Alright—this week’s episode is a fun one.
Peter Giuliano is the Executive Director of the Coffee Science Foundation, and he’s one of those rare people who can talk about coffee in a way that makes you more curious, not more intimidated. He’s been in coffee since he was 18 (barista to shop owner to roaster to buyer to industry leader), but he’s also a serious food-history nerd—and the writer behind one of my favorite Substack newsletters Pax Culinaria., which is basically a weekly rabbit hole into culinary culture, trade, and the stories we tell ourselves about food.
We start with a deceptively simple question: what is “specialty coffee,” really? From there, we get into coffee science, why I no longer feel the need to apologize for drinking decaf, and how caffeine actually gets removed from those tiny beans in the first place.
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If you’ve ever wanted to learn how to taste coffee like a pro, Peter walks me through how professional coffee tasters do their jobs—cupping, calibration, and the shared vocabulary of fragrance versus aroma, flavor versus aftertaste, acidity, sweetness, and mouthfeel. And if you’ve ever heard someone describe coffee like a poem and thought, I don’t have that gene, you’ll like Peter’s take. Most great tasters aren’t born “super tasters.” They’re trained.
We both agree that when you start tasting anything consciously, the world gets richer. Cooking gets better. Eating gets more fun. Even smelling onions in a pan becomes its own little miracle. And that curiosity carries over into what Peter’s newest fascination with what he calls “low foods”: the everyday, unglamorous dishes people actually survive on.
Spam.Fish sticks.Cream of mushroom soup.Ketchup cuisine.
Peter isn’t romanticizing junk. He’s interrogating status—why we revere certain foods when they’re served on trendy platters in well-reviewed restaurants, but turn others into cultural punchlines when they show up on paper plates in our own kitchens. Comfort food is cuisine. And it matters.
No conversation on Enlightened Omnivore would be complete without a stroll through the world of regenerative agriculture. And for once, I have a guest who doesn’t see it entirely through my green-tinted glasses.
Peter and I have already gone back and forth in comments on our articles about the topics of sustainability, fair trade, and regenerative farming so our diverse opinions were nothing new. What I appreciate most about our podcast conversation was our ability to disagree while still respecting each other’s perspective. In a world where hyperbole and shouting seem to get the most attention, it felt refreshing to slow down, listen, and find common ground.
We don’t solve all the world’s problems in a little over an hour—but we do something rarer: we model how to talk about complicated food and agriculture issues without turning them into tribal warfare.
At its core, this episode is a conversation about curiosity—two people geeking out over flavor, farming, and why food is endlessly interesting. Peter is the kind of person I could happily listen to all day over a great cup of coffee, so I encourage you to brew up a pot, sit back and enjoy this hour with him as much as I did.
Happy Holidays and if you could, please share today’s episode with someone you know will enjoy it!
Links and Resources:
* Coffee Science Foundation and Pax Culinaria
* My nitrates articles mentioned in the podcast: You Say Nitrate, I Say Nitrite
* If you or someone you know suffers from Anosmia, check out these resources
* How to Regain Your Sense of Smell
I Could Use Your Help
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Enlightened Omnivore is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Enlightened Omnivore is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber
