Starbucks and ChatGPT Offer a Glimpse Into Coffee’s Dystopian Future
Chatbots telling us what we want. Robots making our coffee. Baristas reduced to smiling servers. If Starbucks and other brands get their way, this is the future: a frictionless, interactionless, lifeless coffee experience.
On the Unfounded Fears of Coffee Contamination
The internet is full of warnings about the dangers lurking within coffee, whether it’s mould, mycotoxins, or other contaminants. The truth, however, is far more prosaic.
Outsource Your Coffee Decision-Making to a Chatbot
It's the Coffee News Roundup: Week Ending April 17th
Buddhist Brews
For paid subscribers: A fascinating academic paper delves into the ways Korean Buddhists, after centuries of drinking tea, have started to embrace coffee.
The Coffee Industry Is Unequal. A Marxist Economic Theory Explains How.
Demand for coffee is growing, and climate change threatens supply—yet consumers don’t want to pay more. In an intensified and unequal industry, however, someone always pays.
Howard Schultz and the Folly of the Starbucks Oleato
For paid subscribers: One of Howard Schultz’ final acts as Starbucks CEO was inflicting upon us a line of olive oil-infused coffee drinks. He was so confident the Oleato would change the world. It didn’t.
How Union Contracts Protect and Empower Coffee Workers
As well as improved pay and benefits, a ratified union contract offers coffee workers power in an often-exploitative industry.