 |
| Fourth wave of coffee. Guji from Ethiopia going through the pour over funnel. This is truly a single origin. |
*This is the first part of my three-part treatise on
coffee.
Understanding Preferences
Coffee can be defined based on
sustainable practices (organic, fair trade, ethical), brand (Starbucks,
Balzac’s, Tim Horton’s, Planet Bean, Vereda Central, etc.), origin (Li Maya,
Yirgachefe, Sidamo, Peruvian Café Femenino etc.), roasting approach (dark or
light), variety or cultivar (Geisha, Caturra, Bourbon), process (washed,
anaerobic, aerobic) and scientifically (Arabica or Robusta). These different
definitions notwithstanding, people’s coffee preferences are affected by
available information, culture, and lifestyle. My exploration[1] also
indicates that people drink coffee for sophistication and a signal of a better
quality of life though most of the time its unconscious – thus the nudge to
visit a specialty café to enjoy the ambiance or buy a single origin coffee. Another
classification of coffee is the way they appear on the menu of cafes such as
Americano (now Canadiano in Canada), café latte, cappuccino, espresso, flat
white, cortado, macchiato, mocha, among others. These beverages are mostly
about the combination of milk and espresso and whether the milk is steamed or
not.
Another attribute of coffee
presentation in specialty café especially those in the fourth wave coffee space
is the ‘Pour over'. ‘Pour
over’ is a
process of coffee filtration of single origin that is clean and easy to drink. ‘Pour
over’ involves making coffee in a meticulous way with extractions that produces
a more flavourful drink with pronounced notes and desirable aromas. There is
also a nexus between single
origin
coffee and Geographical
Indications (GI).
The consumption of coffee differs among
people. Some people don’t drink coffee at all while some drink a little or occasionally,
and there are frequent consumers. The propensity to consume is higher in
developed countries except in countries where it is cultural like Ethiopia.
Understanding coffee will be incomplete
without the story about its development. There are different myths about the creation
of coffee including the Kaldi’s story that posits that the coffee originated
from Ethiopia. It is also generally accepted by coffee scholars and enthusiasts
that coffee truly originated from present day Ethiopia. The plant was moved
from Ethiopia to Mocha in Yemen with the help of traders. It was popularized by
the Sufis who made the consumption part of their religious rituals. The Turks
conquered the Arabs, and coffee became part of the culture. There was a
significant spread of coffee during the Ottoman Empire. Smuggling also occurred
and that was how the produce entered India.
Coffee was so precious and sought after
that the Dutch started growing it in Amsterdam inside greenhouses and later in
their colonies in place such as Java, Indonesia – because of the climate. They
forced the cultivation of coffee on the natives. The coffees, Mocha (Yemen) and
Java (Indonesia), are based on the names of cities that contributed to the
dissemination of coffee. Coffee was modernized in Vienna (Austria) but was
perfected in Italy. The first café in Venice was in 1720. The development of
coffee in France was with the help of the Italians. They were great craftsmen
with the addition of authenticity and aesthetic value to the consumption of
coffee.
The popularity of coffee may also have
stemmed from a replacement. It allows active discussion while avoiding the
alcoholic danger of drunkenness. England received coffee from Turkey in the mid
17th century although tea overtook the consumption by the end of the
17th century. Even though the consumption of coffee declined in
England in the entire Europe the consumption of coffee multiplied by 20 times
in century from 1700 – 1800. To increase production to match the demand,
countries started developing coffee plantations in colonies and increased the
use of slaves in its production, mostly from Africa. For example, the French
developed plantations in Martinique and San Domingo (now Haiti) until the
revolt in Haiti in 1791 that led to destruction of sugar and coffee plantations.
Brazil also developed its production of
coffee using slaves. Whether in Latin America, Central or North America the
growth of coffee was strengthened by slaves, indentured servants including
native Indians as witnessed in Guatemala.
The new waves of coffee, starting from
the third wave, expects the production and marketing of coffee to be fairly
traded, organic, and traceable. So, fair-trade by the rainforest alliance,
organic certification, and single origin are important attributes for which some
consumers are willing to pay a premium. Furthermore, cafés are expected to be meticulous
and processes more scientific.
Coffee as a Cultural Ritual
As part of my exploration of the coffee
landscape, I participated in more than 10 coffee rituals at events organized by
Ethiopian Canadians in different parts of Ontario from 2017 – 2025 accompanied
by our research fellow who is Ethiopian-Eritrean. The coffee ceremony is an
integral part of all their ceremonies. Coffee is prepared and served at
mourning, festive periods, christenings, and all other get-togethers.
