May 11, 2025

Food Authenticity

 

Food Authenticity

“What is food authenticity? Is it defined by the consumer or producer?” A listener to our podcast, Behind the Aroma – Opacity and Food Authenticity, once asked me. To make it easy for consumers, foodies, and other stakeholders in our food systems, I decided to explore different scenarios to aid our understanding of the phenomenon.

                                Roasting of Coffee in Kenya. Recorded by Ndarua Steve Gitu


Experiment I: Geographical Indications

In the winter of 2024, I invited a single origin coffee expert, roaster, and café (Cavan Coffee) owner to expose my students to the concepts of fourth wave and single origin coffee. He presented to my international trade class on a Friday evening about how he imports coffee directly from farmers in Colombia, Ethiopia, and other parts of the world. This indicates that his procurement process is both ethical and authentic. At the end of the lectures, students said that they’ve not heard the phrase ‘fourth wave coffee’ let alone ‘single origin’ coffee. He left us with sachets of single origin coffee for the students to enjoy. Though instant coffee is supposed to be of low quality, this is a premium coffee packaged as instant for people who don’t have the equipment and time to meticulously brew a premium coffee.

The students, friends and policy makers love the instant single origin, so I decided to do a single origin coffee ‘Challenge’ in another undergraduate student class. In my Management of International Enterprise class students were asked to explore the instant coffee offered by Cavan coffee (packaged by Hasty coffee.com). After consumption, they were expected to post their comments and pictures/videos on Instagram while tagging ECVOntario and Cavan Coffee. This exposed the students to testing the desirability of a new product – in this case a premium instant coffee. It also strengthens students’ skills to use social media to promote the desirability of products across platforms and borders that are based on authenticity, traceability and ‘skin in the game’.

A Sachet of a Single Origin Instant Coffee


This scenario shows that food authenticity can be explained through single origin. Single origin is related to ‘geographical indications’ which is a type of intellectual property rights. Examples of single origin coffees are Yirgacheffee, Mexican Li Maya, Peruvian Café Femenino, Sidamo, Fig Mood -Costa Rica, Los Diamentes – Colombia, Mauricio Perez – Guatemala, and El Horizonte, Geisha – Colombia.

 

Experiment II: Local Foods

In our exploration of the meaning of authenticity, local food is usually more authentic because it is easy to monitor the activities of the farmers and processors and there is little or no need for preservatives to extend the shelf life of a fruit or vegetable. In the winter of 2024, a group of students in a final year undergraduate class were asked to document their impressions about an apple from an orchard in the Brampton area of the Greater Toronto Area. I have known the farmer for more than nine years.

On the issue of local production

To explain the impact of proximity or distance on quality, I bought a basket of fresh apples from the Guelph Farmers’ Market and offered them to my students. 19 out of 98 students, 20 percent of the class, participated and submitted their observations. The other students gave general feedback during the semester. The apples were in season: October (Fall) – May/June (Spring) from Applevue Apples, located between Brampton and Georgetown. This farm sells different apples at the market such as Honey Crisp, Gala, Empire, Portland, Mutsu, Ambrosia, and MacIntosh.

The students were told to pick an apple and indicate the variety and their impressions about the apple.

Below are the students’ impressions.

Results

The students ranked the apple high in times of freshness (8.92 /10) and taste (8.34/10). The students were unable to identify the apple’s variety. This was to be expected because food is an experience good where prior knowledge and consumption is required in the identification process. As seen in the table below, they misclassified the apple. The apple administered was Ambrosia which only 21% of the students got right.

Identification by students

Name

Frequency

Percentage

Gala

3

16

Royal Gala

3

16

Honey Crisp

6

32

Ambrosia

4

21

Spanish Apple

1

05

Fuji Apple

2

10

Total

19

100

 

Students also added notes that the apple was juicy, crisp, not soft, no bruises but can be easily bruised, less than a week old, firmness, aroma, appearance, No wax ( a cover or veil to hide the state of the produce, commonly used to protect produce travelling long distance, use to increase the aesthetic shelf life but this compromises quality and taste).

Although the students struggled to identify the apple’s variety, they were clear and unanimous in the desirable qualities of a locally produced apple.

Information economics

The lesson from this small experiment is that opacity is reduced with proximity and relationship with producers. The apples for the experiment are from a family we know of their orchard. In-season is better than off season because nutrients diminish with time. It is also important to note that apples and most foods are experience goods. Physical inspection is usually not adequate and may be misleading for goods like apples. An apple may look fresh (covered with wax) but not good enough when consumed. Experience goods – need to be tasted and consumed, though authenticity is not necessarily guaranteed. For example, significant experience is required to discern halal or grass-fed meat from non-halal or intensive beef production.

 

Experiment III: Cultural Exploration

Sunfest, a festival to celebrate culture, food and music, is a yearly event in London, Ontario. We attended the last day of the event last year on July 5, 2024.  Our yearly ritual at this festival is to listen to music from different parts of the world and try a new experience of the restaurant landscape of the city. After we saw Alpha Yaya Diallo who was a new album tour we decided to visit Addis Ababa Restaurant, an Ethiopian restaurant.

We shared a platter of injera, beans, collard green potatoes, beef stew, and chicken stew with family friends. The injera was far better, not sour, than some injera I have eaten before. Injera does not necessarily taste the same. Teff varieties may be different, and mode of preparation affects taste. The best stew on the platter for me was collard green mixed with potatoes. This combination goes well with the injera. Coffee was also served in the traditional cups. As per authenticity, the beans were freshly roasted, and we were told to perceive aroma because according to the Ethiopian culture it brings blessing. Frankincense was burnt throughout our stay which contributed to the ambience and heavenliness of space. All meals were prepared in-house based on our specifications.  

