Space: The Final Coffee Frontier
For paid subscribers: From the preposterous tech startup that wanted to roast coffee in space to espresso on the International Space Station, there’s a lot of coffee up there.
For paid subscribers to The Pourover. These pieces offer extra analysis and opinion around major stories in coffee.
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?
For paid subscribers: What Starbucks’ CEO Brian Niccol’s meeting with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. says about the company’s embrace of coffee’s wellness trend—and the trend’s darker side.
For paid subscribers: A look at what makes coffee health studies so attractive to news organisations and readers, and how such stories also benefit the coffee industry.
For paid subscribers: deleted scenes from last week's lexicon. Musings on the words "Sustainability", "Specialty", and the old-school buzzwords like "Artisan" and "Gourmet".
For paid subscribers: I’ve written before about Starbucks’ myriad climate issues, but now conservative activist shareholders are trying to weaponise those failings in service of a climate denialist goal.
For paid subscribers: Recent stories show the dangers of building too much of a coffee company’s image around its founder’s personality. When things go wrong, it can blow back on the brand.
For paid subscribers: some thoughts on the loss of USAID funding for coffee research, and the possibly misguided hope that corporations will step up.
For paid subscribers: analysis of the latest breakdown in contract negotiations between Starbucks and its union.
Deeply researched articles exploring all the ways coffee connects to politics, history, and culture—delivered direct to your inbox