Climate change could ruin coffee taste: study

A new scientific review by researchers from Tufts University and Montana State University found that global warming might ruin the taste and reduce the availability of coffee in the future.

The team looked for patterns across 73 published articles on coffee to determine what factors were most likely to affect its quality and the impact of environmental changes on those factors.

The researchers identified two factors consistently associated with coffee quality, which are higher altitude produced better flavor and aroma and too much sunlight decreased the quality.

According to the paper, higher altitudes are associated with cooler temperatures that result in higher accumulation of taste and aroma precursors, slower ripening, and prolonged fruit-fill, and" the paper states.

Meanwhile, reducing sunlight exposure is easier to deal with through shade management, including fostering shade-grown coffee systems with optimal levels of canopy coverage.

Sean Cash, an economist and professor at Tufts' Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, noted that understanding the science of these changes might help farmers and other stakeholders better manage coffee production in the face of this and future challenges

He added that factors that influence coffee production would greatly impact buyers' interest, coffee prices, and ultimately the farmers’ livelihoods.