For paid subscribers: Coffee is increasingly used to burnish the United Arab Emirates’ international image. Now it is being supercharged by merging with the popularity of the Dubai chocolate trend.
The coffee scene in Dubai is thriving, and the city is set to welcome the Specialty Coffee Association’s World of Coffee event next month. But underneath the glitzy facade and marketing buzz lies a moral quagmire.
The battle for the hearts of Chinese coffee drinkers is heating up (can battles heat up?) as Luckin Coffee overtakes Starbucks in sales for the first time.
The World Coffee Championship finals split in two this year, with the first batch taking place in Athens earlier in the year and the finale happening in Taipei just last week.
Unionized Sunergos Coffee workers went on strike to demand a contract after months of waiting for the company’s owners to agree to wage and termination clauses. Scabby even made an appearance!
Coffee is a bit of a miracle, according to two new studies: not only might it be able to help protect from Covid-19 infection, but spent grounds also contain quantum nanoparticles that could potentially be used to protect against neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s (it’s gotta be good if it’s quantum).
Plus, I’m excited to get my hands on one of these highly-sought-after Getchu Some Gear sweatshirts! They just opened a presale to raise funds to send three coffee pros to the US Coffee Championships qualifiers. And they’ll even ship to the UK!
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. (he/him)
Fionn Pooler
