Coffee Retail
Articles covering corporate and independent coffee shops and roasters and the consumption side of the coffee supply chain.
![Coffee Retail](/content/images/size/w100/2025/01/coffee-retail.webp)
![A barista competitor with their back to the camera steams milk on an espresso machine at the World Barista Championship](/content/images/size/w100/2024/04/Jong_Hoon_Lee_competing_Barista_Championships_2015.jpg)
The Cost of Competing
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.
![Getchusomegear is Making Coffee Better](/content/images/size/w100/image/fetch/w_2000-h_2000-f_jpg-q_auto:good-fl_progressive:steep-g_auto/https_3a_2f_2fsubstack-post-media-s3-amazonaws-com_2fpublic_2fimages_2fdafdd368-c6a4-4204-bae3-b9df6dfde145_1200x675.jpg)
Getchusomegear is Making Coffee Better
Coffee gear is expensive. Chris McAuley and the Getchu team are making it accessible.
![A person, framed so you can just see their torso, holds three bags of coffee in their open palms](/content/images/size/w100/2025/01/revolutionary.webp)
'Specialty Coffee Should be Enjoyed by Those Who Grow It': The Farmer's Daughter Joining Kenya's Coffee-drinking Revolution
Although it produces some of the world's best coffee, domestic consumption in Kenya remains low. A new generation of coffee professionals wants to change that.
![A coffee shop exterior with a bike parked in front. The shop's sign reads "Roy Street Coffee & Tea"](/content/images/size/w100/2025/01/stealth-starbucks.webp)
Stealth Starbucks: A Premonition of Modern Specialty Coffee
Unbranded Starbucks stores divided opinion back in the 2000s, and there are echoes in modern corporate-backed specialty companies like Intelligentsia and Blue Bottle.
![Close up of a metal sculpture on Market Street in Philadelphia](/content/images/size/w100/2025/01/philly-union.webp)
Philly is a (Coffee) Union Town
A wave of unionizing swept Philadelphia's coffee scene. Now the workers want a contract.
![A wooden sign reading "cafe" mounted on two vertical wooden beams](/content/images/size/w100/2025/01/wars.webp)
![A person shrouded in darkness, wearing a mask, looks down at the cup of coffee they're holding](/content/images/size/w100/2025/01/clean-air.webp)
Clean Air and Coffee Shops
From wildfire smoke to Covid, indoor air can be hazardous. But it doesn't need to be.
![A neon sign for Tully's Coffee seen through a window](/content/images/size/w100/2025/01/Tully-s-Coffee-Paul-Sableman-Flikr.webp)
![In Defense of Dark Roasts](/content/images/size/w100/2025/01/rabbithole1.webp)
In Defense of Dark Roasts
Rabbithole Roasters’ David Lalonde wants specialty coffee to embrace the dark side
![The interior of a darkened coffee shop looking out to a sunny street](/content/images/size/w100/image/fetch/w_2000-h_2000-f_jpg-q_auto:good-fl_progressive:steep-g_auto/https_3a_2f_2fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984-s3-amazonaws-com_2fpublic_2fimages_2fd7137abb-fc3e-4738-8315-3882f979bc24_1024x576.jpg)
What Does Success in Coffee Look Like?
Elle Taylor on Amethyst Coffee's tip-elimination experiment, its impact, and what happened next.
![The interior of the Moran Square Diner](/content/images/size/w100/2025/01/moran-diner.webp)
![A cup of coffee inside a pair of over-ear headphones on a table](/content/images/size/w100/2025/01/rock-bands.webp)
Rock Bands and Coffee Brands
Musicians with their own blend, or sometimes their own coffee company, is a small but growing niche. What's that about?