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?
It was a bit of a slow week for coffee news, but I somehow still managed to write a whole roundup. Here’s what happened:
A California Assembly member introduced new legislation that would ban coffee decaffeinated using methylene chloride. The FDA has said that the health risks from decaffeinated coffee using methylene chloride are so low “as to be essentially non-existent”, but that hasn’t stopped a food safety nonprofit from pushing for the ban.
Keurig will introduce a plastic-free coffee pod—well, it’s more of a puck—as part of what its CEO calls “our ambitious agenda [which] reflects our commitment to providing variety, quality, value, and sustainability to the 45 million North American coffee consumers who currently use Keurig brewers.” Those 45 million people will need an entirely new machine in order to use the new K-Rounds, so what happens to all those old brewers?
Coffee has a complicated relationship with migraines—does it cause them? Cure them? Science doesn’t know! Things are no clearer despite two new studies investigating the subject.
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
