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.
Here’s what’s been going on in coffee since last week:
Keurig Dr Pepper invests $300 million in La Colombe Coffee, whose founder has long railed against the corporatization of specialty coffee.
93% of Kenyan coffee farmers are already experiencing the climate crisis, according to a survey by the Fairtrade Foundation.
JDE Peet’s is launching paper packaging for its instant coffee products. The coffee giant was responsible for more carbon emissions in 2021 than the entire country of Iceland, but hey paper packaging!
The world’s largest Starbucks, the Reserve Roastery in Chicago, is unionizing!
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)
