University of Kentucky Launches Coffee Science Degree—Yes, Really

David Gonthier grew up hearing about coffee from his mother, who came from Honduras. He spent time on his cousin’s farm there, watching how the cherry was picked and processed. That experience shaped his career: a master’s degree studying coffee in Southern Mexico, a Ph.D. on the same subject, his own small farming operation back in Honduras, and eventually a Q-grader certification — the professional tasting credential that fewer than 5,000 people worldwide currently hold.

Now Gonthier, an associate professor in the Department of Entomology at the University of Kentucky’s Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, is building something new: the first Coffee, Science and Culture certificate for undergraduates at a major American university.

What Students Will Actually Learn

Pending final institutional approval, the certificate launches in Fall 2026 with two foundational courses.

The first, “Not Just Coffee,” traces coffee’s path from Ethiopian origin story through colonial trade networks to the specialty movement that transformed it from commodity to craft. Students examine how coffee shaped economies, fueled revolutions, and became the world’s second-most traded commodity after oil.

The second course, “Coffee Sensory Science,” gets practical. Students learn the vocabulary and methodology of professional tasting — how to identify origin characteristics, detect defects, and understand how roasting and brewing parameters affect what ends up in the cup. It’s the same framework that Q-grader candidates study, adapted for an academic setting.

A Lab That Roasts

The UK Coffee Lab operates at the university’s Horticulture Research Farm, where students can watch roasting in action and study how bean variety, processing method, and roast profile interact to create flavor. It’s one thing to read about Maillard reactions in a textbook. It’s another to smell them happening in real time.

Gonthier designed the program to bridge two worlds that don’t always communicate well. The academic side — entomology, agronomy, food science — tends to focus on agricultural challenges at origin. The industry side — roasters, baristas, shop owners — often operates without much connection to the research happening in university labs.

“The certificate offers a set of courses that casts a wide net across the industry,” Gonthier said.

Why Kentucky?

Kentucky might seem like an unlikely home for coffee education. The state is famous for bourbon, not beans. But that’s part of the point. UK already runs an undergraduate certificate in Distillation, Wine and Brewing Studies — teaching students to understand fermented beverages from grain to glass. Coffee fits the same interdisciplinary model: agriculture, chemistry, sensory analysis, and cultural context all woven together.

Gonthier isn’t working alone. Briana Bazile, a part-time instructor and graduate fellow, and Viktor Halmos, a research analyst at Martin-Gatton, are helping develop the curriculum.

What This Means for the Industry

Coffee education has traditionally lived outside universities. The SCA’s Coffee Skills Program, Q-grader courses through the Coffee Quality Institute, and various roaster certifications have trained professionals effectively for decades. But they’re separate from the academic system — no credits, no degrees, no research tie-ins.

UK’s program represents something different: coffee integrated into the university structure, with the credentialing and research infrastructure that comes with it. A student who earns this certificate could continue to graduate school studying coffee agronomy, or move into the industry with formal academic background in sensory science.

The timing matters too. As climate change threatens traditional growing regions and supply chains face increasing volatility, the coffee industry needs more people who understand both the science and the business. Gonthier’s background — researcher, farmer, Q-grader — puts him in a rare position to teach all three perspectives.

Applications for Fall 2026 aren’t open yet, but students interested in learning more can contact Gonthier at djgo227@g.uky.edu. If the program works, expect other land-grant universities to pay attention.