COFFEE RESEARCH

PEET’S PLEDGES US$250,000 FOR COFFEE RESEARCH AT UC DAVIS

Peet’s Coffee has pledged US$250,000 to the University of California, Davis (UC Davis), to fund the Peet’s Coffee Pilot Roastery, which will be located in a first-of-its-kind Coffee Center at UC Davis. The pioneering centre and pilot roastery will be devoted to post-harvest coffee research and engineering.

“With this gift, we are firmly following in Alfred Peet’s footsteps and maintaining his belief in mentorship,” said Doug Welsh, vice president for coffee, Peet’s Coffee. “By joining forces with UC Davis on the innovative Coffee Center and Peet’s Coffee Pilot Roastery, Peet’s and other partners will foster the next generation of coffee experts, encouraging unique research paths and roasting approaches that will have market-ready application and industrywide influence.”

Supporting UC Davis in establishing the Coffee Center and Peet’s Coffee Pilot Roastery is in keeping with the legacy of the original craft coffee company. The founding gift will enable UC Davis to establish the roaster, which is set to become an important element of its academic centre.

“The Coffee Center will generate unparalleled teaching, research and collaborative opportunities for our students, scientists and engineers, as well as for industry partners and visitors from around the world,” said Jennifer Sinclair Curtis, dean of the College of Engineering. “We are proud that Peet’s Coffee is one of our founding partners in this bold initiative. We fully expect the centre will do for coffee what the renowned UC Davis wine and brewing programs have accomplished on behalf of those industries.”

Bill Ristenpart, Professor of Chemical Engineering at UC Davis, will direct the Coffee Center and Peet’s Coffee Pilot Roastery, sharing duties with two colleagues – Tonya Kuhl, professor of chemical engineering, and Jean-Xavier Guinard, professor and sensory scientist in the Department of Food Science and Technology.

The Coffee Center builds upon ‘Design of Coffee,’ a popular course developed by Ristenpart and Kuhl in 2012 to better engage a diverse population of students and stoke excitement around coffee and engineering. The undergraduate class, now offered every quarter, enrolled more than 1,500 students during the 2015-16 academic school year. ‘Design of Coffee’ was also voted the best course on campus in 2015 and has the highest enrolment of any elective course offered at UC Davis.

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