For paid subscribers: A look at what makes coffee health studies so attractive to news organisations and readers, and how such stories also benefit the coffee industry.
Coffee is always in the news, from health studies to novel products to stunt job postings. But what do these “earned media” stories tell us about the motivations behind such coverage?
This week's coffee news sounds a little familiar. There's the trade group launching a new education and evaluation platform, an ad for a "dream coffee job" that's really an earned media play, and a lawsuit challenging a coffee chain's alt milk upcharge. (I have, in fact, written about different versions of all these stories before.)
Let's see what's new.
The ASEAN Coffee Federation (ACF), a group of coffee associations from 10 Southeast Asian countries, announced the launch of a new evaluative tool called the ASEAN Coffee Appreciation Protocol. The group describes it as an "overarching and integrated coffee quality framework" with the goal of introducing a new perspective to coffee evaluation and education. "This is a proud milestone in our journey to define coffee excellence through an ASEAN lens – and share it with the world", said ACF president Victor Mah in a press release.
Peet’s Coffee is the latest chain to be hit by a lawsuit alleging that its alt milk surcharge violates the Americans with Disabilities Act. Like the previous suits—against Starbucks and Dunkin’, and all filed by the same law firm—this latest attempt was rebuffed by a judge. However, over the last six months all three chains have announced they will do away with the surcharge, for which the law firm obviously took credit.
You know those postings for "dream jobs" that coffee brands sometimes announce? The ones that are like "become Peet’s Chief Cold Brew Officer and drink all the cold brew!" or "join the Chameleon Coffee Brew Crew and drive a bus around the States stopping at music festivals!"? They’re mostly just earned media marketing campaigns, looking to get some cheap advertising by having news outlets write about them, and the latest one—from Starbucks this time—is no different.
For more on all these stories, plus why the anticipation and ritual of drinking coffee may have the same effect as caffeine in terms of waking us up, read the full Roundup over at Fresh Cup Magazine:
If you missed it, why not check out my interview with the photojournalist Stuart Freedman about his experiences capturing the essence of the Indian Coffee House for his book The Palaces of Memory (featuring some photos from the book):
This week, paid subscribers received a piece considering the David Lynch memorabilia auction, his three espresso machines, and whether or not one of the greatest filmmakers of all time was also a coffee bro:
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
Fionn Pooler
