The Red Cup Rebellion Returns

• Starbucks Workers United has authorised strike action in response to stalled contract negotiations with the company. Unless Starbucks agrees a contract, the strikes will take place across the United States on November 13th, or Red Cup Day—Starbucks' busiest day of the year when baristas hand out free holiday-themed collectible cups. The union has targeted this day before, having held strikes in 2022 and 2023 under the name "the Red Cup Rebellion". “If Starbucks keeps stonewalling, they should expect to see their business grind to a halt. The ball is in Starbucks’ court,” SBWU spokesperson Michelle Eisen said.
• At this point, microplastics are just a fact of life. They're everywhere—in drinking water, in our bodies, in the Antarctic—and also in our coffee brewing equipment. Specifically, pod machines: a recent study found "significant levels of microplastics" in coffee made using coffee pods. Just another reason coffee pods are bad:

The Problem With Coffee Pods

Plastic pods full of cheap coffee—why are these things considered sustainable?

The PouroverFionn Pooler

• Drinking coffee to help you stay alert while driving is good; drinking too much can be bad. That's what one study found when it looked at the impact of caffeine consumption on truck drivers: those who drank five or more caffeinated drinks per day had poorer sleep outcomes, higher daytime sleepiness, and had poorer driving records than their low-caffeine-consuming counterparts.

For more on all these stories, plus more coffee unionising news at Kaldi's Coffee in St. Louis, Missouri, check out the full Roundup over at Fresh Cup Magazine:

Coffee News Club: Week of November 10

Starbucks workers go on strike, pod machines are leeching microplastics, and turns out caffeine can make it less safe to drive.

Fresh CupFionn Pooler

If you missed it, why not check out my latest deep dive, this time looking at the recent interest in regenerative agriculture and whether it can resist being turned into yet another corporate sustainability slogan:

Regenerative Agriculture: Climate Solution or Yet More Coffeewashing?

As the climate crisis intensifies, regenerative agriculture could play a key role in sustaining and strengthening the global coffee industry. That is, if it can escape becoming just another corporate sustainability buzzword.

The PouroverFionn Pooler

Paid subscribers will receive a bonus article this Friday (looking at Blue Bottle's carbon neutral claims in more depth) but until then it's goodbye from Bella, the library cat I met in Edinburgh last week: