The Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) has announced it will be giving $1 million to the University of California, Davis. The establishment of the Specialty Coffee Association Endowed Fellowship in Coffee Science will support graduate research at the UC Davis Coffee Center.
A center of excellence in the UC Davis College of Engineering, the UC Davis Coffee Center is the first academic facility of its kind in the United States. Established in 2014, and dedicated solely to the study of coffee, the center is a research and teaching facility, featuring laboratories for roasting, brewing, chemistry and green coffee storage.
This isn’t the first time the SCA has collaborated with UC Davis in the field of coffee research. In 2017, the SCA was a primary partner for the center’s first major research project, which was dedicated to the fundamentals of coffee brewing.
The new endowment represents a much more serious long-term investment on the part of the SCA. Those directly benefitting will include graduate students and international students from coffee-growing regions, who will receive ongoing financial support.
“The future of coffee depends on investing in the people who will shape it,” said Yannis Apostolopoulos, CEO of the Specialty Coffee Association, in the SCA’s announcement. “Through our longstanding partnership with UC Davis, we’ve seen what’s possible when education, research, and industry come together. This fellowship will support the next generation of coffee scientists, and we hope it will open doors especially for talented students from coffee-producing regions, whose perspectives and leadership are essential to our sector’s sustainability and resilience. Their work, and the knowledge they carry home, can create an impact that extends far beyond any one student or research project.”
According to the SCA, the university will manage and invest the $1 million fund. Approximately 4% — currently around $40,000 — will be distributed annually to support an SCA Fellow’s graduate research, with remaining earnings reinvested into the endowment fund.
Through its donation, the SCA hopes to build bridges between academia and the coffee industry, especially in the face of growing economic and climatic challenges: “The new fellowship and broader partnership reflect a shared vision of coffee science that is global and interdisciplinary. By supporting emerging researchers and fostering international perspectives, the SCA and UC Davis aim to advance research and innovation that can contribute to coffee’s long-term resilience and benefit the people and communities who depend on it.”