What makes a truly excellent coffee shop?
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes Key takeaways Great coffee alone no longer sets top cafés apart. Hospitality, service, and staff training define true coffee shop...
Michaela has been working in the coffee industry for over ten years. She is passionate about ensuring producers have a bright future and loves to share their stories to spread awareness for their hard work.
Why processing is helping push liberica into the spotlight
Estimated reading time: 8 minutes Key takeaways Liberica tolerates heat, drought, and lower elevations better than arabica. Anaerobic and natural processing transform liberica’s flavour and...
Why specialty coffee is now gaining wider recognition outside the industry
Estimated reading time: 9 minutes Key takeaways James Beard nominations signal that specialty coffee is earning wider recognition from outside its own industry. But decades...
Is the rise of co-working cafés changing what hospitality looks like?
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes Key takeaways Remote workers are reshaping coffee shops into informal, low-cost offices, challenging the third-space dynamic. Co-working cafés blend quality...
Coffee subscriptions have matured – there’s now more choice than ever
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes Key takeaways Coffee subscription sales surged 109% in 2020, during the pandemic. The subscription model has diversified to include competition...
Brazil has set the template for how to drive domestic coffee consumption
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes Key takeaways Brazil is one of the largest coffee-producing and consuming markets in the world. Specialty coffee now makes up...
Co-fermented coffees might be divisive, but there is clearly a market for them
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes Key takeaways Co-ferments have shifted from niche to mainstream within specialty coffee. Consumers treat co-ferments as occasional additions, not daily...
Canadian roasters are building a specialty coffee culture on their own terms
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes Key takeaways 71% of Canadian adults drank coffee in the past day. Tim Hortons remains dominant, but specialty coffee is...
How can roasters drive real innovation in specialty coffee?
Specialty coffee’s early focus on quality is no longer enough. Market consolidation limits risk-taking, creating space for independent brands to lead meaningful change. Specialty coffee...
How influencer marketing is changing specialty coffee
Up to 93% of marketers now use influencers, making the channel unavoidable for coffee brands. Approximately 92% of consumers, especially Gen Z, trust influencers more...
Supermarket coffee could be better – but it’s a challenging market
Lower-quality beans, darker roasts, instant coffee, and capsules often make up the majority of the grocery store coffee offerings. Yet as consumer preferences shift, the...
Co-ferments vs. yeast inoculation: What’s the difference?
Co-fermented and yeast-inoculated coffees share some similarities that produce flavours beyond the coffee cherry itself. Co-ferments are coffees in which external organic substrates (such as...
Should there be a barista dress code?
Starbucks recently updated its dress code for better “consistency” among staff. Baristas in North American stores now have to wear solid black tops with any...
Coffee by day, wine by night: How cafés could boost profits
The wine industry has heavily influenced specialty coffee, from processing to appreciation of origin and terroir. Many specialty coffee shops and roasters serve wine, extending...
As coffee prices stay volatile, has sustainability become less of a priority for roasters?
The plethora of price hikes over the last few years has forced roasters to allocate more of their financial resources towards areas that need them...
How high prices blurred the divide between specialty and commercial coffees
As the C price remains volatile, reaching record highs earlier this year and recently settling below US $3/lb, commercial-grade coffee has taken a significant hit....