The food served is usually injera and
different types of meat and vegetable stews. I also witnessed some eating their
injera with raw meat (Tire Siga) or spiced raw meat (kitfo). The most important
beverage is coffee served in the traditional way. The preparation starts with
the roasting of the green coffee beans imported from Ethiopia (specifically
from a particular region based on the ethnicity of the host). The smoke is
perceived and allowed to diffuse around the room and the clothes of guests
because it’s assumed that it brings blessings.
Along with the smoke from roasting coffee
– this is done at home no matter where they are in the world, there is the burning of incense. They travel with
the paraphernalia as they move around the world. Waving of smoke towards the body by all
present is recommended because Ethiopians believe that it brings
good luck. Burning of incense (usually frankincense) is done throughout the
ceremony as part of the ritual. After roasting, the coffee beans are ground and
then brewed. The final stage is to brew the coffee[4] and
serve it using a traditional cup like the cups used to serve espresso in
specialty cafes. There are usually three rounds of serving: the first serving
is abol, the second is tona, and the last and final serving is
the blessing, baraka. My observation indicates that some people don’t
consume the three rounds while some consume more.
 |
| Amaretti almond cookie and single origin espresso - Sweet Habit, and sparkling water. |
Coffee Waves: Fourth Wave Plus (4thW+)
Coffee has attributes as a plant, food, beverage and
culture. It has evolved over the years with different attributes. These
attributes define the different coffee waves.
The first wave coffee (20th century) was when we had commodity
coffee. This was the advent of cheap and easily accessible coffee which led
to a significant increase in the consumption of coffee. The second wave coffee
(mid 1990s) was characterized by coffee shops, the development of brands
and differentiation and competition in the coffee industry. During this period
there was an increase in café visits. The third wave (late 2000s/early 2010s) was
when coffee started climbing the sophistication rope. Coffee is now sympathetically
roasted and “scientifically’ prepared. Preparation can be in different ways
to express their complex flavours. The
quality turn has made specialty café pricey.
Fourth wave is the present situation in
some of the spaces in the coffee industry. It’s more scientific and both
traceability and ethical production are very important. A five wave model was
proposed by Giuli and Pascuss in 2014 by separating the first wave to
pioneering and industrial. Based on my observation studying the coffee
landscape over ten years I propose that there is a fourth wave plus (4thW+)
which is inclusive futuristic, and sustainable. Under this wave coffee are custom
made and there is emphasis on bespoke, ethics, direct
contact with farmers, single origin, published information, excellent
baristas service, and the rise of pour over.
A truly fourth wave should be bespoke
production and consumption of coffee where consumers are catered to based on
their preferences and in an atmosphere that complements cultures and lifestyle.
The key ideas are authenticity, traceability and transparency. In other words, opacity
and food authenticity are inversely related in the fourth wave coffee market. The
fourth wave plus (4thW+) is well grounded, inclusive and antifragile. This
coffee wave has incorporated coffee rituals from different cultures where
coffee is a staple. Some align with the Ethiopian culture, others Turkish and
some are a blend of coffee cultures. The most important attribute is that 4thW+
takes people on a journey closer to the original coffee cultures where it all
started.
Brazil
has been the largest producer of coffee since the 19th century till
date.
Consumption has also increased in this country because of the continuous
evolvement of the different waves of coffee and the role of different Latin
American countries in the promotion of single origin coffee. This results in the
strengthening of geographical indications and the ethical
promotion of intellectual property rights
in the agricultural sector.
Café Visit: Reasons
Imagine a thought experiment where
there are three types of people (A, B, and C) with respect to coffee
consumption. Let’s assume that out of the three categories of people who visit
cafes, two of them are coffee drinkers and the last group are non-drinkers. The
two categories of consumers can be sub-divided to A {cultural background;
ability to discern good coffee based on tacit knowledge acquired by growing up
in coffee growing community; appreciate the aesthetic associated with
drinking coffee; visiting a café gives a reminiscence of the past, nostalgic
and socialization} and B {based on family lifestyle; ability to discern good
coffee; neutral to aesthetic value; café is seen as space for work and
socialization – interactions strengthen expensive and authentic coffee}. These
categories are regulars if they visit the cafes often and regulars
can be regarded as café explorers because they visit cafes to learn and
hopefully discover new things. These explorers are café elites if they
only visit specialty cafes where coffee is organic, ethical, single origin and
meticulously selected, ground, brewed and cupped by the baristas.
The last category is C. This set of
people do not drink coffee because of its bitterness and caffeine, but some do
drink occasionally for social reasons, and this is how cafés present other
values. A subset of this group can be regarded as café loafers – people
who need a place to kill time while they enjoy the ambience of the space.
All groups – A, B, and C – visit
specialty cafés because of the atmosphere, and the baristas attention to
details with respect to customer service. Furthermore, it is seen as a place to
de-stress, a workspace with unlimited internet access, and a place to discuss
new business ideas and have regular meetings.
