About this site

I work across green coffee, quality, sensory and market development in Asia.

I currently serve as Chief Coffee Intelligence (Head of Coffee) at Eighty Plus Coffee and founded Prism Coffee Works.

This site is where I write about the parts of coffee I keep coming back to: markets, producers, sensory, processing and how value is actually created.

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Enjoying the experience? Get started for free and set up your very own subscription business using Ghost, the same platform that powers this website.I work across green coffee, quality, sensory and market development in Asia.

I currently serve as Chief Coffee Intelligence (Head of Coffee) at Eighty Plus Coffee and am the founder of Prism Coffee Works.

This site is where I write about the parts of coffee I keep coming back to: markets, producers, sensory, processing, auctions, and how value is actually created.

What I write about

Most of my work sits somewhere between the cup and the market.

I am interested in how sensory quality becomes commercial value, how producers build identity over time, how buyers respond to scarcity and provenance, and how markets change around coffee that sits far outside conventional commodity pricing.

Some articles begin with auction data. Others begin with a farm, a processing method, a cupping table or something I noticed while working with coffee in Asia.

I am less interested in finding a single answer than in understanding what the available evidence can — and cannot — tell us.

How I approach the research

Whenever possible, I work from primary material: auction records, producer information, buyer announcements, sensory data and direct observation.

I try to keep fact, interpretation and personal observation separate.

When data is incomplete, I would rather leave the uncertainty visible than make the story cleaner than the evidence allows.

Reports may also be updated as new information becomes available, particularly when auction coffees reach buyers, roasters and consumers.

My work

My professional work covers green coffee, quality control, sensory evaluation, product development, education and market intelligence.

At Eighty Plus Coffee, I work across coffee quality and market development as Chief Coffee Intelligence (Head of Coffee).

I also founded Prism Coffee Works, through which I have worked in coffee education, sensory, research and industry projects.

The work published here sits alongside those roles, but it is written in my own name.

Independence & disclosure

This is an independent publication written and edited by me.

The views expressed here are my own and do not necessarily represent EightyPlus Coffee or Prism Coffee Works.

Because my professional work involves producers, green coffee buyers and other companies in the coffee industry, some subjects I write about may overlap with people or businesses I work with.

When that relationship is relevant to the subject, I will disclose it.

Contact

For research, coffee projects, speaking, education or industry collaboration:

Youngjun Cho
Chief Coffee Intelligence, Eighty Plus Coffee
Founder, Prism Coffee Works

yjcho@prism.coffee