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A History of Coffee

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by James Harper

4.8(74 reviews)

22 episodes

Updated Inactive

Accepts GuestsHas SponsorsLocation 🇬🇧

Podcast Overview

A History of Coffee is the story of how a tiny psychoactive seed changed the world and shapes our lives today. Across six episodes, documentary maker James Harper and professional historian Jonathan Morris narrate how humans race coffee across oceans to keep up with demand for this addictive drink. Coffee creates enormous fortunes for some, and misery for others. Sometimes the environment benefits, but more often it is plundered. If we want to make coffee a more equitable industry that’s also kinder to the environment, a place to start is understanding the stories and systems that put the coffee into your cup this morning. Press the Subscribe button so you don’t miss future episodes! Follow Jonathan Morris @coffeehistoryjm and James Harper @filterstoriespodcast. Read full transcripts at www.historyofcoffee.org.

Language

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Publishing Since

2/15/2021

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Recent Episodes

April 20, 2026

Guatemala, Part 2: Who does specialty serve?

Specialty coffee changes the story for the indigenous people of Guatemala. Coffee as a tool of oppression finally offers hope....and then something a bit more complicated. This episode explores the tension between the values of the Mayan communities who grow coffee, and the values that drive the specialty coffee movement. Many of the signals we typically look for in our coffees - super-specialty flavours, Fairtrade certification, “5th generation family farm” - might actually exclude coffee grown by indigenous Guatemalans. This episode might change what kind of Guatemalan coffee you buy. Please spread the word about A History of Coffee! Follow us on Instagram - James (@filterstoriespodcast) and Jonathan (@coffeehistoryjm) - and tag us in an Instagram story. Write a review on Apple Podcasts Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify This free educational content for the coffee community was made possible by Mahlkönig, manufacturers of world-leading coffee grinders for 100 years for your home and cafe. Read Jonathan’s book, Coffee: A Global History Support James’ work directly by buying him a coffee at Ko-fi.com/FilterStories Read James’ article on Dieseldorf, the famous German plantation owner, in Standart Pick up a copy of Prof. Ted Fischer’s excellent book Making Better Coffee: How Maya Farmers and Third Wave Taste Makers Create Value Follow Juan Jose on LinkedIn to keep up with his PhD on coffee farming in Jacaltenango exploring how ecology, generational memory and ritual all shape how Jacalteco farmers tend the land. Check out Standart, the award-winning coffee magazine. Get a free magazine and a free bag of coffee by clicking here.How does Perfect Moose detect what kind of milk is in the pitcher? Click here to find out.Visiting World of Coffee San Diego? Pull a shot on the gorgeous Slayer Steam SingleWhat does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here.

April 20, 2026

Guatemala, Part 1: Whose land is it anyway?

When you buy a bag of coffee labelled fifth-generation family farm, it feels like a good choice. But in Guatemala, that label might actually be a signal for a more uncomfortable truth. This episode explores how land has been understood, used, and eventually fought over in Guatemala for centuries between indigenous people, Europeans and those in-between. It’s a story of what happened immediately after Guatemala won independence from Spain. This pivotal period of history gets less attention in the history books, but the suffering of the indigenous people of Guatemala gets arguably even worse. Fair warning: it's a dark story, and it will make you think twice about what you're really choosing when you pick up a bag of coffee from Central America. Please spread the word about A History of Coffee! Follow us on Instagram - James (@filterstoriespodcast) and Jonathan (@coffeehistoryjm) - and tag us in an Instagram story. Write a review on Apple Podcasts Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify This free educational content for the coffee community was made possible by Mahlkönig, manufacturers of world-leading coffee grinders for 100 years for your home and cafe. Read Jonathan’s book, Coffee: A Global History Support James’ work directly by buying him a coffee at Ko-fi.com/FilterStories Read James’ article on Dieseldorf, the famous German plantation owner, in Standart Pick up a copy of Prof. Ted Fischer’s excellent book Making Better Coffee: How Maya Farmers and Third Wave Taste Makers Create Value Follow Juan Jose on LinkedIn to keep up with his PhD on coffee farming in Jacaltenango exploring how ecology, generational memory and ritual all shape how Jacalteco farmers tend the land. Check out Standart, the award-winning coffee magazine. Get a free magazine and a free bag of coffee by clicking here.How does Perfect Moose detect what kind of milk is in the pitcher? Click here to find out.Visiting World of Coffee San Diego? Pull a shot on the gorgeous Slayer Steam SingleWhat does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here.

March 2, 2026

Surrogates: Anything but the coffee

What happens when coffee disappears? This is not a thought experiment! It’s happened many times in history: War, blockades, tariffs, ideology, health panics, sanctions, supply shocks. When coffee is not around, people still need something warm, comforting, and familiar. And throughout history, people have reached for coffee surrogates: roasted plants and grains engineered to look like coffee…but do they actually taste like coffee? In this episode, Jonathan and James time-travel by taste testing a truly alarming number of coffee substitutes. Spoiler: you will hear a lot of spitting! Which leads to the bigger question: can anything actually replace coffee—or will we always come crawling back? Please spread the word about A History of Coffee! Follow us on Instagram - James (@filterstoriespodcast) and Jonathan (@coffeehistoryjm) - and tag us in an Instagram story. Write a review on Apple Podcasts Leave a 5 star rating on Spotify This free educational content for the coffee community was made possible by Mahlkönig, manufacturers of world-leading coffee grinders for 100 years for your home and cafe. Read Jonathan’s book, ‘Coffee: A Global History’ Support James’ work directly by buying him a coffee at Ko-fi.com/FilterStories Read James’ article on the history of decaf technology in Standart See Colin Smith’s amazing coffee museum at Smith’s Coffee in Hemel Hempstead, UK Get nerdy about the intersection of AI and the occult on Karin’s Subtack, Mercurial Minutes Do your own surrogate taste test! Postum Atomo Orzo Fig Dandelion root Dateseed Acorn Chickpea Chicory Root Camp Coffee Check out Standart, the award-winning coffee magazine. Get a free magazine and a free bag of coffee by clicking here.How does Perfect Moose detect what kind of milk is in the pitcher? Click here to find out.What kind of racing car does the Gaggia Classic GT home espresso machine remind you of? Use discount code FS202610 to get 10% off. What does the Marco MilkPal look like to you? WALL-E? Something Steve Jobs would be proud of? Check it out here.

22 total episodes available with 1 transcripts

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What is A History of Coffee?: A History of Coffee is the story of how a tiny psychoactive seed changed the world and shapes our lives today.

Across six episodes, documentary maker James Harper and professional historian Jonathan Morris narrate how humans race coffee across oceans to keep up with demand for this addictive drink.

Coffee creates enormous fortunes for some, and misery for others. Sometimes the environment benefits, but more often it is plundered.

If we want to make coffee a more equitable industry that’s also kinder to the environment, a place to start is understanding the stories and systems that put the coffee into your cup this morning.

Press the Subscribe button so you don’t miss future episodes!

Follow Jonathan Morris @coffeehistoryjm and James Harper @filterstoriespodcast.

Read full transcripts at www.historyofcoffee.org.
How often does this podcast release new episodes?: This podcast updates inactive.
Where can I listen to this podcast?: This podcast is available on 2 platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. You can also use the RSS feed directly.
Does this podcast accept guests?: Information about guest appearances is not available.

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