A café can also be regarded as a third
place.
The third-place idea was developed by Ray Oldenburg. It’s a place that is not
home or place of work and the café is a typical example. The nexus between
cafes and third place is obvious at Kanoo coffee where there is no
internet connection and the use of laptops is disallowed on weekends. The
owners indicated that they want customers to mingle instead of staring at the
screens of their laptops or smart devices. Moreover, cafés give inspiration[5].
In fact, for the GenZ and millennial, it is a place to meet people. It
increases their confidence level and sense of belonging.
To confirm that the attributes in the
framework or thought experiment presented above is universal, I contacted
people[6] in
different parts of the world[7]. A brief
discussion with consumers in different parts of the world indicates that people
belong to different categories with respect to their consumption of coffee.
There were non-drinkers such as Tunde because of the bitter taste or Christine
because of caffeine, occasional drinker like Kageha who drinks latte at Mugg
& Bean as a monthly treat or to calm her nerves when there is a challenge
at work, and substantial drinkers such as Dazogbo and Sridharan who drink with
cream or black (without cream or milk). In my small global sample, there were
more tea than coffee drinkers. This is the reason why cafes include tea
prominently in their menu. In fact, there is a 4thW+ café in Cambridge, Disko Coffee, owned by a GenZ who has a signature
masala tea based on a recipe from his parents based on their Indian descent.
This recipe has been tweaked to suit his taste and for ownership.
Scholars, both active and retired, are
addicted to a lifestyle of coffee consumption. For example, a retired professor,
author, researcher, political economist and avid coffee drinker has the
following impression about coffee.
“Coffee is a daily beverage for me,
and I like it black. The caffeine gives me inspiration and alertness”
In sum, there are different types of
coffee consumers. People who don’t drink, those who drink a little (minimal),
moderate consumers, and substantial consumers. Location of the consumer also
affects the level of consumption. Based on our empirical evidence, observations
and discussion with people globally, Growth of fourth wave coffee = f (T, A,
Tr, LAI, E, Ar, R, S, Pr, L). Where T= Transparency (+); A = Authenticity (+); Tr
= Traceability (+); LAI = Level of Asymmetric Information (-); E = Exclusive
customer service (+); Ar = Artisanal (+); R = Risk sharing {café, farmer,
consumer} (+); S = Space (not clear); Pr = Price (+); L = Location including
proximity to consumers; and other variables not captured by this model. Distance
is a very interesting concept; if a café or produce market offers good quality,
people will still patronize the location though the closer the better. I have
documented people who travel from Guelph to Toronto (108 km) or Guelph to
Cambridge (25 km) just to get a cup of coffee from a preferred café.
 |
A definition of Sustainability
Ethical production is an attribute of
the present wave and future of coffee. It is important for coffee to be
organically produced or at least ecologically friendly. An organic production
guarantees the healthy nutrient balance of the soil and the balance of
biodiversity with respect to fauna and flora. The use of synthetic herbicides,
pesticides, and fertilizers may compromise the future use of soil and enhances
the extinction of important microbes and the natural interaction of prey and
predators. The use of cultivars that are well developed may strengthen the
adaptation of the plant to the challenges of climatic change that is more
profound in this 21st century.
Coffee production and consumption
should be sustainability driven from farm to table. In other words, production
should be ethical, organic, traceable, authentic and transparent. Crypto-labelling, a
blockchain technology, can be used to promote these desirable attributes. The value and supply chain should be well documented,
and monitoring and regulation should be appropriate, and the stakeholders
should be involved in the strengthening of the value and supply chain. At cafes,
baristas should pay attention to weighing, temperature and the brewing processes.
This will ensure that drinks are of the best quality and flavour. In sum,
sustainability is enhanced when all the stakeholders including farmers,
producers, cooperatives, importers, employees along the value chain, and the
consumers are all satisfied.
Conclusion:
Coffee can be defined using different parameters and
consumption is a function of lifestyle and culture. The journey of coffee
started in Ethiopia and is a beverage consumed globally. The Arabs helped with
the movement of coffee around the world and the Italians perfected its
consumption to the extent that they named an espresso adulterated with warm
water as Americano (which Canadians now refer to as Canadiano because of trade
policies of the United States towards Canada). With respect to culture, in the
Turkish culture there is coffee cup reading where the sediments of the coffee
ground in cups can be used for soothsaying and foretelling the future. There is even an app – Faladdin [8]– that can be used to implement the activity without consulting an
expert.
