The Freedom Fries of Coffee

After Years of Union Avoidance, External Pressure Is Building on Starbucks

Nearly five years since the first Starbucks location unionised, contract negotiations are still dragging on. Can external pressure from shareholders and human-rights campaigners make a difference?

Will Sky High Retail Coffee Prices Ever Come Back Down?

For paid subscribers: retail coffee prices have soared in recent years, driven by climbing commodity costs and tariff stupidity. Some of those pressures have now started to ease, and yet retail prices continue to rise. Will they ever come down?

Lots of coffee price-related news this week, including:

After shooting up more than 100% over the past year, the coffee's commodity price is trading above $4 per pound—its highest level since 1977 (assuming you don't take inflation into account). As I wrote recently, judging by the accelerating climate crisis, we might need to get used to this sort of price being the norm.

One upside to the high C price is that it means more money for many coffee farmers. In Rwanda, the government recently increased the minimum farmgate price by 25%, which experts hope will encourage investment in farms and thus bring higher yields in the future.
In response to Trump's ridiculous trade war targeting their country, Kicking Horse Coffee in British Columbia wants other Canadian coffee companies to follow their lead and rename the Americano to the Canadiano. It's all quite goofy and a little bit "freedom fries", but it's worth pointing out that Kicking Horse is owned Lavazza, a multinational coffee brand headquartered in Italy.

For more on all these stories, plus why Brazilian consumers should probably double check that what they just bought is actually coffee, read the full Roundup over at Fresh Cup Magazine:

On Friday, paid subscribers received exclusive first access to my interview with barista champion and social media star Morgan Eckroth, discussing their move from competitor to judge:

I'll make the interview available to everyone in a few weeks, but if you'd like to read it now why not become a paid subscriber?

I'll be back with a new deep dive article on Friday, but until then it's time to start a run of guest cats to close out the Monday newsletter. My friend Nick sent me this photo of his two supervisors, Jane-boy (left) and Sal: