From Bean to Cup: Raising Awareness for a More Sustainable Coffee Consumption

2022
Master's Thesis Research
MA in Integrated Design
Anhalt University of Applied Sciences
Dessau, Germany

"From Bean to Cup: Raising Awareness for a More Sustainable Coffee Consumption" is the research book of my master's thesis in the Integrated Design course at Hochschule Anhalt. My research aimed to investigate the knowledge gaps among coffee consumers and what can be done to allow them to reframe their understanding of coffee and improve their consumption.​​​​​​​
Coffee is one of the most widely consumed beverages globally, and its consumption increases yearly worldwide. As a commodity, coffee has always been present in people's lives and they have been drinking coffee for centuries. Studies indicate that consumption is increasing yearly. In the US, COVID-19 drove record coffee consumption at home, with 85% of coffee drinkers having at least one cup at home and 40% of Americans bought different types of coffee. Over the past few decades, coffee consumption is slowly changing. More and more consumers have become interested and more demanding about coffee’s flavor, quality, and the story behind the cup. This is a result of the third-wave coffee movement, where coffee consumers are more aware and concerned about the behind of each cup of coffee. However, many coffee consumers are still not aware of the importance and origin of the coffee they are consuming, and this lack of awareness impacts the world economically, sustainably and socially. Given these propositions, it is interesting to consider that coffee has a significant role in people’s lives and is necessary to reframe how coffee consumers perceive coffee.

In that sense, this project started with the question if design could contribute to the learning regarding coffee, and if yes, how it could be used to raise awareness among coffee consumers and enable them to embrace a more meaningful consumption. The purpose of this project is also to investigate what are the knowledge gaps among coffee consumers and what can be done to allow them to reframe their understanding of coffee and improve their consumption. In order to define the problem statement, formulate the research and design questions, and reach plausible answers in a systematic way, the Double Diamond Framework was chosen as a design process. Topics like the origin of coffee, specialty coffee and the waves of coffee, impacts of coffee, product experience, and gamification of learning served as a basis for my research.
Two experiments were carried out with several attendants to analyze their behaviors and what are the knowledge gaps and pain points in a practical way. During the experiments, by observing their attitudes and reactions and listening to their feedback, it was possible to collect valuable insights to keep improving and transform the investigation into an outcome that provides knowledge in coffee.
This project was fully developed by Makoto Saito.