There are different waves of coffee based on the
production and consumption of the beverage. The coffee landscape became
sophisticated after the third wave, and this is why the description of coffee
in this essay is regarded as 4thW+ an inclusive and sustainable wave where all
stakeholders are not worse off. We are not there yet but significant progress
has been made.
Just like the story of coffee with different stops at
different locations, ideas documented in this essay were developed on my
commute between Guelph and Toronto. The conceptualization was done while
drinking hojicha at Kanoo coffee and this part of the treatise was completed at Cavan Coffee. It is apparent that cafes are a place where the
intelligentsia resides.
Though Nietzsche and Schopenhauer assert that it may
be better not to be born, I want to take an optimistic view that only mortals write
essays about the consumption of coffee and the café culture.
Bibliography:
Adekunle, B. 2016. How nations can
navigate the difficult path to food sovereignty. The Conversation. How
technology can help nations navigate the difficult path to food sovereignty.
Adekunle, B. 2024. Understanding Intellectnomics. Dialectics.
Substack. https://bamideleadekunle.substack.com/p/understanding-intellectnomics.
Adekunle, B. 2025. Food Authenticity.
ECVOntario: Guelph. https://evcontario2011.blogspot.com/2025/05/food-authenticity.html.
Adekunle,
B. and Filson G. (EP) 2023. Opacity and Food Authenticity. Behind the
Aroma. ECVOntario: Guelph. https://open.spotify.com/episode/14SFW2iMplE52PBZyMddji?si=GDeowIL-Raa04Zful38X9g.
Adekunle, B. and Filson G. (EP) 2023.
Geographical Indications. Behind the Aroma.
ECVOntario: Guelph. https://open.spotify.com/episode/6CoNMldPXsfdonxIjHyBIi?si=iGPFVIHBRj6fhB3i99fKYA.
Airin M. 2024. Cup of Excellence: The
Journey of the Perfect Sip. ECVOntario: Guelph. https://evcontario2011.blogspot.com/2024/03/cup-of-excellence-journey-of-perfect-sip.html.
Angelico I. 2005. Black Coffee – The
Irresistible Bean, La fete Productions (Coffee) Inc. TVO/PBS.
Bielski, Z. 2024. Need a mini digital
detox? These screen-free spaces nudge people offline and back into real life.
Globe and Mail: Toronto.
Morris, J. 2017. We Consumers – Tastes,
Rituals, and Waves. In The Craft and Science of Coffee. Folmer, B. (ed.) Academic Press: UK. chapter 19:457-491). https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780128035207000190.
Oldenburg, R. and Christensen, K. (2023)
Third places, true citizen spaces. UNESCO Courier:
France. https://courier.unesco.org/en/articles/third-places-true-citizen-spaces.
Ozerkan F. 2023. Turkish coffee, not
just a drink but a culture. UNESCO Courier:
France. https://courier.unesco.org/en/articles/turkish-coffee-not-just-drink-culture.
Pendergrast M. 1999. Uncommon
Grounds: The History of Coffee and How It Transformed Our World. New
York: Basic Books.
Teles, C. R Arcanjo, and J.H. Behrens.
2020. “The Waves of Coffee and the Emergence of the new Brazilian Consumer.”
In Coffee Consumption and Industry Strategies in Brazil, edited by
Eduardo Eugenio Spers, 257–274. Elsevier.
Special thanks to Rufus Cavan, the
chief roaster at Cavan Coffee and the Intellectnomics Research Group (IRG)
coffee specialist – Wondimu Gashaw and fellow – Kajumba Kaahwa. Deserving
special commendation is Emeritus Prof. Glen Filson for his comments on earlier
drafts of this essay and the facilitation of our weekly meetings where we
discuss different issues including gastronomy. I also thank El-Patron (Lennin
Ruano-Ruiz), Erika Baker, Robbie McGill and Mackenzie Foote of Balzac’s Coffee
Roasters, The Cavan brothers of Cavan Coffee, the baristas at Planet Bean
downtown, and Kanoo Coffee (Amanda, Steve and the Baristas).
Bamidele Adekunle|IRG &
ECVOntario|SEDRD|University of Guelph.
[1] Ethnographic study
[2]
Melitta.“HistoryofCoffee.”MelittaUSA.(n.d.).https://www.melitta.com/en/History-of-Coffee-629.html.1
[3] Please
see Irene Angelico (2005)
Black Coffee – The Irresistible Bean, La fete Productions (Coffee) Inc. TVO/PBS;
Pendergrast
Mark (1999), Uncommon Grounds: The History of Coffee and How It
Transformed Our World. New York: Basic Books.
[4] Usually thick and dark.
[5] A place to read books or for their
solitude time
[6] More
than 30 people.
[7] Living in the American bubble can be
deceptive.
[8] This
app has more than 25 million downloads on all platforms as of 2025.
