Taking 'Working at the Coffee Shop' to a Whole New Level
It's the Coffee News Roundup: Week Ending August 15th| The Pourover
Coffee professionals and brands are increasingly adopting generative AI. But should an industry that prides itself on authenticity and sustainability really be embracing such a destructive tool?| The Pourover
It's the Coffee News Roundup: Week Ending August 22nd| The Pourover
The consultant and educator discusses her coffee background, how she became an educator, and the upcoming Level Up event for baristas.| The Pourover
It's the Coffee News Roundup: Week Ending August 15th| The Pourover
Smuggling has been a part of coffee since the beginning, and continues in many forms today. In the process, it reveals much about the industry’s power structures.| The Pourover
Coffee News Roundup: Week Ending August 8th| The Pourover
For paid subscribers: Troubled coffee companies now have a new way to escape their problems: invest in cryptocurrencies and pray that the line keeps going up.| The Pourover
Coffee News Roundup: Week Ending August 1st| The Pourover
While Starbucks tries to return to its coffeehouse roots, a new wave of cafes spreading across the United States show how to really build a welcoming third place.| The Pourover
A newsletter about coffee—its culture, politics, and how it connects to the wider world.| The Pourover
Coffee News Roundup: Week Ending July 25th| The Pourover
For paid subscribers: Competition among coffee chains in China is driving prices to ridiculous new lows. Where will it end?| The Pourover
Coffee News Roundup: Week Ending July 18th| The Pourover
Big brands love to bemoan the plight of coffee farmers without acknowledging their role in creating that plight.| The Pourover
Despite evolving tastes and increased competition, India’s oldest and largest coffee chain—a communist-founded, worker-owned cooperative—is still going after 70 years.| The Pourover
For paid subscribers: Donald Trump’s latest arbitrary tariff threat, this time against Brazil, has once again enveloped the coffee industry in chaos and uncertainty. When will it end?| The Pourover
The United States has long been at the centre of the global coffee industry. But as policies shift under the Trump administration, that dominance is under threat.| The Pourover
For paid subscribers: What Starbucks’ CEO Brian Niccol’s meeting with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. says about the company’s embrace of coffee’s wellness trend—and the trend’s darker side.| The Pourover
Workers at Blue Bottle Coffee, acquired by Nestlé in 2017, have unionised. Now, they’re building international solidarity with the conglomerate’s union in Colombia.| The Pourover
FairWave Specialty Coffee Collective is acquiring coffee brands across the Midwest, promising a localised approach to growth. Is this a model for the industry—or just another consolidation strategy?| The Pourover
Market research thinks we're entering coffee's fourth wave. But are we? I asked some folks.| The Pourover
Coffee is filled with buzzwords that lack agreed-upon definitions: slightly woolly terms like “Sustainable,” “Ethical,” even “Specialty.” Companies use them constantly to sell more coffee—but what do these words actually mean?| The Pourover
Coffee industry stakeholders share their insights. Featuring coffee farmers, roasters, researchers, baristas, economists, union leaders, and YouTubers.| The Pourover
It’s hard to shake the feeling that all the money that has flowed into specialty coffee over the past decade or so is warping the industry in ways that we haven’t yet begun to grasp.| The Pourover
It's the Coffee News Roundup: Week Ending May 2nd| The Pourover
The photojournalist and author discusses his experiences capturing the essence of India’s oldest and largest coffee chain, as well as its legacy and importance as a resistance to brands like Starbucks.| The Pourover
It's the Coffee News Roundup: Week Ending April 25th| The Pourover
For 18 months, the coffee industry has remained mostly silent about the ongoing destruction of Gaza. A new fundraiser hopes to raise money—and jolt the industry awake.| The Pourover
For paid subscribers: I’ve written before about Starbucks’ myriad climate issues, but now conservative activist shareholders are trying to weaponise those failings in service of a climate denialist goal.| The Pourover
How can supposedly ethical coffee brands pitch themselves as environmentally conscious while partnering with airlines?| The Pourover
The third wave veteran discusses his blending philosophy, why blends are still overlooked by many in the industry, and taking a culinary approach to coffee.| The Pourover
Amidst the U.S. government’s crackdown at the border and a raft of anti-trans legislation in Texas, some coffee professionals are skipping the Specialty Coffee Association’s Expo in Houston.| The Pourover
The owner of Finca Esperanza and Two Birds Coffee talks about the challenges of growing coffee during the climate crisis, the price surge, and what it all means for the future of coffee in Guatemala.| The Pourover
We used to grudgingly turn to coffee alternatives in times of turmoil. Now, however, there is a new breed of venture capital-backed substitutes, with a more antagonistic relationship to coffee.| The Pourover
Donald Trump and Elon Musk are bulldozing the U.S. government. While nothing is certain, the impact on the coffee industry is already significant.| The Pourover
The 2022 U.S. Barista Champion and social media star on taking a break from competing, becoming a judge, and what it’s like being on the other side of the clipboard.| The Pourover
The past year of climate shocks and surging coffee prices has felt portentous. Without significant investment and industry cooperation, coffee’s future seems increasingly uncertain.| The Pourover
Coffee brands love to tout their ethics and human rights policies, yet the supply chain is still built on poverty. At some point, we have to judge the industry not by what it says but by its actions.| The Pourover
The coffee industry loves “community”, but it doesn’t always love the solidarity that the word signifies. Nowhere is this more obvious than in its reaction—or lack thereof—to the genocide in Gaza.| The Pourover
Baristas and other hourly coffee workers are undervalued and underpaid—but they are far from unskilled, despite what the pernicious stereotypes suggest.| The Pourover
Coffee companies love to fund projects that look good in press releases and impact reports. However, corporate philanthropy is mostly a shield to deflect criticism, protect power, and avoid regulation.| The Pourover
Starbucks wants to be known as a community gathering space, even after morphing into the ultimate convenience-focused coffee chain. But was it ever truly a third place in the first place?| The Pourover
That latte you just bought is the reason you won’t be able to retire, according to the financial gurus. But why has coffee become such a potent symbol of Millennial misspending in the first place?| The Pourover
Coffee is widely considered to be healthy—for the drinker, at least. For those who handle and spray the pesticides that fight pests and boost production, however, it can be anything but.| The Pourover
While a wave of coffee unionising washes over the United States, across the pond there’s barely a ripple. Why is that?| The Pourover
While many specialty coffee companies turn to venture capital to fuel their growth, others are going in the opposite direction: utilising equity crowdfunding to share ownership with their communities.| The Pourover
Coffee is big business. The global industry is worth hundreds of billions of dollars, much of that spent by American consumers whose thirst for coffee shows no sign of slowing down. Around the world, hundreds of millions of people rely on coffee for their livelihoods, from farmers and factory workers| The Pourover
Single-use coffee cups are choking the planet. From discounts to levies to bans, solutions are out there—but changing consumer behaviour is the bigger challenge.| The Pourover
Nespresso leans heavily on its sophisticated spokesperson, but George Clooney’s multi-million-dollar role does more than just sell frothy coffees.| The Pourover
