What are the three waves of coffee?

First wave (early 1900s) made coffee a mass-market commodity (Folgers, Maxwell House). Second wave (1970s–90s) introduced espresso and the café culture (Starbucks, Peet's). Third wave (2000s–present) treats coffee as a craft, with single-origin sourcing, lighter roasts, and a focus on quality and transparency.

Who started third wave coffee?

The term was coined by Trish Rothgeb of Wrecking Ball Coffee Roasters in 2002. The movement was crystallised by roasters like Stumptown (Portland), Intelligentsia (Chicago), and Counter Culture (Durham), and by European pioneers including Tim Wendelboe (Oslo), The Coffee Collective (Copenhagen), and Square Mile (London).

What Is Third Wave Coffee? The Movement, Explained

The three waves of coffee, in one paragraph each

First wave (early 1900s): coffee became a mass-market commodity. Folgers, Maxwell House, vacuum-packed cans on supermarket shelves. Coffee was a beverage; brand and convenience were the selling points.

Second wave (1970s–1990s): espresso and café culture arrived in the US. Starbucks, Peet's, and Caribou turned coffee into a daily ritual and taught Americans the difference between a latte and a cappuccino. Roasts were generally darker; sourcing was opaque.

Third wave (2000s–present): coffee became a craft. Single-origin beans, lighter roasts, precise brewing methods (V60, Chemex, Aeropress), direct trade with farms, full traceability. Pioneers include Stumptown, Intelligentsia, Counter Culture, Tim Wendelboe, The Coffee Collective, and Square Mile.

What defines a third wave café

Single-origin coffees by name and farm on the menu
Lighter roasts that preserve origin character
Pour-over, Aeropress, or filter alongside espresso
Direct or relationship-trade sourcing
Calibrated grinders (Mahlkönig, EK43, Mythos)
Baristas who can name the farmer and the tasting notes
Roast dates on every bag

Where the movement is now

Third wave is no longer a fringe movement — it's a category. Roasters maps 23,000+ third-wave and specialty cafés across 126 countries. Some scenes lead globally (Melbourne, Copenhagen, Tokyo, Berlin); others are emerging (Bangkok, Bogotá, Seoul). Browse city guides or download the app for the full map.

Third wave vs. specialty — the short version

Specialty refers to the grade of the coffee bean (80+ on the SCA scale). Third wave refers to the cultural movement that elevated coffee preparation and sourcing. Most third wave cafés serve specialty coffee, but the two terms describe different things. See our definition of specialty coffee for more.