Ask the Roaster: What are Coffee Waves?

A couple of our customers have written us asking about coffee waves. Questions like: What is Third Wave Coffee? Is it better than other coffees? What happened to the First and Second Wave? Is there a Fourth Wave? Here are some answers from our Roaster:

Coffee waves are a way of looking at coffee history. The earliest coffee was all First Wave Coffee. Beginning about 1000 years ago, people in Ethiopia started roasting and drinking coffee. As coffee spread to other parts of the world, roasters took the green coffee beans they had, blended them together to minimize flaws and improve flavor, and used the technology they had to roast the beans. First Wave Coffee was popular for hundreds of years. Many of the biggest coffee roasters still provide First Wave Coffee. They buy green coffee beans as a commodity, blend them together to hide flaws and provide the expected flavor. They then roast those beans the same way every time. Consistency is the goal with First Wave Coffee.

Second Wave Coffee emerged as roasters began to experiment with roast levels. The first coffee beans were roasted in a pan over a flame, usually to the second crack, what we call a Vienna roast level. As coffee roasters learned how to roast the green coffee at other roast levels, some began to specialize. Many North African roasters went light, roasting their beans to what we call a Cinnamon roast level. At the other extreme, French roasters discovered when they roasted flawed coffee beans very dark, the off flavors cooked away, and the ground coffee brewed into a much better cup. As roasting technology became more sophisticated, some roasters began offering coffee at different roast levels. When you see bags of coffee advertised by their roast level, you’re seeing Second Wave Coffee.

Third Wave Coffee is relatively new. Starting in the 1980’s, coffee lovers became more interested in where the coffee was grown. They started focusing on the the flavors of the different coffee growing regions and sub-regions, and began tracing the coffee, sometimes to the individual co-op or farm. Different coffee origins have very different flavors, and roasters began experimenting with different roast levels to bring out their nuances. Folks started talking about Third Wave Coffee in 1999. Third Wave roasters provide traceable, single origin coffees roasted to maximize the flavors the roaster wants to highlight. Unlike the first two waves, Third Wave Coffee focusses on traceability and the roaster’s flavor preferences.

It’s tempting to assume that Third Wave Coffee is better than coffee from the first two waves, but that’s not necessarily so. Some First Wave Coffees are wonderful. If you’ve ever experienced an Ethiopian coffee ceremony, that’s First Wave Coffee. So was the coffee that Paul remembers his grandfather ordering when they went out for doughnuts when he was a boy. The lovely coffee served in most Parisian bistros is dark roasted Second Wave Coffee.

Each successive coffee wave built on the one before, and now a Fourth Wave is evolving. Like Third Wave Coffee, Fourth Wave Coffee focusses on bringing out the different flavors and nuances inherent in beans from different origins. This attention to flavor extends to blends, where the highest quality beans are mixed together not to hide flaws but to bring out a specific flavor profile. Unlike Third Wave Coffee, though, Fourth Wave Coffee is all about the coffee drinker. Instead of the roaster determining which flavors to highlight, Fourth Wave Coffee seeks to highlight the flavor preferences of the coffee drinker.

Here at Coffee by the Roast, you can find coffee from all four waves. Our Mokha Java 1790 replicates one of the early First Wave coffees. You can order by the roast level for Second Wave coffee. For Third Wave Coffee, try the Exploration Coffee, or order any of our single origin coffees at the Roaster’s Choice roast level. Our hearts, though, are in the Fourth Wave. We love to help customers find the coffee they love best. Most of our coffees are available at a wide range of roast levels, and you can always contact us if you’d like help sorting through the options. For those who want something even more personalized, we offer Your Dream Coffee where we’ll create a coffee blend to match your coffee preferences and Nostalgic Coffee where we replicate an old favorite.

We’re riding coffee’s Fourth Wave and loving every minute of it.

Does one of the coffee waves appeal more to you than the others? Please share your thoughts on the Facebook thread or in a comment on this blog. Or, if you'd like to share your opinions with the wider world, leave us a coffee review on Google or on your favorite review site. Not only do we value your opinions, but reviews help more people find us. Help us connect coffee lovers to fresh, quality coffee!

We wish all our customers continued good health during these challenging times.

~ Carrie, Paul and all of us at Coffee by the Roast