5THWAVE Podcast - Forward-thinking series examining the business of progressive coffee culture

6 January 2023 | 37 mins

Episode 55: The quest for quality: A conversation with George Howell

To kick off 2023 we’re bringing you an interview with a true industry legend – the one and only George Howell, a name synonymous with coffee excellence.

Since the 1980s George has played an integral role in the development of specialty coffee in Western markets – pioneering the third-wave coffee movement and championing single origin coffees and direct trade.

In this conversation George shares details of his early coffee career and experiences, including the ‘unlikely’ sale of his small Boston-based coffee chain to Starbucks. He also discusses balancing business with his true passion for coffee discovery and his desire to share and highlight the highest-quality coffees from around the world.

Credits music: "Unreliable" by Dudley Music in collaboration with The Coffee Music Project

Guests

George Howell

Founder, George Howell Coffee

George Howell opened his first café, The Coffee Connection in Cambridge’s Harvard Square in 1975. By 1994 the business had grown to 24 stores and was later sold to Starbucks. George Howell is the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Specialty Coffee Association of America. George founded the Cup of Excellence program in 1999 and George Howell Coffee in 2004.