The Coffee Excellence Center is a leading academic institution dedicated to the science and technology of coffee. Founded in 2008 by Prof. Dr. Chahan Yeretzian, our center’s mission is to explore and expand the frontiers in the science and technology of coffee along all disciplines.

We believe that high-quality coffee can only be obtained with a profound and holistic understanding of the coffee value chain. Therefore, we are dedicated to research and education on coffee along the whole value chain, from crop to cup.

Coffee is an area of great importance that not only excites us as a fascinating field of research, but also connects people around the world at all stages of the value chain. Our strongest driving force continues to be our love of coffee and the people along this entire chain.

A two day event at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) dedicated to science, research and education for coffee professionals.

Vision

Create a platform for sharing research, advancing coffee science, fostering collaboration, educating coffee professionals, promoting exchange and networking, and incubating future projects.

Event details

• Date: Thursday 6 and Friday 7 February 2025
• Location: ZHAW Wädenswil, Campus Reidbach
• Day 1: Lectures, Tasting Sessions, Panel Discussion, Evening Event
• Day 2: Workshops/Seminars, Lighting Talks, Closing Session, Zurich Coffee Tour

Interested in sponsoring this event? Contact Sabine de Castelberg at stuf@zhaw.ch 

More information coming soon!

Our goal is to disseminate our coffee knowledge through education. We offer courses that help individuals develop an understanding of the industry, its competitive landscape, and potential synergies. By doing so, we aim to empower our students with the skills they need to succeed in their careers.

The Coffee Excellence Center provides graduate certificate programmes, including the fully online Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) in Coffee Excellence and the continuing education short course Post-harvest Processing in Coffee. In addition to this, we design customised courses tailored specifically for coffee industry and coffee-related businesses and entrepreneurs.

Our expertise includes green coffee and origin, coffee transformation and storage, extraction and sensory, and we cover transversal topics such as flavour and sustainability.

Research on cultivation practices and post-harvest processing methods of green coffee species and how it translates to coffee quality. Research focusses on physical and chemical analyses of both green and roasted coffee.

Head of Green Coffee: Dr. Sebastian Opitz

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Includes research on roasting, grinding, degassing, packaging, freshness and aging.

Head of Coffee Transformation: Dr. Samo Smrke

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Research on extraction of coffee, analysis of coffee aroma, sensory analysis of coffee (Q Grader for Arabica), water treatment and characterization.

Head of Extraction and Sensory: Dr. Marco Wellinger

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