# A History of Coffee

A podcast by James Harper. 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.

Feed: https://feeds.captivate.fm/a-history-of-coffee/

## Latest episodes

- [Guatemala’s Inconvenient Truth, Part 2: Who does specialty serve?](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1553744133/861137d1c2ad) (2026-04-20, 29 min): audio https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/a4cb286a-645d-41f0-9265-f2ea2cae88e4.mp3
- [Guatemala’s Inconvenient Truth, Part 1: Whose land is it anyway?](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1553744133/f6ef90a70b13) (2026-04-20, 44 min): audio https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/f96aa234-1dc9-43d4-973a-2dea2b7e1421.mp3
- [Surrogates: Anything but the coffee](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1553744133/b62505b2a239) (2026-03-02, 47 min): audio https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/ebfe36e9-0151-465a-b34d-7f3be24faae6.mp3
- [Mother Coffee: The history and heritage of Ethiopia’s wild coffee forests](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1553744133/6f4f34d9b631) (2026-02-09, 49 min): audio https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/957e7051-ca75-40fd-b80a-23e49dc90d7e.mp3
- [We Built This City…On Coffee: Hamburg and the making of Europe’s coffee trade](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1553744133/096edc7632d0) (2026-01-05, 51 min): audio https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/a98aed19-0f5f-45da-937c-f98ce7b9ffc8.mp3
- [Introducing: Series Three of A History of Coffee](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1553744133/fdbade48dcf0) (2025-12-01, 3 min): audio https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/c2bd02ff-8766-48ea-a4b9-41551bb0d710.mp3
- [4) Just Friends? America’s love affair with coffee](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1553744133/de1fa34dd1c8) (2023-04-17, 45 min): audio https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/3680cbdc-aa47-465c-8366-ebafd602ab99.mp3
- [3) Espresso Lungo: The slow road to Italy’s democratic espresso culture](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1553744133/027a53d170c6) (2023-04-17, 45 min): audio https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/681f4186-37d7-4c1b-b1c3-377885169ca8.mp3
- [2) A Lasting Stain: Haiti, Colonialism and Coffee](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1553744133/9751f1a88942) (2023-04-17, 48 min): audio https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/3a4ccea6-ef66-4b00-9b5b-6eaaebe39748.mp3
- [1) It’s Just Coffee? How coffee houses changed the world](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1553744133/802fb286da39) (2023-04-17, 46 min): audio https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/63c058e0-69c7-4bd5-9aa6-8cd7ff8d97fc.mp3
- [Introducing: Series Two of A History of Coffee](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1553744133/72f1707512ad) (2023-04-03, 5 min): audio https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/2b41406d-134e-471e-bb82-6c00f2a587ca.mp3
- [BONUS: Coffee’s Ticking Time Bomb](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1553744133/5c2b46aa9d52) (2022-05-31, 46 min): audio https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/6073189d-6bf0-4d87-a06b-d9f770243788.mp3
- [BONUS: A History of Tea](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1553744133/a17e80137ac7) (2022-02-15, 28 min): audio https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/f0641a46-19cc-47a1-b492-d3beaa725583.mp3
- [BONUS: Decolonising Coffee History](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1553744133/cce80b208dd4) (2021-06-22, 49 min): audio https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/6fa3f670-93a0-4fed-a038-94eb5169047f.mp3
- [BONUS: Stimulating stories or fantastic flavours: what sells coffee?](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1553744133/166dd3ef70a4) (2021-05-25, 32 min): audio https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/16702cd9-0a0f-41ed-ace4-da89c6628597.mp3
- [6) The Future of Coffee?](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1553744133/1d1ea31e845f) (2021-05-13, 48 min): audio https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/056708a9-cd96-480b-b3ef-dc1823c43329.mp3
- [5) Desperately Seeking Sustainability](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1553744133/957fb9d25a35) (2021-04-23, 38 min): audio https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/51264d00-444a-4e29-ab96-4fa0c34ce0ca.mp3
- [4) A Dark Bitter Powder](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1553744133/cb0cb6977fd1) (2021-03-11, 37 min): audio https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/9b3b0844-6161-4cb0-983c-8b37ace5be92.mp3
- [3) Coffee Catches Fire](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1553744133/1839f815b05e) (2021-03-02, 41 min): audio https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/ebb0a36e-404c-4954-b3e3-023f201b9c93.mp3
- [2) Slavery, Suffering and Affordable Luxury](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1553744133/90f7e75d08cb) (2021-02-17, 43 min): audio https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/07c4eeab-2023-4f9e-907f-e3f54981579e.mp3
- [1) A Five Gun Salute to the Origins of Coffee](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1553744133/b9b730d54085) (2021-02-17, 40 min): audio https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/c87628da-8ca8-4095-9fdf-35fab85d38d6.mp3
- [Introducing: A History of Coffee](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1553744133/b1d4e0aaf5dc) (2021-02-15, 5 min): audio https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/2f1a51eb-1047-43c3-97f4-2ca78de92da9.mp3

Shows are listed from Apple Podcasts' charts and directory, and Podcast Index where it is used. Every show and episode belongs to its publisher and plays from the publisher's own feed; this site hosts none of them.