A complex web of pressures, from climate change to tariffs, are pushing up coffee prices. But the industry has a challenge: How to communicate necessary price rises to consumers without scaring them off.
For paid subscribers: deleted scenes from last week's lexicon. Musings on the words "Sustainability", "Specialty", and the old-school buzzwords like "Artisan" and "Gourmet".
A slow week for coffee news, but nonetheless I found stuff to write about:
A report from Brazil found living wage disparities among coffee farmers—not surprisingly, producers with larger farms were more likely to earn a living income.
Workers at a Dunkin’ in Ohio filed for a union election, the first filing at a Dunkin’ store in 12 years. A union drive at Dunkin’ is complicated by the fact that all the company’s stores are actually franchises and thus owned by many different people.
Instead of raising its price minimums in line with its international peer, Fair Trade USA is launching “a multi-stakeholder engagement and design lab aimed at developing a more scalable, higher-impact coffee program.” This is now beginning to take shape, although it’s still not super clear what it really entails (it’s mostly been a lot of corporate-speak).
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.
