Coffee professionals and brands are increasingly adopting generative AI. But should an industry that prides itself on authenticity and sustainability really be embracing such a destructive tool?
It's the Coffee News Roundup: Week Ending August 22nd
The consultant and educator discusses her coffee background, how she became an educator, and the upcoming Level Up event for baristas.
For paid subscribers: analysis of the latest breakdown in contract negotiations between Starbucks and its union.
When Starbucks calls the wage demands of its frontline workers “unsustainable”, while giving its new CEO $113 million and paying out billions in dividends, it’s hard to take a generous view.
Although they reopened negotiations over a first union contract at the beginning of 2024, by the end of the year talks between Starbucks and its union had hit an impasse. On December 20, Starbucks Workers United staged a nationwide walkout that it named The Strike Before Christmas, citing what Reuters called “unresolved issues over wages, staffing and schedules”.
The consultant and educator discusses her coffee background, how she became an educator, and the upcoming Level Up event for baristas.
For paid subscribers: Troubled coffee companies now have a new way to escape their problems: invest in cryptocurrencies and pray that the line keeps going up.
For paid subscribers: Competition among coffee chains in China is driving prices to ridiculous new lows. Where will it end?
For paid subscribers: Donald Trump’s latest arbitrary tariff threat, this time against Brazil, has once again enveloped the coffee industry in chaos and uncertainty. When will it end?
A newsletter about coffee—its culture, politics, and how it connects to the wider world.
