Fancy a Master’s Degree in Coffee?

The old expression ‘you’ve got an educated palette’ could soon be more true than you know as The University of Florence in Italy is offering the country’s first masters degree course in everything to do with coffee, applying academic rigour to the drink that gets the country moving every morning.

This month will see the first 24 students take up the nine-month challenge of studying coffee learning practical and theoretical knowledge of the subject including the origins of the drink, preparation and serving of coffee, technology, chemistry, economics and its future too. The course is the first of its kind anywhere in the world.

Italy is the second largest importer of green coffee beans in Europe after Germany and is world renowned for its espressos and the roasting skills of producers. Last year Italians consumed around 5.9kg of coffee per year, well above the European average but still way behind the Scandinavian countries where demand is greatest.

The first course is being taught in Italian but The University of Florence is looking forward to teaching the subject in English at a later date if the course proves successful.