Kenneth Davids 'godfather of coffee' visits Taipei

「咖啡教父」肯尼斯·戴維茲造訪台北

Creator of Coffee Review and author of numerous related books attends coffee exhibition in Taipei


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The author of four books on coffee and editor of Coffeereview.com, Kenneth Davids, attended the 2024 Taiwan International Coffee Show on Saturday (Nov. 16) at Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center.

Since the 1970s, Davids has helped popularize specialty coffee with insightful analysis of coffee sourcing, roasting, and tasting. During a public appearance in Taipei, he noted that the biggest change in the global coffee industry is the blurring of lines between coffee-producing and coffee-consuming countries, per CNA.

He cited Taiwan, which has been an importer of fine coffee but is now actively producing coffee. Davids looked forward to high-end and affordable coffee production from Taiwan, noting that the gap between legacy countries with coffee production and newcomers is narrowing.

Davids arrived in Taiwan to promote his latest book, "The 21st Century Coffee Bible." The book includes his experience traveling the world and inspecting coffee production and culture.

Davids said coffee production and consumption patterns are changing, noting that Brazil used to be the largest coffee-producing country in the world and is now the second-largest consuming country. Davids said this is yet another example of how the boundaries between coffee-producing countries and coffee consumers have changed.

Davids founded the Coffee Review scoring system in 1997, a rating mechanism for coffee similar to wine. He hoped the rating system could allow more people to appreciate coffee culture and sophistication, greatly enhancing coffee’s status as a drink.

Davids said before the Coffee Review, it was difficult to determine the quality of coffees. Coffee beans would have their qualities dazzlingly written on their packaging, but this information was done for promotion and sometimes did not match the quality.

After establishing Coffee Review, the world could learn about the quality of distinctive coffee. His first book “Coffee: A Guide to Buying, Brewing, and Enjoying” in 1976 sold well internationally and influenced the promotion of coffee culture.

Davids was born in Chicago and studied journalism at university when he fell in love with coffee. He opened his cafe, which offered food to support a small business.

His lifelong passion for coffee never subsided, and his talent for journalism encouraged him to write a book about coffee. He stated, "At that time, most people did not regard coffee as a respectable drink and did not take it seriously. I thought that we needed to promote and enhance the status of coffee in the minds of people around the world.”

Davids said the popularity of the Coffee Review system has helped people become aware of the exquisite nature of high-end coffee. However, he hopes that such coffee will become more available to the general public, allowing more people to appreciate the joy of coffee.