BeanScene Magazine

It began with a coffee “scandal”. Good cloak and dagger stuff with fraudulent labelling and the need for science to track the suspect product back to its point of true origin and present the evidence. A then young graduate, Joseph Rivera, with a degree in food chemistry got the job of developing a means by which the origin of coffee could be verified.

For Joseph, it was a chance opportunity that has seen him become one of the world’s leading coffee science gurus. But, far from being confined to the chemistry laboratory, his career involves not only advancing our knowledge of coffee quality, but also developing international training programs.

“To be honest I never really planned on becoming a ‘coffee scientist’”, Joseph said during a recent visit to present Australia’s first coffee science seminars. “It was simply chance. Sometimes life decides for us what path to follow and what choices to make,” he says of his entry to the field.

In1998, there was an infamous coffee scandal that sent shockwaves through the specialty coffee industry. One unscrupulous coffee importer in Northern California was allegedly selling fraudulently labelled Panamanian coffee as the highly prized Hawaiian Kona coffee. After months of investigation by U.S. Customs, the importer was eventually found guilty and sent to jail.

The question in the industry remained how this could have happened and equally importantly, how it could be prevented from happening again?

“The study sought to determine a coffee’s true origin and looked at a number of technical parameters, including DNA analysis, acid content, isotope ratios, and others as a means of verifying origin.”

“As luck would have it, I had just graduated from university (California State Polytechnic, Pomona)  and was soon recruited by the then Specialty Coffee Institute to develop a ‘Verification of Origin’ study. The study sought to determine a coffee’s true origin and looked at a number of technical parameters, including DNA analysis, acid content, isotope ratios, and others as a means of verifying origin,” Joseph says. The project was eventually dismissed due to a lack of funding, but the experience sent Joseph along a path of unchartered territory and he soon began researching other aspects of coffee science.

He went to work with the Coffee Quality Institute (CQI), a non-profit research educational foundation. In his role as a Research Associate, he utilised his knowledge of food chemistry to better understand coffee quality and develop numerous training programs globally.

In 2001, Joseph accepted the position of Director of Science and Technology with the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) and served as their in-house coffee scientist and information technology director. Over the years Joseph has worked with well over 20 producing countries throughout Latin America, instilling his knowledge of coffee science and its connection back to quality. He is a frequent technical contributor to several trade publications; has appeared on the History Channel’s Coffee documentary; Discovery Channel; National Public Radio (NPR); Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and; at numerous international coffee conferences over the years.

In 2004, Joseph launched
www.coffeechemistry.com – the largest scientific information portal dedicated to the advancement of coffee science and quality. In 2008, after nearly a decade in the specialty coffee industry, Joseph left SCAA to launch Coffee Intelligence, an independent technical consulting firm dedicated to coffee testing, training and addressing the future needs of the industry using both science and technology.

In Australia recently to run this country’s first coffee science seminars, Joseph says that when he looks back across his career, it strikes him that coffee science is a very multidisciplinary field - physics, chemistry, biology and technology - all essential tools in the development of the science of coffee and also what makes it accessible and relevant to one and all.

The reputation and respect he engenders globally is second to none, but what was it that inspired him to take coffee appreciation and understanding to that next level?

“Well I’m a coffee junkie, typically downing 6 to 8 cups a day! I particularly enjoy the French Press method, perhaps with a medium roasted Kenyan AA coffee, black, no sugar. It was a deep love for coffee and a deep level of dedication and commitment that really inspired me to learn everything I could from this industry and work to grow it in a very relevant and coherent way”

Besides coffee, Joseph also enjoys playing guitar, listening to jazz & blues, mountain biking and salsa dancing.

“It has been great coming to Australia and seeing for myself just how passionate the people really are down under. You all seem to love your coffee and there is a lot being done by many for the betterment of the industry.”

So what’s next on Joseph’s agenda?  The good news is that he intends to run more seminars. He is currently working on developing some new modules covering the chemistry of roasting, dynamics of staling/degassing, and possibly the chemistry of espresso. 

I would also like to thank the following people/companies for their support and assistance to make these events possible:

St. Ali and Salvatore for allowing us use of their venue in Melbourne, Five Senses and Coffee Masters (Andrew Gross) for roasting our coffee samples, Mountain Top Coffee (Andrew Ford) for supplying green coffee (except for sample #6), Seven Seeds, BeanScene Magazine and AASCA (Tom Beaumont) for helping promote the event - and of course our assistants - Will Notaras, Kamal - Allister Payne, Melanie Stolpe, Lucy, Chris (all of St Ali).
For more information: www.coffeechemistry.com