Amidst the U.S. government’s crackdown at the border and a raft of anti-trans legislation in Texas, some coffee professionals are skipping the Specialty Coffee Association’s Expo in Houston.
More and more, small and midsize coffee chains are going big on iced, frozen, syrupy beverages and customised concoctions like the Funnel Cake Macchiato. They’re trying to compete with Starbucks as well as each other, leading the New York Times to describe the whole thing as an “arms race”. They’re also trying to find new markets all at the same time, leading to expansion and coffee oversaturation in many small cities across the US.
Who’s buying all these coffees? Maybe it’s those darn Millennials, who keep frittering away their money on silly luxuries like *checks notes* an occasional cup of coffee. That’s no way to afford a house. A recent survey asked people in the UK how much they spend on coffee—£728 a year for Millennials, a whopping £14 a week—and caused much consternation, as well as some condescending opinion pieces, from the British press.
Coffee grown in Spain? It’s not that outlandish, as there are already farms in Granada and Gran Canaria, but this one would be much further north: a couple is trying to grow coffee outside Barcelona, although the jury’s still out on their experiment: so far, the farm has only produced 150 grams of coffee.
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.
