Buddhist Brews
For paid subscribers: A fascinating academic paper delves into the ways Korean Buddhists, after centuries of drinking tea, have started to embrace coffee.
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Complete Breakdown
For paid subscribers: analysis of the latest breakdown in contract negotiations between Starbucks and its union.
3 min read
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”.
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Buddhist Brews
For paid subscribers: A fascinating academic paper delves into the ways Korean Buddhists, after centuries of drinking tea, have started to embrace coffee.
Howard Schultz and the Folly of the Starbucks Oleato
For paid subscribers: One of Howard Schultz’ final acts as Starbucks CEO was inflicting upon us a line of olive oil-infused coffee drinks. He was so confident the Oleato would change the world. It didn’t.
On Becoming a Coffee Luddite
For paid subscribers: The coffee industry is embracing automation, and consumers increasingly demand convenience and speed. Me? I’m happy to wait for my coffee to be made by a human.
Who Mourns the Corporate Cafe Closures?
Even Starbucks and Peet’s stores have regulars who are sad when they close.