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Mission:
The Vanderbilt Institute for Coffee Studies (ICS) is dedicated to research on the human dimensions of coffee production, trade, and consumption. The ICS promotes applied scholarship that can better people’s lives, from potential bio-medical therapeutic uses to economic development programs. Our work ranges across a number of fields, from medicine and pharmacology to history and economic development to art and literature. We work with academics, students, farmers, and industry collaborators.
Key aims:
- to promote research into coffee production and consumption
- to disseminate research findings and promote economic development programs
- to investigate the health effects of coffee consumption, including potential therapeutic uses
History:
The Institute for Coffee Studies was founded in 1999 to encourage research into the physiological effects of coffee consumption. Major funding came from a consortium of coffee-producing countries (Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Guatemala) under the auspices of the Association of Coffee Producing Countries (ACPC), the U.S. National Coffee Association (NCA), the All Japan Coffee Association, and the International Coffee Organization.
In 2007, the ICS became part of the Vanderbilt Center for Latin American Studies, and expanded its scope to examine international trends in coffee production and consumption as well as economic development opportunities for smallholding coffee producers.