Starbucks vs the Lawsuit(s)

What Does Success in Coffee Look Like? (Republish)

Denver’s Amethyst Coffee closed in 2022, two years after raising prices to better compensate staff. But that doesn’t mean the project was a failure—in fact, it still offers lessons for the industry today.

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.

Kauai Coffee Co. is the United States' largest single coffee producer, farming on 3,000 acres in Hawaii. However, the company doesn't own the land it farms, and its complicated lease arrangement expires at the end of March. The investment firm that owns the land seems unwilling to extend the lease (despite contradictory statements on the subject) which means Kauai Coffee risks losing access to the land—and 141 workers face losing their jobs.
Starbucks is facing yet another lawsuit over its coffee sourcing practices. The latest suit alleges that the company's "Committed to 100% Ethical Coffee Sourcing" pledge is little more than marketing, considering the number of investigations that have found alleged human rights violations within its supply chain. Starbucks denies the allegations. The lawsuit follows similar legal action in 2024 and 2025, with the latter case being brought on behalf of eight Brazilian farmworkers who claimed they were trafficked and forced to work in “slavery-like conditions” on farms that supplied coffee to Starbucks.
Convenience- and value-focused drive-through coffee chains are all the rage in the U.S. these days. Brands like 7 Brew, Scooter's Coffee, and Dutch Bros. are growing fast and taking big bites out of the market share of more established companies. It's probably not surprising, therefore, that the three brands are very popular. In fact, they're all in the top five—and are the only coffee companies—on the restaurant industry research firm Technomic's most recent list of "America's Favorite Chains".

For more on all these stories, plus how a new compound found in coffee might be better at controlling blood sugar spikes than existing diabetes medication, check out the full Roundup over at Fresh Cup Magazine:

If you missed it, why not check out this revisit (and revamping) of a piece from the Pourover's archives: A story that asks the question, how do we measure success and failure in coffee?

I also recently finalised a code of ethics for The Pourover, which hopefully solidifies some of what this newsletter stands for. You can read it here: