I've linked to this a half-dozen times but apparently I've never submitted it. I'm remedying that based on this whole discussion.
I'm very interested in what will happen once Howard Schultz opens his reserve cafes across the country, it could push for even higher standards across the industry and introduce more consumers to high quality coffee. Nothing wrong with that, except I don't think coffee is a sustainable industry due to the long-term effects of climate change.
It'll be dumb. I had to design three of these and nobody even remembers 'em anymore. I think coffee, like most agribusiness, will simply move north. If you go ask at Cloud Mountain what they're seeing Whatcom farmers plant in reflection of the changing climate, they answer, without hesitation, "wine."
Hmm. I'm not sure it's as easy as moving north. Things like leaf rust disease and the coffee beetle borer aren't likely to go away anytime soon, despite the amount of money going into combating them. In addition, altitude plays a significant role in the ability to grow coffee, and an Australian paper from this year cites a paper from 2015 projecting at worst, ...hotter weather and changes in rainfall patterns are projected to cut the area suitable for coffee in half by 2050 across different emissions scenarios. At best, places like Brazil and Mexico are going to have socioeconomic challenges facing their farmers, which play a not insignificant part of the agro-economics.
Hmm. My one concern is that Starbucks does seem to try to be as predatory as possible. I sometimes worry that sooner or later they will figure out a way to hurt the competition. That said, you can't throw a stone in this city without hitting a mom and pop coffee shop and each one is different and awesome for their own way. Of course my favorite one is the one that hosts cars and coffee, but others have real good baked goods, wine, live music, whatever. There's a lot of variety, and it's nice to know whatever major neighborhood you go to, there's a good chance you'll find an independent coffee shop.
Sure - but there was a time when all you could buy was Budweiser, Miller, Coors, Schlitz and Hamm's (I need to find that article, too). Starbuck's exists for the same reason - it's the coffee that's always about right. But fuckin' A if it weren't for Starbuck's there'd be no Caribou Coffee (better), Coffee Bean (better), Tully's (better and owned outright by Starbucks!) or the million and one independent shops. When I was growing up there was nowhere to get a cup of coffee except the gas station. But by the time I was in 10th grade there was a little cafe and by the time I was a sophomore in college there was a bloody Starbuck's and by the time I graduated there were eight cafes in my home town of 20,000 people.
Nope, Tully's is owned outright by Keurig Green Mountain.
My bad. You're right. Starbuck's owns SBC which has always been shit.