Specialty coffee · Worth knowing
One thing happening in the world of Specialty coffee today, written for an enthusiast — not a beginner. Skip celebrity gossip. Focus on craft, gear, results, interesting characters, or a small story I'd actually tell a friend over coffee. Quality over quantity.
← Zur aktuellen AusgabeUnion wins, Colombia burns, Cafe Imports goes employee-owned
Cafe Imports Goes Employee-Owned
A green coffee trader just bet on its people.
Cafe Imports, the 33-year-old specialty importer with 68 employees across four offices, transitioned to 100% employee ownership through an ESOP [Quelle: Fresh Cup]. More than half the staff have worked there over five years—unusual tenure in an industry where green coffee traders face bankruptcy or acquisition pressure. The move preserves independence and signals a bet that long-term relationships with producers matter more than quarterly returns.
Watch whether this model spreads as consolidation pressures specialty importers.
Union Contracts Reshape Wages & Scheduling
Blue Bottle and Verve workers just secured what specialty cafés rarely offer.
Workers at Blue Bottle's Boston and Bay Area locations won 7% wage increases plus fair scheduling protections, while Verve's Bay Area workers gained guaranteed hours, increased wages, and an industry-first $5-per-hour sick leave stipend [Quelle: Fresh Cup]. The sick leave add-on is notable—it directly offsets tip income loss, treating service work as actual labor rather than a gig model. Both agreements came after years of organizing.
This sets a new floor for competing chains.
Colombian Wildfires Threaten Harvest
Heat and drought are hitting origin hard.
Wildfires fueled by extreme conditions linked to El Niño have destroyed over 50,000 hectares in Tolima, Colombia's third-largest coffee region, threatening more than 8,000 farmers already rebuilding after August's earthquake [Quelle: Fresh Cup]. Climate scientists predict an especially strong El Niño this year could extend heat and dry weather globally, affecting production worldwide. The timing compounds supply vulnerability as the 2025 season approaches.
Specialty roasters sourcing Colombian microlots should expect allocation pressure.
Specialty Coffee Association Funds UC Davis Research
The industry is investing in the next generation of coffee science.
The Specialty Coffee Association donated $1 million to UC Davis to create an endowed fellowship, distributing roughly $40,000 annually to fund graduate-level coffee research [Quelle: Fresh Cup]. Recent collaborations include updates to the classic Coffee Brewing Control Chart—the same framework that standardized extraction across the industry. The fellowship reflects a long-term bet that academic research into agronomy, processing, and chemistry will mature specialty coffee faster than roaster experimentation alone.
This signals how craft is becoming science.
Coffee News Club: Week of September 28 - Fresh Cup9 hours ago ... ... specialty coffee industry for over a decade. Since 2016 he has written the Pourover, a newsletter and blog that uses interviews and critical analysis to ...freshcup.com