Watch the lecture on the SCA Youtube channel.

DR. NANCY CORDOBA speaks on research into coffee sweetness at Re:co Symposium.

Specialty coffee consumers and experts alike agree that a key part of coffee quality is the natural sweetness that is a part of high-quality coffee flavor. Recent research has confirmed that, counterintuitively, the sweetness in coffee does not come from sugars in the bean. This has created something of a mystery among coffee experts and sensory scientists —if sugars do not make coffee taste sweet, what could be the reason for the sweet taste of high-quality coffee?

Natural sweetness makes coffee more valuable to consumers, roasters, and coffee farmers alike, which is why it is being recognized as a sensorial evaluation category within the SCA’s Coffee Value Assessment System. Solving the mystery of sweetness, then, is a key element of the SCA's journey to make coffee better and more sustainable.

Read the full article on the SCA Portal.

Researchers Dr. NANCY CORDOBA and Dr. DEVIN PETERSON, joined by PETER GIULIANO, share early results of a multi-year Coffee Science Foundation research project, undertaken at the Flavor Research and Education Center at Ohio State University, to establish foundational knowledge about the phenomenon of sweetness in coffee.