The UC Davis Coffee Center is pleased to announce two $500,000 gifts from Toddy and John and Gina Wasson, respectively, to support renovating the Coffee Center building and name two spaces that will be used for coffee education and research.

La Marzocco, a world leader in espresso machine innovation since 1927, has pledged $750,000 to the University of California, Davis to help fund a new Coffee Center building and to further coffee science research efforts at the university. The commitment represents the largest gift to date to the UC Davis Coffee Center.

Wilbur Curtis Co., an industry leader in the design and manufacturing of coffee-brewing equipment, has pledged $250,000 to the University of California, Davis, to support the university’s expanding Coffee Center. The donation is the first by Wilbur Curtis to a major academic institution.

Recognizing the need to update this science, the Research Center of the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) is teaming up with the recently established UC Davis Coffee Center to embark on a two-year project to re-evaluate the scientific assumptions, measurement tools, sensory information, and – most importantly – consumer research that forms the foundation of the coffee industry’s fundamental understanding of coffee brewing.

By Pat Bailey

Peet’s Coffee today announced its pledge of $250,000 to the University of California, Davis, to fund the Peet’s Coffee Pilot Roastery, which will be located in a first-of-its-kind Coffee Center at UC Davis. The pioneering center and pilot roastery will be devoted to post-harvest coffee research and engineering, an underrepresented field, and aims to be the leader in coffee science.