Hello, and welcome to the Roundup. Every week, I read all the coffee news and write about the best bits for Fresh Cup Magazine. Then, I summarise those bits for you in this newsletter.
This week: more tariff fallout, Starbucks is standardising its raises (while giving executives multi-million-dollar incentives), and a groundbreaking discovery: drinking coffee in the morning improves your mood.
Perhaps not surprisingly, considering Trump's 50% tariff has massively increased import costs, U.S. companies are slowing down their Brazilian coffee purchases. Some buyers are asking for extended shipping timelines or avoiding new contracts completely in hopes that an exemption or policy reversal might be forthcoming. Deals between the two countries have “totally stalled. No one’s really buying anything,” broker Thiago Cazarini told Bloomberg.
Starbucks has decided to standardise its raises for salaried employees. Instead of managers having a say in how much of a raise their direct reports receive, the company is giving all North American salaried workers a 2% annual raise (the U.S. inflation rate is currently 2.7%). According to the Wall Street Journal, the company needs "to carefully manage all our other costs" while it invests in CEO Brian Niccol's rejuvenation campaign. Meanwhile, executives are in line for up to $6 million in stock grants if they help “expedite the company’s turnaround efforts".
Researchers from Germany and the U.K. tracked the mood and caffeine intake of 236 young adults over the course of four weeks. In news that will surprise absolutely nobody, they found that drinking coffee in the morning improves mood. Participants reported feeling happier and more energetic on mornings when they’d had coffee compared to mornings when they didn’t. (I, too, feel this way.)
For more on all these stories, plus a complicated but fascinating study that looked at the interaction between various beneficial insect species on coffee farms, check out the full Roundup over at Fresh Cup Magazine:
On Friday, paid subscribers received first access to the latest Coffee Conversations interview, in which I chat to consultant and coffee educator Rachel Apple about her background and the upcoming Level Up barista education event:
This interview is currently paywalled, but free subscribers will receive it via email in a couple of weeks. If you'd like to read it now, and support The Pourover, you can become a paid subscriber here!
I'll be back on Friday with the second part of my series exploring the shadowy side of coffee. Until then, it's goodbye from my sister's cat Maru, who is having a snooze:
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I'm the creator and writer of The Pourover. Based in Scotland, I have over a decade of experience in the specialty coffee industry as a barista, roaster, and writer. Ask me about coffeewashing.
Fionn Pooler
Fionn Pooler
