Revisiting the Question: Does Coffee Taste the Same as it Did Five Years Ago?

This week was my birthday, so I wanted to take a break, but I also wanted to explore a topic I find fascinating: how does coffee flavor evolve over time?

In 2022, I wrote an article for Trade Coffee called "Does Coffee Taste the Same as It Did Five Years Ago?" inspired by a conversation I think I was eavesdropping on. I can't remember who said it, but I distinctly remember dropping in on a talk and hearing someone remark that coffees from Ethiopia don't taste the same as they did five years ago.

At the time, that comment blew my mind. I had only been a barista for a year or two (I think—speaking of birthdays, it's so strange to be at an age where years and timeframes just run into one another. It's hard to pinpoint exactly sometimes when something happened) and to know that I would never experience the flavors this person was speaking to broke my heart.

I also didn't understand how coffee's flavor could change so drastically. At the time, I didn't totally grasp what impacted the taste of coffee. This would have been in the early 2010s, and basic connections, like how processing (is the cherry of the coffee seed fully removed or left to dry on the bean) affected flavor, was still very new to me.

I also had no clue how climate change would impact flavor, nor did I understand just how critical of an issue climate change would be when it comes to coffee. Last week, in his newsletter, my colleague Fionn highlighted a study from the United Nations that shows that climate change has both lowered yields and driven up the commodity price of coffee. Perhaps this isn't surprising to read if you're a regular Boss Barista reader, but seeing such findings codified by such a visible global organization was comforting (more people are catching on to how critical the issue is) and discouraging (perhaps we're far too late).

Anyway, what did you folks think about the idea that coffee changes flavor over time? Have you ever had a coffee that tasted stunning one year and was very different the next? As I read the Trade piece I wrote in 2022, I felt embarrassed I omitted mention of George Howell, arguably the first person to study the evolution of flavor over time by freezing green coffee beans from specific harvests.

Howell treats certain harvests like vintages, and by freezing them, he preserves the flavor and gives roasters and coffee enthusiasts an interesting data point to consider. Did that coffee from Honduras taste different last year? If we know a weather event happened in Kenya last year, can we study two harvests side-by-side and see how that event impacted the final cup? Because coffee pricing is tied to quality, these are essential questions to consider and try to answer.

Thanks for giving me a break and being patient with me. I'd love to hear from you.