For paid subscribers: What happens when the melodramatic language of social media and political discourse begins to impact how we discuss the coffee industry.
Hello, and welcome to the Roundup. Every week, I read all the coffee news and write about the best bits for Fresh Cup Magazine. Then, I summarise those bits for you in this newsletter.
In my Fresh Cup article, I began with the week's most useful and relevant story. Here, however, I think we should start with the stupidest one:
Maxwell House is getting in on the coffee earned media trend by "rebranding" as Maxwell Apartment. Why? Because nobody can afford a house anymore. That's the joke. As part of this temporary rebrand, the company is offering a year's supply of coffee (referred to as a 12-month "lease" in the press release) for $40. Doing so, the company says, could save customers more than $1,000 annually. It's all a bit "these darn millennials with their lattes and avocado toast, no wonder they can't afford a house".
Okay, actual news now: The Specialty Coffee Association has officially launched enrolment for its "evolved" Q Grader certification course. The SCA took over management of the program from the Coffee Quality Institute earlier this year, a move which generated much confusion and controversy within the industry (I wrote about it for Fresh Cup at the time).
Just five years after buying Costa Coffee for £3.9 billion ($4.9 billion) in a bid to diversify and tap into the coffee market, Coca-Cola is now on the verge of selling up at a huge loss. The Financial Times reports that private equity giant Bain Capital has bid for Costa Coffee, with its parent company looking to recoup £2 billion ($2.7 billion), just half what it originally paid. In May, Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey said that Costa had “not quite delivered” and was “not where we wanted it to be from an investment hypothesis point of view".
For more on all these stories, plus whether coffee is good for your liver (spoiler alert: it is), check out the full Roundup over at Fresh Cup Magazine:
I'll be back on Friday with a new long read, but until then, it's goodbye from my sister's cat Maru, who takes his job as a washing up supervisor very seriously:
Thanks for reading! If you'd like to support my work (and get extra bonus articles) why not become a paid subscriber to The Pourover:
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
Fionn Pooler
Fionn Pooler
