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.
Workers at Blue Bottle Coffee, acquired by Nestlé in 2017, have unionised. Now, they’re building international solidarity with the conglomerate’s union in Colombia.
The volatility in cocoa futures markets is having an effect on coffee, with Bloomberg reporting that speculative buyers are moving into what they perceive to be a similar commodity.
Howard Schultz went on a LinkedIn rant (lol) about how bad Starbucks is doing, after the company’s quarterly earnings dipped ever so slightly. Schultz is very concerned that his former company has lost touch with “the customer experience”—I’m sure the fact that he remains the company’s largest individual shareholder and said shares are down 20% this year had nothing to do with it.
Cold brew is slow, so scientists are constantly trying to come up with ways to speed it up. They’ve tried lasers, now it’s time for ultrasound.
The Blue Bottle union won its election in a landslide! Woo!
I'm the creator and writer of The Pourover. Based in Scotland, I have over a decade of experience in the specialty coffee industry as a barista, roaster, and writer. Ask me about coffeewashing.
Fionn Pooler
