But unfortunately, that's just the beginning. Colonialism has stripped enslaved and indigenous people of their language, pushed their descendants into work that a modern European would never do, and created racial ideologies that persist and harm people of colour to this day. In this bonus episode of A History of Coffee, documentary maker James Harper moderates a conversation between Professor Peter D'Sena, a leading historian from the decolonising academic movement, and Professor Jonathan Morris, author of Coffee: A Global History. They explore how colonialism shaped coffee, and what a cup of coffee that seeks to address the damage of colonialism would look like. Help other people find the show by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts: http://apple.co/3jY42aJ How would you decolonise coffee? Start a conversation with us on social media. Jonathan Morris' Instagram (https://link.filterstories.org/37eMS3F) and Twitter (https://link.filterstories.org/3jNr9ou) Peter D'Sena Instagram (https://link.filterstories.org/34WvPl5) and Twitter (https://link.filterstories.org/3ggSlKL) James Harper’s Filter Stories Instagram (https://link.filterstories.org/2Mlkk0O) and Twitter (https://link.filterstories.org/3baTsJk) If you an educator and are interested in decolonising your curriculum, Peter wrote a guide here: https://link.filterstories.org/3cvoH3l Read Jonathan’s book, ‘Coffee: A Global History’ here: https://amzn.to/3dihAfU Listen to other coffee documentaries on James’ Filter Stories podcast: https://link.filterstories.org/3ajoT5e Subscribe to The Science of Coffee podcast   Check out Standart, the award-winning coffee magazine. Get a free magazine and a free bag of coffee by clicking here. What kind of racing car does the Gaggia Classic GT home espresso machine remind you of? Use discount code FS202610 to get 10% off.
BONUS: Stimulating stories or fantastic flavours: what sells coffee?
2021/05/25
We are hard at work on the bonus episode about decolonising coffee history. But...in the meantime, here's an episode from a sister podcast we think you'll enjoy. You can listen to more episodes from Adventures in Coffee here: https://link.filterstories.org/300V4jS Subscribe to The Science of Coffee podcast  Check out Standart, the award-winning coffee magazine. Get a free magazine and a free bag of coffee by clicking here. What kind of racing car does the Gaggia Classic GT home espresso machine remind you of? Use discount code FS202610 to get 10% off.

Podcast reviews

Read A History of Coffee podcast reviews


4.8 out of 5
77 reviews
★★★☆☆
cassierae87 2025/07/23
White washing Islamic imperialism and Arab slave trade
Podcast is great and would get 5 stars if they didn’t give into the leftist doctrine that Islamic imperialism and Arab slave trade must be erased and ...
★★★★★
SRobinson831 2025/07/18
So glad I found this podcast
An exquisite and thought-provoking podcast. The history shared kept me tuned in. I’m going to listen again and take notes this time. Found you by sear...
★☆☆☆☆
Down the Middla 2024/02/06
2 Minutes in and I’m Out
Too much bias. Nothing wrong with owning land.
★★★★★
Music_Lv'r 2023/07/15
Excellent, Intelligent, Unflinching
A very interesting and intelligent History-based show, connecting the dots of History, Coffee, Revolutions, Conquests, Human Suffering…, I don’t know ...
★★★★★
GuitarBrad 2023/06/06
Excellent content!
I’ve enjoyed listening to every episode and would welcome more in the future! Thanks for the great work!!
★★★★★
lingua203 2023/05/08
Very informative!
Thank you for describing the history of coffee. It is not a pretty story, but we should hear it. And you weaves in to this history the politics and ec...
★★★★★
theCoffeeScientist 2023/05/01
Brilliant work!
Jonathan Morris walks James through coffee's history, a fascinating and important (and mostly unknown) aspect of world history. Both Jonathan and Jame...
★★★★★
Steven. T. 2023/02/08
Relevant and entertaining
Relevant and entertaining. You don’t always get one with the other in the world of podcasts. Well done and easy listening. Enjoyed the 6-part History ...
★★★★★
71837382947 2022/12/16
A wonderful way to learn more about something many take for granted
I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to learn more from James and Jonathan about coffee. Incredibly detailed and very interesting! Thank you both :)
★★★★★
Howie Beale 2022/04/15
Coffee history is world history
I will hear the hosts voices each time I have my daily cup of coffee. This is an amazing series that captures the global impact of coffee.
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