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.
What happened in the world of coffee last week? Here’s a preview:
Coffee is old—really, really old. Researchers doing science-y stuff pinpointed the “birth date” for arabica coffee to 610,000 years ago. “In other words, prior to any intervention from man,” as co-lead author Professor Victor Albert from the University of Buffalo told the AP.
The fluctuating price of coffee is playing havoc with the mental health of coffee producers. “Our results suggest that not only poverty, but also the risk of poverty caused by fluctuating prices has a significant additional negative effect on the mental well-being of farmers in low-income countries,” said researcher Professor Finn Tarp from the University of Copenhagen.
Breaking new: Americans love coffee. The number who reported drinking coffee in the past day is up 37% over the past two decades—and more people reported drinking coffee than water.
Read the full Roundup, which also includes some complications in the Starbucks union drive, over at Fresh Cup Magazine:
I'm a coffee writer and creator of The Pourover. Based in Scotland, I have over a decade of experience in the specialty coffee industry. Ask me about coffeewashing. It's pronounced Fin (he/him)
