Coffee Wave Culture How Many Stages Has the Coffee Wave Gone Through Is Instant Coffee Harmful to Health

"Wave" refers to the surging waves like tides, but it can also be used as a metaphor for the fluctuating changes in certain situations. "Coffee waves" refer to the ups and downs of coffee's development throughout history. Since humans discovered coffee in 1400, coffee has experienced three waves, and I believe many friends have heard of them.

However, there are some newcomers who have only heard the name without understanding its meaning. Therefore, FrontStreet Coffee is here today to share what the magnificent three waves in coffee development history represent!

First Wave Coffee: Coffee Popularization

The older generation believed that instant coffee was good coffee, and this is not without reason. Before specialty coffee shops became as common as they are today, instant coffee was the absolute dominant force in most countries' coffee markets.

The origin of this phenomenon was that the outbreak of war prompted coffee to become an essential strategic resource for military forces. To obtain coffee's stimulating effects, some people who did not originally drink coffee began trying it and gradually became addicted. Previously, people made coffee simply by grinding coffee beans and throwing them into a pot with water to boil. Although this was very simple, the time spent grinding and boiling was not insignificant. To prevent soldiers from spending too much time making coffee, some countries began developing instant coffee. By 1938, Nestlé developed dry instant coffee to solve Brazil's coffee bean overproduction problem, coinciding with the beginning of World War II, when demand for coffee rapidly expanded. Thus, with both production capacity and consumer markets available at that time, the "first wave" of coffee was formed. Coffee captured the market in its instant form and gradually became a daily consumer product.

Because instant coffee was extremely convenient to make, and people at that time had no requirements for coffee taste, for people in some countries (mainly the United States, Switzerland, and the UK), instant coffee was a better choice than freshly ground coffee. However, manufacturers at that time chose Robusta as instant coffee's raw material to save costs, and added large amounts of sugar and creamer to dilute the bitterness. Consequently, instant coffee once made this beverage synonymous with being harmful to health.

Second Wave Coffee: Coffee Quality

It wasn't until 1966 that a Dutchman named Peet, deeply influenced by "orthodox" coffee culture (freshly roasted, ground, and brewed), couldn't tolerate America's poor coffee quality. So he initiated what was then considered the greatest reform in the coffee world in America: he proposed using only high-quality Arabica beans for coffee raw materials and adopting the concept of fresh roasting and fresh brewing. This concept overturned American coffee culture at the time, so it quickly caused a sensation across America, re-inspiring and rewriting American coffee culture. This Mr. Peet was the founder of Peet's Coffee. Many people were deeply inspired by Peet and began pursuing higher quality in coffee. Therefore, we can know that the main purpose of the "second wave" of coffee was to improve coffee quality.

Peet's disciple opened a coffee shop not long after and introduced the Italian coffee system. This coffee shop soon became a leader in the coffee world. That's right, it's Starbucks! Starbucks' successful rise spread the Italian coffee system. Italian coffees like lattes and cappuccinos were originally local, non-mainstream niche cultures in Europe. After being spread by Starbucks, they transformed into global mainstream popular culture that continues to this day. People call this achievement one of the most successful and magnificent scenes in modern food history.

Third Wave Coffee: Coffee Specialization

In 1974, Ms. Erna Knutsen proposed the concept of "specialty coffee" in the "Tea & Coffee Trade Journal." The original text stated: "Special geographic microclimates produce beans with unique flavor profiles." Translated, this means: "Coffee beans with regional flavor characteristics are cultivated under unique microclimates and geographical conditions in producing regions." (For an explanation of specialty coffee, you can refer to the article "Specialty Coffee")

The interpretation of this concept made people realize the significant impact of coffee's upstream on its flavor, so coffee traceability greatly increased, and information became more transparent. And it is precisely because of this transparency that people improved various processes of coffee from seed to cup. Specifically: it positively promoted planting and processing levels in origins, win-win fair trade systems, improved roasters' roasting quality and coffee shops' brewing capabilities. Therefore, the main content of the third wave of coffee is the better pursuit of coffee flavor, bringing consumers closer to coffee origins.

Above are the three main waves in coffee development history. As times progress, we are entering the fourth wave of coffee. So the question arises: what does the fourth wave of coffee refer to?

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