Coffee companies are going all in on automation. We’re told that it improves efficiency, cuts costs, and yields a better product. But what does it mean for the baristas whose labour these automations displace?
A story in the Guardian highlighted the extent of debt bondage among India’s coffee workers.
Gossip column Page Six reported that Snoop Dogg has dropped his coffee brand INDOxyz just six months after confidently stating that, “Indo is going to change the industry, I can promise you that.”
And “beanless” coffee returned to the news. This time, it’s because molecular coffee company Atomo is launching its first “coffee” and telling everyone who will listen how sustainable it is compared to regular coffee farming. Of course, it’s more complicated than that.
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
