A History of Coffee 4) A Dark Bitter Powder
Mar 11, 2021
Explore the quirky idea of aliens tasting coffee from the 1930s and 2020, revealing distinct flavor profiles. Delve into the rise of Robusta coffee in the market and its economic implications. Uncover how instant coffee revolutionized Brazil's coffee scene in the late 1930s with Nescafe's launch. Learn about the coffee crisis of the 1990s and its devastating toll on farmers, along with Vietnam's transformation of coffee production post-war. Lastly, reflect on the industry's sustainability challenges and the urgent need to change detrimental practices.
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Tasting Time Travel
- James asks Jonathan to imagine aliens sucking up all roasted beans and brewing a 1930s world blend to compare tastes.
- They actually taste a recreated 1930s and 2020 blend to show how global coffee composition changed over time.
How Instant Coffee Is Made
- Instant coffee (Nescafe) scaled in 1938 as a palatable, industrially produced soluble coffee.
- Production dries brewed coffee into granules that recombine with water for cheap, instant cups.
Convenience Drove Instant Coffee
- Instant coffee's chief appeal was extreme convenience and simple marketing that pitched coffee as child's play.
- Commercial TV in Britain accelerated instant coffee adoption because people could brew during adverts.
