Listening tips: Coffee

Some time ago, I presented a few listening tips on the subject of my favourite drink—tea—and tea culture. And in this blog post, I’m going to offer a few suggestions on the topic of the world’s second most popular drink: coffee. From the history of coffee to its health benefits and tips on how to make the perfect cup of coffee… Here you’ll find everything you need to know, and then some more!

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In Our Time: Coffee

Each episode of the BBC Radio 4’s In Our Time programme is a joy to listen to, and this one is no exception. Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the history of coffee, including the role of slave trade. The web page includes a useful reading list. Duration: 55 minutes.

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A History of Coffee

And if history of coffee is your thing, here’s a whole podcast series on the subject. Produced and presented by James Harper and historian Jonathan Morris, this award-winning six-part documentary delves not only into the history, but also the future of coffee, discussing its environmental impact and social justice issues.

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Adventures in Coffee

More diverse in the choice of coffee-related topics, Adventures in Coffee deals with everything from brewing techniques to certified and single-source coffee, and all things coffee in between. Presented by Scott Bentley of the Caffeine magazine, together with the author Jools Walker and documentary podcaster James Harper, each episode is about 35 minutes long.

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How to Brew Amazing Coffee with Science

If you’ve ever wondered how to make that perfect cup of coffee, in this 11-minutes segment of the NPR’s Short Wave programme you’ll get some tips from a trained barista—with a scientific explainer. It’s all about chemistry, after all!

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How Does Drinking Coffee Affect My Health?

Last but not least, is drinking coffee healthy at all? One gets to hear contradicting information all the time, so let’s hear it from the expert: this episode of The Dose from the CBC Radio brings you a conversation with Thomas Merritt, a geneticist and professor at Laurentian University in Sudbury, Canada. Duration: 25 minutes.

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Do you have some more listening tips on this topic? Share them in the comments section below!

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COVER IMAGE CREDIT

Photo by Milo Miloezger via Unsplash.