Chatbots telling us what we want. Robots making our coffee. Baristas reduced to smiling servers. If Starbucks and other brands get their way, this is the future: a frictionless, interactionless, lifeless coffee experience.
Brazil has finally received some rain after months of drought and wildfires that have severely impacted coffee production. However, farmers and agronomists are worried that the much-needed precipitation came too late for the next coffee harvest. “The crops are in the intensive care unit,” farmer Osmar Junior said. “Before they start producing, they will first need to be discharged from the hospital.”
Starbucks is dialling back on the discounts under new CEO Brian Niccol, as part of his plan to make the brand “a welcoming coffeehouse” again. “Starbucks is pivoting away from discounts as Niccol emphasizes the company’s hallmarks of selling handcrafted, premium coffee,” reports Heather Haddon for The Wall Street Journal.
More private equity machinations in the coffee industry: the roasting and cafe management software company Cropster has been acquired by Norway-based PE firm Verdane for an undisclosed sum. The move will apparently “further expand the company’s software offering, accelerate growth and consolidate Cropster’s global market-leading position as the operating system for the coffee industry,” according to a press release.
Read more on all these stories, plus some positive coffee health news, over at Fresh Cup Magazine:
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. It's pronounced Fin (he/him)
Fionn Pooler
