Science

Filter Stories - Coffee Documentaries

by James Harper

Coffee stories with an extra shot of history and science.
Filter Stories is a podcast revealing coffee’s hidden microscopic secrets, its powerful past, and how your choice of beans impacts tens of millions of people.
See the behind-the-scenes stories on Instagram @filterstoriespodcast.
If you haven’t already, please subscribe to the show and review us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify!

77 episodes

EN language

All Episodes

1

Surrogates: Anything but the coffee

46:25 Mar 2, 2026

2

Mother Coffee: The history and heritage of Ethiopia's wild coffee forests

48:40 Feb 9, 2026

3

We Built This City…On Coffee: Hamburg and the making of Europe's coffee trade

50:12 Jan 5, 2026

4

Introducing: Series Three of A History of Coffee

2:59 Dec 29, 2025

5

Coffee Quality, Part 3: When the “quality” myth hits the farm

30:00 Dec 8, 2025

6

Coffee Quality, Part 2: How “quality” became a myth

25:33 Dec 8, 2025

7

Coffee Quality, Part 1: The birth of specialty coffee flavours

23:30 Dec 8, 2025

8

How specialty coffee woke up to water’s role in flavour

25:39 Jul 28, 2025

9

The two ingredients in water that ruin your coffee, and the ancient story behind them

38:40 Jul 28, 2025

10

Getting great water for coffee, step-by-step. Part 2: How to measure and treat your water

43:17 Jul 14, 2025

11

Getting great water for coffee, step-by-step. Part 1: Alkalinity, hardness and why it matters

26:20 Jul 14, 2025

12

Farm to port: why specialty costs more

54:19 Jun 23, 2025

13

Why one Colombian farmer chose specialty, and the other walked away

46:45 Jun 9, 2025

14

The hard business of selling beautiful coffee, part 2

39:02 May 19, 2025

15

The hard business of selling beautiful coffee, part 1

29:08 May 19, 2025

16

The Speed of Heat: How to roast more coffee, faster!

52:24 Mar 24, 2025

17

Coffee Roasting: How baby plant food transforms into delicious coffee flavours

47:43 Mar 10, 2025

18

Fruit juice or creamy almonds? Your guide to controlling cold brew flavors

46:39 Feb 16, 2025

19

Hot vs Cold: The science behind temperature and taste

45:15 Feb 3, 2025

20

Introducing: Season 3 of The Science of Coffee

2:03 Jan 27, 2025

21

Freshness and Grinding, Part 2: How grinders work deep inside

47:23 May 6, 2024

22

Freshness and Grinding, Part 1: Protecting your coffee’s flavours

49:41 Apr 22, 2024

23

What Is Good Science? Part 2: How to think like a scientist

55:14 Apr 8, 2024

24

What Is Good Science? Part 1: How to brew coffee like a scientist

46:21 Mar 25, 2024

25

Organic Coffee, Part 2: Why don’t we see more organic coffee farms?

41:22 Mar 13, 2024

26

Organic Coffee, Part 2: Why don't we see more organic coffee farms?

41:22 Mar 11, 2024

27

Organic Coffee, Part 1: The magic of soil

38:48 Feb 26, 2024

28

Coffee Roasting, Part 2: Roasting made easy

46:20 Feb 12, 2024

29

Coffee Roasting, Part 1: How heat transforms coffee beans

37:41 Jan 29, 2024

30

Smell and Taste, Part 2: Are you and me tasting the same flavours?

39:18 Jan 15, 2024

31

Smell and Taste, Part 1: How to be a better coffee taster

44:32 Jan 8, 2024

32

Introducing: Season 2 of The Science of Coffee

2:16 Jan 2, 2024

33

4) Just Friends? America’s love affair with coffee

44:24 May 29, 2023

34

3) Espresso Lungo: The slow road to Italy’s democratic espresso culture

44:56 May 15, 2023

35

2) A Lasting Stain: Haiti, Colonialism and Coffee

47:33 May 1, 2023

36

1) It’s Just Coffee? How coffee houses changed the world

45:21 Apr 17, 2023

37

Introducing: Series Two of A History of Coffee

5:00 Apr 3, 2023

38

6) Sonic Seasoning

53:48 Jan 31, 2023

39

5) Latte Foam

43:04 Jan 17, 2023

40

4) Espresso Technology

42:43 Jan 3, 2023

41

3) Plant Genetics

1:03:15 Nov 22, 2022

42

2) Coffee Extraction

53:09 Nov 8, 2022

43

1) Water For Brewing Coffee

1:01:43 Oct 25, 2022

44

Introducing: The Science of Coffee

3:39 Oct 18, 2022

45

Coffee’s Ticking Time Bomb

44:59 Feb 15, 2022

46

Is really expensive coffee really worth it?

32:35 Jun 15, 2021

47

Coffee Cycle Saturdays

24:30 May 27, 2021

48

6) The Future of Coffee?

47:05 May 13, 2021

49

5) Desperately Seeking Sustainability

37:23 Apr 27, 2021

50

4) A Dark Bitter Powder

36:13 Apr 13, 2021

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