The 2022 U.S. Barista Champion and social media star on taking a break from competing, becoming a judge, and what it’s like being on the other side of the clipboard.
The coffee industry loves “community”, but it doesn’t always love the solidarity that the word signifies. Nowhere is this more obvious than in its reaction—or lack thereof—to the genocide in Gaza.
That latte you just bought is the reason you won’t be able to retire, according to the financial gurus. But why has coffee become such a potent symbol of Millennial misspending in the first place?
The global coffee industry is worth hundreds of billions of dollars, and yet many stakeholders struggle to make ends meet. As corporate revenues climb, it’s worth examining where those profits go.
Despite evolving tastes and increased competition, India’s oldest and largest coffee chain—a communist-founded, worker-owned cooperative—is still going after 70 years.
For many, elite coffee competitions represent the pinnacle of the industry. But the huge costs to compete prevent those without financial support from participating—and harm the industry as a whole.
Coffee collected from the droppings of civets is sought after by the rich and deplored by animal welfare advocates. Caught in the middle are the farmers who produce it.
It’s hard to shake the feeling that all the money that has flowed into specialty coffee over the past decade or so is warping the industry in ways that we haven’t yet begun to grasp.
