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The Science and Culture of Coffee was created in 2017 as a way of introducing some basic science through the vehicle of coffee. The course stresses construction of hypotheses and predictions, collection and evaluation of data, and communication through written and oral forms. In addition to learning some basic chemistry and biology of coffee, students also explore the place coffee has occupied in world history, trade, policy, and human rights. Activities in the course include roasting, grinding, brewing and tasting coffee, all of which are done within the framework of specific scientific experiments that are aimed at testing particular hypotheses. Additional activities may include construction of a digital timeline of coffee, field trips to local coffee roasteries and shops, presentations by local coffee shop owners and coffee importers, development of elementary business plans for a coffee-related venture, making ceramic coffee cups, conducting a coffee sale, participating in a coffee competition and developing and administering a survey aimed at exploring how genders differ in their connection with coffee. Inspiration for the course came from a similar offering by Drs. Ristenpart and Kuhl at UC-Davis. Their course takes an engineering approach, while The Science and Culture of Coffee is focused on biology and chemistry, as well as the interaction between science and the arts, humanities, and social sciences.
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