Overall, it was an excellent experience. It is good to try old and familiar experiences in a new space or place because the experience may be different.

 

An Ethiopian platter as presented to us in Addis Ababa restaurant, London. Ontario.

*Special thanks to Rufus Cavan, my winter 2024 TRSM students, and the Maitland’s.

Bamidele Adekunle| IRG &ECVOntario | SEDRD| University of Guelph


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March 25, 2025

Coffee: Exploring Pour Over

Single Origin Coffee (Pour Over) - Kanoo Coffee, Guelph


Ever since I was in high school, I always had a love for coffee. I viewed it mostly as a source of energy to get me through the day. I did not understand what great quality coffee was and it wasn’t until I started working at Balzac’s in 2022 that I realized this. While working at Balzac’s I have been able to gain a lot of knowledge about coffee, I learned how coffee beans are produced, the differences between roasts, different coffee techniques, and how to tell which beans are better quality. Working at Balzac’s helped me appreciate drinking coffee and it is where I developed my passion for making coffee, especially with latte art. I now want coffee for the taste and the experience that comes with it and I care less about the energy it provides.

Working at this café has given me a sense of community both with my coworkers and with the customers. My coworkers quickly became some of my closest friends, and we often go to coffee shops around Guelph to find high quality coffee. I have made important relationships with customers as well, and one of the customers that I value a lot, Professor Adekunle, has given me many opportunities outside of the café. He gave me an opportunity to write a research paper about fourth wave coffee, specifically researching local coffee shops in Guelph. This paper helped expand my knowledge on third and fourth wave coffee and allowed me to discover different types of coffee that I wouldn't typically seek out.

Third/Fourth wave coffee are major developments within the coffee industry that have occurred recently. Both waves mainly focus on the quality of coffee that is being produced in the coffee shops, this has to do with both the bean quality and the process in which is used to make coffee in the cafes. I believe the main aspects that make high quality coffee include the coffee beans, the measurements and the science that is used to produce the coffee. Great quality coffee beans are often single origin, which means the beans are obtained from one single location rather than multiple locations.

                                           Brewing a Pour Over at Cavan Coffee, Guelph

Pour over coffee is a unique technique that is often found in third and fourth wave cafes. Pour over coffee is made by manually pouring hot water over coffee grinds and using a cone filter, but the steps are done in a specific and precise way. Everything is measured; the beans are weighed before and after being ground, the amount of water used is weighed, and there must be a specific water temperature. These measurements are typically different depending on which beans are used, and which cafe you are going to.

My friends/coworkers, Erika and Robbie, and I decided to explore different pour overs from different cafes around Guelph. We started our journey by going to Cavan Coffee. It was the first time in a while that we were all lucky enough to have the same day off, so we decided to make it worthwhile by enjoying each other's presence over some coffee and a game of scrabble. We tried their Los Diamantes Honey pour over from Colombia. There were many beans to choose from, but this was the most appealing based on the tasting notes. Cavan is run by two brothers Rufus and Jeremy. Jeremy was working that day. Since we had come to know him, we were comfortable asking him questions about the brewing process. Jeremy explained the process to us in detail. He started by boiling hot water to a specific temperature, he then weighed the coffee beans before and after grinding them. Next, he poured a little bit of hot water onto the cone filter. He put the grinds in after and then he slowly poured hot water over the grinds for 1 minute and 35 seconds. He let that steep until 2 minutes and 7 seconds, and he then released the brewed coffee into the carafe below the filter. He informed us that he likes to try new things when making pour over coffee and this technique allowed him to ensure the microfibers from the grinds were higher up on the cone. Since Jeremy was precise during the entire process, we could tell that the coffee was high quality. With this pour over we could taste the bold flavours listed in the tasting notes which were vanilla cola, chocolate, and creamy. We enjoyed these flavours because they weren’t too acidic.

During a separate trip, Erika and I visited Kanoo Coffee. Kanoo is one of our favourite cafes to go to in Guelph. The coffee and environment are always great, and we are friends with one of the baristas that works there. Our friend Shae was working that day, and he gave us a pour over coffee from the menu. He gave us Gorra beans which are from Shakiso, Guji, Ethiopia. The tasting notes for these beans were orange, watermelon, white flower elegant, vibrant, and acidic. Unfortunately, we couldn’t watch the process but Shae has told us that they use exact measurements when making pour overs. The flavours were not as strong when compared to Cavan but there was a distinct difference in both the taste and the aroma of the pour overs.

The final cafe that I went to was Planet Bean. I am friends with one of the baristas that works at this cafe as well which made the experience easier and more comfortable. I decided to try the Yirgacheffe beans which are from Ethiopia. The tasting notes were lemon, black tea, and floral notes. When watching them make the pour over I could tell they were not precise, it didn’t seem like they weighed the beans, and they did not check the temperature of the water that they used. The coffee was very strong, and it was hard to taste any notes because they had brewed the pour over too strong. However, the beans here are high quality because they are single origin, fairtrade, and organic. I believe that their coffee made could be better if they used better techniques.

All the cafes that we visited used high quality single origin beans, but the techniques they used when making pour over were different. My favourite pour over was from Cavan as I usually prefer chocolate and creamy flavours in coffee. Kanoo’s pour over was good, but the flavour profile wasn’t my favourite as it was more citrusy and acidic. I liked the pour over at Planet Bean the least because they brewed it too strong which made it bitter.

This exploration of pour over was a great experience! I was happy to learn more about coffee brewing techniques and while also sharing these moments with some of my friends. Having Erika and Robbie there with me made me remember that cafes were made to socialize, enjoy the coffee and the experience. I hope that I will continue to learn more about coffee with friends in my future.

 

Mackenzie Foote | Research Assistant | ECVOntario


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