Coffee Science

You know the filtered water you use to brew your freshly-ground, custom-roasted, shade-grown coffee beans should be at 195-205°F (91-96°C). Science has now determined that you should drink the resulting java at 140-147°F (60-64°C). You’re welcome.

More:

“Science Finds The Most Acceptable Coffee Drinking Temperature,” Zac Cadwalader, Spudge

“Impact of beverage temperature on consumer preferences for black coffee,” William D. Ristenpart, Andrew R. Cotter, and Jean-Xavier Guinard, Nature

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Image (“Urban Breakfast, after William Harnett”) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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Starbucks Sued Over Coffee-Flavored Lip Balm

We call your attention to the case of Balmuccino LLC v. Starbucks Corp, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, No. 2:22-cv-01501:

“Starbucks Corp stole a Los Angeles company’s confidential information about plans for a coffee-flavored lip balm to create its S’Mores Frappucino lip-gloss kit, according to a lawsuit filed in Seattle federal court.”

— “Starbucks sued again over Frappucino lip-gloss trade secrets,” Blake Brittain, Reuters {link added]

More:

“Lawsuit claims Starbucks stole secrets for coffee-flavored lip balms,” Quratulain Tejani, NY Post

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Image (“Neo-Nighthawks, after Edward Hopper”) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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Brewing Coffee

Brewing coffee with a 19 century balancing siphon, a 2014 Boing Boing video by Andrea James.

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Buffalo Starbucks Unionizes

Employees of the Starbucks on Elmwood Avenue in Buffalo, NY, have voted to unionize. These bolshevik baristas are the first in the United States to successfully organize, and were hailed by Vermont commissar Bernie Sanders. Starbucks employees also voted “Union Yes” in nearby Cheektowaga.

More:

“Starbucks workers form their 1st union in the U.S. in a big win for labor,” Alina Selyukh, NPR News

Update:

“A Rhodes Scholar barista and the fight to unionize Starbucks,” Greg Jaffe, Washington Post

Related:

“An Inside Look at Union Organizing in the Fast-Food Industry,” Lela Nargi, Eater

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Image (“Neo-Nighthawks, after Edward Hopper”) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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The Art of Latte

Korea-based barista and coffee shop owner Lee Kang Bin illustrates his customers’ coffee drinks. In color.

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Climate Change is Coming for Your Cup of Coffee

Coffee is grown by nearly 125 million farmers, from Latin America to Africa to Asia. As man-made climate change warms the atmosphere in places like Colombia, experts estimate the amount of land that can sustain coffee will fall 50 percent by 2050. It’s a crisis for consumers and cultivators alike. A Vox video.

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London’s Phone Booth Coffee Shop

It may be London’s smallest java stop: a coffeehouse in an antique red telephone booth.

Related:

“The Red Phone Box, a British Icon, Stages a Comeback,” Palko Karasz, New York Times

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Starbucks in Italy: ‘Costruiscilo, e loro verranno’

Espresso made it’s world debut in Milan at the 1906 World’s Fair. Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz claims his visit to Milan 35 years ago inspired him to go into the coffeehouse business, so he’s thanking the Italian city by draining business from its venerable coffee bars. The huge Milanese Starbuckery opened Friday in an historic former post office, and plans are brewing for Starbucks in Verona, Venice, and other Italian towns.

More:

“Will espresso-loving Italy embrace country’s 1st Starbucks?” Luca Bruno and Frances DeMilio, Associated Press

“Starbucks fulfills its Italian dream. Italians are yet to be enchanted.” Aisha Hassan, Quartz

“Starbucks’ Italian dream comes true, but it is not cheap,” Francesca Landini, Reuters

“Does Italy Want More Cafes? Starbucks Will Find Out,” Elisabetta Povoledo, New York Times

“Starbucks In Italy, Latest Stop On U.S. Food Imperialism Tour,” Brant deBoer, Il Sole 24 Ore, via Worldcrunch

 

Note: “Costruiscilo, e loro verranno” = “Build it and they will come.” Maybe.

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Image (“Young Girl Blogging, after Ramon Casas i Carbó”) by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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World’s Smallest Cup of Coffee

World’s smallest cup of coffee, brewed by Lucas Zanotto.

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Starbucks in Shanghai

Starbucks Reserve Roastery and Tasting Room opened Wednesday in the HKRI Taikoo Hui luxury shopping complex at 789 West Nanjing Road in Shanghai. It’s the world’s largest Starbucks, 30,000 square feet, with more than 400 employees, and can serve up to 550 people at a time, according to the company. Customers can use Augmented Reality technology to see the coffee making process and use mobile payment via Alibaba.

The first Starbucks Reserve opened in Seattle in December 2014, and the company plans to open a 43,000 square foot location on Chicago’s Michigan Avenue in 2019. More Reserve Roasteries are scheduled to open in Milan, New York, Chicago and Tokyo by 2020.

Starbucks has more than 600 coffee shops in Shanghai, more than any other city in the world, and has committed to operating 5,000 stores on the Chinese mainland by 2021.

More:

“World’s largest, most lavish Starbucks opens in Shanghai,” Travis M. Andrews, Washington Post

“Honestly, Let’s All Just Go Live in the Brand New Biggest Starbucks in the World,” Tess Koman, Cosmopolitan

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Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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