News
The drive for efficiency is creating a divide in specialty coffee
1+ day, 22+ hour ago (867+ words) Efficiency has moved from backstage to front and centre in specialty coffee " and is creating a divide between those who value craft over quality via any means. Tighter workflows, improved consistency, and better equipment are now openly discussed as a…...
Why more producers are focusing their marketing around authenticity
1+ week, 2+ day ago (637+ words) Rather than signalling a retreat from professionalism, this shift may reflect something more structural. As more producers seek to build stronger connections to their global customer base, there is a generational and technological reset in how credibility is built, and…...
Alternative products: what do they mean for coffee?
3+ week, 1+ day ago (1089+ words) WALK through any food trade show or scroll a few minutes on LinkedIn and a pattern emerges: coffee without coffee, chocolate without cocoa, dairy without cows, and sugar without sugar." Taglines read "healthy, "functional, "lab-grown, and "fermentation-derived "a futuristic language…...
When shortages sell: do headlines boost commodities?
1+ mon, 6+ day ago (699+ words) FOR much of the past three years, commodities have been making headlines: coffee prices "soaring," cacao facing "structural collapse," and olive oil becoming "liquid gold." Each spike is framed as a crisis, with supermarket shelves turning into case studies in…...
Is coffee completely cashless?
1+ mon, 2+ week ago (1101+ words) For years, the coffee bar has been a testing ground for consumer habits. Plant milks, WiFi, iced drinks, matcha, drive-thru, and mobile ordering are just some of the trends we've seen. Now " and largely since the pandemic " caf's are navigating…...
Starbucks, MrBeast, and the race for Gen Alpha
2+ mon, 3+ day ago (939+ words) STARBUCKS started out selling coffee. Then it sold a "third place: sofas, playlists and the promise of belonging. Now, it is selling something stranger " screen time. In January 2026 Starbucks will power Beast Games: Strong vs. Smart, a Prime Video competition…...
Supporting local businesses is opportunistic as well
2+ mon, 5+ day ago (1063+ words) IN public discourse, "supporting local" is cast as a moral act. It conjures images of farmers" markets, family-run caf's and handmade bread purchased for the greater good. The implication is sacrifice: you pay a little more, convenience slips a little,…...
The full craft experience – “just” coffee isn’t cutting it anymore
2+ mon, 1+ week ago (1029+ words) FOR much of the past decade, specialty coffee's promise was simple: better coffee, better brewing, and better ethics. A flat white made with traceable origins and a calibrated grinder was enough to signal taste and virtue" but that is no…...
Why 2025 has been so challenging for specialty coffee so far
8+ mon, 4+ week ago (962+ words) SPECIALTY coffee is grappling with a record-breaking year on the cost front. Arabica futures climbed to around $4.41 per pound in early 2025 " a level never seen before. Severe droughts and erratic rainfall in Brazil and Vietnam have triggered a supply crunch,…...
The new face of the third place
11+ mon, 2+ week ago (1511+ words) INFLUENCERS are turning online clout into offline coffee spaces " and Gen Z is showing up." In a surprising shift, influencer-led coffee brands that once thrived entirely online are moving into brick-and-mortar territory." The latest example? Chamberlain Coffee, the brainchild of…...