The days when coffee was a mere caffeine delivery system are long gone. Third-wave coffee came along and changed all that. This movement reframed coffee as an artisanal product, like a fine wine, cheese or craft beer.
The days when coffee was a mere caffeine delivery system are long gone. Third-wave coffee came along and changed all that. This movement reframed coffee as an artisanal product, like a fine wine, cheese or craft beer.
If you’ve been here long enough, you’ll know how passionate I am about coffee’s history, current trends and what the future might bring. Hence, my explorations of the waves of coffee. So, I’m doubly glad I’ve gotten the chance to write about the third coffee wave movement.
But what exactly is this movement? And how has it influenced how we view coffee today? Let’s get into it to learn more.
What Is Third Wave Coffee?
As the taste subtleties of a vineyard’s terroir made us appreciate wine, third-wave coffee invited us to notice how origin impacts the flavors of beans. Origins like Ethiopia’s Yirgacheffe region or Guatemala’s Huehuetenango estates, which we would never have heard of otherwise.
This coffee revolution – which took shape in the early 2000s – literally changed how we thought about coffee. It promoted coffee as more than a mere commodity. It also prioritized lighter roast profiles to bring out a bean’s flavor characteristics. As a result, precise brewing methods became the norm. And so did direct relationships with producers.
But what was even more fascinating wasn’t just the concern for quality. The third coffee wave also made coffee connoisseurship democratic. Everyone, and I mean everyone, learned more about the bean and how to brew it. If you’re a veteran barista (like me) you’ll remember how this movement opened doors to coffee flavor in a way previously unknown.
What About First and Second Wave Coffee?
Third-wave coffee implies the existence of previous coffee movements. So, what are they, and how did they impact the third and subsequent waves of coffee?
Let’s take a brief look.
First Wave Coffee
Before precise pour-overs and espresso, a revolution brought coffee into every American home. This was the first coffee wave. It started in the early 1800s, influenced by the Boston Tea Party. It then went on into the California Gold Rush of 1848, when campfire cowboy coffee was all the rage.
Later, it peaked during World Wars I and II (fueling our heroes). By the 1950s and 1960s, the era of the Housewife, Mad Men and hippies, it was firmly entrenched.
More than anything, this initial wave transformed the way Americans drink coffee. Its brands, some still among the biggest coffee companies, sold and marketed mass-produced coffee.
First came Joel Cheeks with Maxwell House in 1892. Then, Hills Bros., with vacuum-packed coffee in 1900. Soon, Folgers, Nestlé and Nescafe followed. They became household names for selling instant coffee, decaf and coffee for percolator brews.
Now, you may shudder at the thought of pre-ground Robusta beans. But this era was not romantic. Coffee was more about consistency, convenience and affordability. Above all, it did something phenomenal, and turned coffee into a morning staple for millions of Americans.
Second Wave Coffee
If the first wave was about coffee in the home, the second was about how we drink it outside the home. Born in the 1970s, the second wave transformed coffee into a custom social beverage.
A small Seattle firm you may have heard of started it all. Starbucks kindled a cultural transformation that remapped the way we are with coffee. We no longer drank coffee but savored “Grande skinny vanilla lattes.” And in the process, we wholly embraced Italian espresso.
Commercially, cozy “third-place” cafes replaced chilly, utilitarian coffee shops. They came complete with soothing background music and the whoosh of the best espresso machines.
This era also gave us the barista. And thank God it did! Who would explain all the coffee vocabulary like Vienna roasts and ristrettos to us?
While purists might scoff at this era’s fondness for cloying drinks and over-roasted beans, they can’t deny its influence. After all, it paved the way for third-wave cafes and roasters. And without it, the emphasis on craft might never have come about.
Third Wave Coffee Roasters
Apart from third-wave coffee, we have the roasters who made it all happen. These pioneers focused on single-origin beans, lighter roast profiles and direct-trade coffee relationships.
Intelligentsia Coffee is the first of these heroes. They began serving Chicago in 1995 and set many standards defining the third-wave.
Importantly, they sourced beans directly from farmers. They were also the first to include information about farms and processing on their packaging.
Portland’s Stumptown Coffee Roasters is another. They prioritized sourcing practices, paying three to four times above commodity prices. They also popularized the practice of descriptive tasting notes, treating coffee like wine.
So, what exactly defines a third-wave coffee roaster? Here’s my take:
Bean sourcing: Directly source and pay for high-quality beans.
Farm visits: At Coffeeness, this is a core philosophy. We often visit and encourage the suppliers of our espresso coffee beans from Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Roast philosophy: Lighter roasts that highlight the natural flavor of a bean.
