Journal

Coffee Review publishes regularly scheduled monthly coffee tasting reports according to our editorial calendar as well 100-point wine-style coffee reviews throughout the month. Our Journal page is where we share news, updates, and general blog posts to keep readers and industry professionals up to date about Coffee Review and other topics of interest to coffee lovers.

Fruit Bombs Are the Point: Natural-Processed Espressos Defy Convention

The Coffee Review lab has smelled like a candy store for the last few weeks — a Willy Wonka factory for grownups. Of the hundreds of coffees we cup every year, a growing percentage of them are natural-processed. In the wine world, the word “natural” doesn’t mean anything in particular, is more of a marketing term designed to imply minimal intervention in the winemaking process. In coffee,

Interview: Kenneth Davids Discusses His New Book, 21st Century Coffee: A Guide

“When my first book about coffee came out in the 1970s,” Coffee Review editor Kenneth Davids says, “people I met at parties used to wonder how I managed to find enough to write about coffee to fill a whole book on the subject.” Given the explosion of coffee innovation and change since then that Davids describes with affectionate yet thorough detail in his latest book, 21st Century

Shop the Top 30 Coffees of 2021

Coffee Review‘s mission is to help consumers identify and purchase superior quality coffees and, in the process, help drive demand and increase prices to reward farmers and roasters who invest time, passion, and capital in producing high quality coffee beans. Many of our readers seek out highly rated coffees for their own enjoyment or as thoughtful gifts for coffee lovers. Coffees that appear

Top 30 Countdown Begins November 26

Coffee Review's countdown of the Top 30 Coffees of 2021 begins on Friday, November 26 and ends with the announcement of the Top 5 coffees of 2021 on Wednesday, December 1. In the meantime, you can view the Top 30 coffees from past years using the links below. Since 2013, our editors have published an annual list of the year's Top 30 Coffees, ranking the most exciting coffees from the thousands

Coffee as a Force for Good: Roasters Who Give Back

Like everything bought and sold, coffee can be a vehicle for profit or a tool for changing the world. Sometimes, it is both. 2020 was, unequivocally, a difficult year for the coffee industry, globally speaking, as it was for many of us working in that industry. One response to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic is to help others make it through the storm. Our report this month

The Year 2020 in Coffee: Challenges, Trends, Surprises & Knockouts

In 2020, COVID-19 devastated lives and businesses, challenging the global specialty coffee community to its core. On the producing side, the pandemic added still another daunting challenge to growers facing endemic low coffee prices and an ongoing battle with leaf rust disease in Latin America. On the consuming side, roasters saw the pandemic shutter their bread-and-butter café businesses while

Top 30 Coffee Countdown Begins November 27

Coffee Review's countdown of the Top 30 Coffees of 2020 begins on Friday, November 27 and ends with the announcement of the Top 5 coffees of 2020 on Tuesday, December 1. In the meantime, you can view the Top 30 coffees from past years using the links below. Since 2013, our editors have published an annual list of the year's Top 30 Coffees, ranking the most exciting coffees from the thousands

Holiday Gift Guide for Coffee Lovers

As the number of cups of coffee enjoyed around the world flies north of two billion every day, it's clear that humanity's love of the beverage runs as deep as December nights run long. And yet like winter solstice snowflakes, no two coffee lovers are exactly alike in habits and preferences. Consequently, there is no one-size-fits-all solution to gifting for the coffee lovers in your life, and

Two Centuries of Enslaved Labor: The Contributions of Blacks in the Early Americas Coffee Trade

Introduction by Kenneth Davids, Editor in Chief Phyllis Johnson, longtime president of green coffee importer BD Imports, has emerged as an eloquent spokesperson for acknowledgement and change at a time when specialty coffee is searching for an effective response to systemic racism in the U.S. Her writing and speeches have rallied the specialty coffee community and she has created an

Recognizing the Coffees, Communities, and Contributions of Black-Owned Coffee Companies

For the past several months, Coffee Review has been intensely focused on helping small coffee roasters survive the coronavirus crisis. We rolled up our sleeves, put down our heads, and continued to pursue our mission of helping consumers find superior quality coffees, while recognizing and rewarding the roasters and farmers who produce those coffees. However, as we reflected on the tragic

Coronavirus Impact on the Coffee Community

In April 2020, Coffee Review conducted a survey of its readers to better understand the impacts of the coronavirus crisis on members of the coffee community. We received over 100 survey responses from readers in 19 countries. Roughly three-quarters of respondents were from the United States, with 30 states represented. Nearly eight out of ten respondents were consumers; the remainder were coffee

Help Support Coffee Review’s Mission

As you probably know, many local and niche publishers, particularly web-based publishers like Coffee Review, are not financially sustainable based solely on advertising revenue. Most of our advertisers are small coffee roasting companies with limited marketing budgets. Raising advertising rates is a painful prospect in normal times. It's simply out of the question with many roasters facing severe

Buy Coffee E-Gift Cards

One of the best ways you can support coffee companies and their employees during the COVID-19 crisis is to simply purchase their coffee. Better yet, you can purchase e-gift cards, which provides immediate cash support. If possible, buy gift cards in excess of your immediate needs. Perhaps get an early start on your holiday gift shopping with some special stocking stuffers. On behalf of the

You Can Make a Difference

These small but important actions will make a real difference in your local community: First - Take Precautions. Please take every precaution to protect yourself, your families, your co-workers, and your community from spreading the COVID-19 virus. Follow the advice from the World Health Organization and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Second - Buy Coffee. Your daily coffee

COVID-19 Message from Coffee Review

We are living in unsettling times. The COVID-19 pandemic is causing challenges and hardships for all of our families, businesses, healthcare workers, first responders and, of course, coffee communities locally and around the world. First and foremost, our thoughts are with the individuals and families who are directly affected by the virus. For those who are sick, we wish you a speedy recovery.

New Series of Equipment Reports

Our mission always has been to help consumers identify and purchase superior quality coffees. But purchasing superior quality coffee beans won't guarantee a superior quality coffee experience if poorly prepared with inferior equipment. So it's not surprising that we frequently receive requests from readers for reviews of coffee equipment. In our most recent reader survey, 88% of respondents were

An In-Depth Look at the Top 30 Coffees of 2019

Coffee Review’s list of the Top 30 Coffees of 2019 represents our seventh annual ranking of the most exciting coffees we tested over the course of the year. This annual effort supports our mission of helping consumers identify and purchase superior quality coffees and, in the process, helping drive demand and increase prices to reward farmers and roasters who invest time, passion and capital in

Best Value Coffees of 2019

Some readers seek coffees with highest scores regardless of price. Others look for great value, that is highly rated coffees that are also affordable relative to other similar quality coffees. The coffees and espressos below were singled out on our 2019 list of Top Coffees by Category as the best values in 2019. Best Values – Non-espressos No. 6 - Dragonfly Coffee Roasters, Kenya

Top Coffees by Category – 2019

In 2015, we began the practice of recognizing top coffees by category to focus attention on fine coffees that may not have earned a place on our Top 30 Coffees list. The coffees below may not have attracted the highest scores of the year but they merit recognition for their excellence nonetheless. For more information, visit our expanded rankings post from 2015. We are pleased to recognize