Breaking News: Pro-Union Stance Improves Cafe's Public Image

All the coffee news that’s fit to print, including:

• The SCA has officially updated its coffee tasting protocols, marking the first revision in twenty years. The new Coffee Value Assessment aims to give a more holistic and well-rounded representation of a coffee’s quality, rather than relying on the old protocol’s single 100-point score.
• A grande latte for Flynn? Starbucks is bringing back the Sharpie and asking baristas to write customers’ names on their to-go cups again. It’s yet another of new CEO Brian Niccol’s schemes to revitalise the ailing coffee giant, adding “that additional human touch on every coffee experience.”
• Coffee companies take note: it turns out that being pro-union is good for business. A new coffee shop owner expressly encouraged his employees to unionise, and the feedback was hugely positive. “[Someone] was like, ‘Hey congratulations on the union,’” Bichota Coffee owner C. Terrence Anderson said. “A couple of customers are like, ‘This is the most progressive shit I’ve ever seen’”.

Get the low down on all these stories and more over at Fresh Cup Magazine:

If you missed it, you can check out my latest Pourover long-read: this one weird trick that lets coffee farmers keep more of the value they create.

From South to North: Farmer-Owned Coffee Companies Are Challenging the Industry's Power Structures

Companies in the Global North capture most of the profits generated along the coffee supply chain. But farmer-owned coffee roasters offer a more equitable model—and a path forward for the industry.

The PouroverFionn Pooler

Until next week, it’s goodbye from Merlin (she’s annoyed because I stopped her from wandering into the road):