Transparency: Precise details on bean origin, terroir and flavor.
Quality control: Strict protocols in bean selection, roasting and brewing.
These pioneers paved the way for other third-wave roasters like Blue Bottle and CounterCulture. These specialty roasters furthered these practices, helping usher in the fourth wave.
Third Wave vs Specialty Coffee
Although the terms “third-wave” and “specialty coffee” sound like the same thing, they aren’t. Here’s how to think about it: All third-wave coffee is specialty coffee. But not all specialty coffee is third-wave.
The Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) states that specialty coffee must come from 100% Arabica beans. Coffee Q graders assess these beans for defects and flavor characteristics. Then, they score them.
To pass, beans must score 80+ points on a 100-point system. So specialty coffee is a term that describes quality, like “prime” beef or “grand cru” wine.
Third-wave coffee takes a broader philosophical approach. It’s as much about how we source, brew and roast coffee as the coffee itself.
For instance, most second-wave coffee shops, including Starbucks, use specialty coffee beans. But some don’t come close to third-wave standards. Why? They over-roast their beans and use mass-produced brewing methods.
A third-wave coffee shop stays away from these practices. And they tell you your coffee producer’s name, the coffee’s elevation and the precise water temperature to brew your coffee with. This difference is significant.
Third Wave Coffee Terms
Specific third-wave terminologies forever changed how we talked about coffee. Here are some that define this coffee movement precisely:
Single-origin coffee beans: Coffee from a specific geographic area, farm, estate or harvest lot.
Artisan coffee beans: Hand-selected beans brewed by a master roaster in small batches to bring out distinctive flavors.
Hand-brewed coffee: Manual-brewed coffee prepared meticulously. The barista pays special attention to the grind, water temperature and pour.
Coffee terroir: The impact of soil type, altitude, weather and cultivar conditions on a coffee’s flavor.
Micro lot coffee: Tiny lot of beans harvested from one farm region, typically the highest quality that the farm produces.
Honey process coffee: A coffee processing method where some fruit mucilage remains during drying. This coffee is sweet and heavy-bodied with some acidity.
Washed process coffee: A processing method which removes the fruit layer completely using water and fermentation before drying. It produces a clean, fruity coffee with bright acidity.
Dry processed coffee: Also called natural process. This processing method dries the entire coffee cherry with the bean inside. It produces a fruit-forward, heavy-bodied coffee with low acidity.
God shot: The pinnacle of espresso art. An ideal espresso shot with the perfect brewing variables and taste.
Coffee degassing: A natural process where fresh-roasted beans release carbon dioxide. Most coffee beans (especially espresso) need to de-gas for 24-72 hours before you can brew with them.
Omni roasting: A roasting process that produces beans suitable for multiple brewing methods, e.g., from espresso and Aeropress to filter coffee and cold brew.
Final Thoughts
The evolution from first-wave convenience, second-wave cafe culture and the third-wave craft approach, didn’t stop there. We’re slap bang in the middle of fourth-wave coffee. So, whether you love a classic diner coffee or crafted pour-over, you’re part of a continuing cultural unfolding.
Looking to the future, there are already whispers of a fifth coffee wave. It focuses on factors like the customer experience, product quality and leveraging tech for success.
But don’t feel left out – the best part of this evolving coffee culture is that there’s room for all. These waves simply tell you if you’re in sync with what’s currently happening. Importantly, they also hint at where coffee’s headed next.
Are you a committed third-wave devotee, or do you like the ol’ familiarity of first-wave coffee? Maybe you’re somewhere in between or more into post-pandemic fourth-wave coffee? Chime in below! I’d love to hear your favorite way to consume the brew, and what these different coffee movements mean to you.
Third Wave Coffee FAQ
Third-wave coffee is a movement that prioritizes good quality coffee. To this movement, coffee is an artisanal food product rather than a commodity. Therefore, how it’s grown, processed, roasted and brewed determines its quality.
Ayush Bathwal, Sushant Goel and Anirudh Sharma in India founded Third Wave Coffee (the company).
Yes, Third Wave Coffee is an Indian coffee chain founded in Bangalore in 2016.
The three waves of coffee describe distinct coffee eras. First-wave coffee focuses on mass-produced coffee consumption, embodied by companies like Folgers and Nescafe. Second-wave coffee speaks to the rise of specialty drinks and cafe culture in the ’70s and ’80s, embodied by companies like Starbucks. Third-wave coffee focuses on craft coffees, prioritizing coffee origins, direct trade and precise brewing methods. Companies like Stumptown, Blue Bottle and Intelligentsia embody it.
