Can airline coffee taste good? Stumptown and Alaska Airlines think so. Plus, La Marzocco and Mahlk\u00f6nig launch a new partnership and coffee farmers in Brazil face fluctuating temperatures.\u00a0
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What\u2019s the deal with airline coffee? Airline food is notoriously mediocre<\/a>, and the coffee isn\u2019t much better<\/a> (although, despite<\/a> the many<\/a> articles<\/a> discouraging people to stay away from airline coffee\u2014or anything brewed with airline water<\/a>\u2014coffee on a plane is safe<\/a> to drink<\/a>). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Now that we know it\u2019s not the water making your airline cup taste flat, let\u2019s look at the actual problem: altitude. When you\u2019re flying, the altitude, the pressurized cabin and dry, recycled air affect your sense<\/a> of taste and smell. Much like food, coffee at 35,000 feet simply lacks the aromatics and complexity of flavor that it would on the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To counteract coffee\u2019s drabness in the air, most carriers have moved away from nondescript coffee and now serve brands like Dunkin or Starbucks. Some have gone for a more specialty approach, at least for first-class passengers\u2014British Airways serves Union Coffee in some of<\/a> its airport lounges, while Asiana Airlines goes a step further<\/a> by brewing a Chemex in front of business and first-class passengers on select flights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While not quite at that level, Alaska Airlines has taken a step in the specialty direction by switching its coffee supplier from Starbucks to Stumptown Coffee. The two companies have even worked together \u201cto make a coffee that\u2019s immune from the altitude-changing effects that airborne-served coffee typically creates, including tasting bitter and weak,\u201d according to CNN<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A press release notes<\/a> that the custom coffee blend builds on Stumptown\u2019s Holler Mountain<\/a> but \u201cwith a primary focus on a roast that mellows acidity and introduces just enough toastiness to please a wide range of palates.\u201d The coffee underwent tests \u201cboth on the ground and in the air,\u201d including more than 200 pots of coffee brewed during development, as well as customer surveys to find the ideal blend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHaving flown millions of miles fueled by countless cups of coffee, Stumptown stands out as first class,\u201d said Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci. \u201cLike travel, coffee has a remarkable way of bringing people together. I can’t wait for our guests and employees to enjoy a cup of Stumptown when they fly with us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Read the full story here<\/a>. The Internet of Things has been part of the coffee equipment world for years\u2014grinders, brewers, scales, and roasters can all connect to apps to download data and analytics. This lets coffee professionals and enthusiastic amateurs alike track their brews and roasts in order to analyze and improve them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now, La Marzocco and Mahlk\u00f6nig have partnered to debut the all-new Sync System, which allows La Marzocco espresso machines to pair up and exchange data with Mahlk\u00f6nig grinders via the two companies\u2019 apps. The Sync System enables users to monitor machinery remotely and make grind adjustments in real time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAt Mahlk\u00f6nig and La Marzocco, we share a common goal: delivering quality coffee moments with unmatched speed and convenience around the world,\u201d Mahlk\u00f6nig said in a press release<\/a>. \u201cIn collaboration we’ve taken the next step: unlocking the possibility to produce high quality espresso shots reproducible and repeatable across different employees\/baristas and locations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s an example of how the Sync System works: if an espresso machine detects a too-quick or too-slow espresso shot, it will communicate with the grinder to refine the grind setting ever so slightly. \u201cThis real-time communication,\u201d the press release states, \u201censures consistency in taste and quality, creating the perfect cup, no matter the location.\u201d The company says the Sync System will increase efficiency and allow baristas \u201cmore time for customer interactions as they can brew faster, enhancing the overall customer experience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Sync System will be featured on the Mahlk\u00f6nig E80W Grind-by-Sync and one of three La Marzocco machines: the Linea PB ABR, GB5 ABR or KB90 ABR. Mahlk\u00f6nig hopes to expand the system to other manufacturers, \u201c[aiming] to evolve it into the go-to ecosystem for professional coffee preparation by facilitating data exchange with other coffee equipment and software solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Read the full story here<\/a>. \u2018The Women-Powered Coffee Summit Returns To Costa Rica In November<\/a>\u2019 – via Sprudge<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018Ally Coffee Launches \u2018Rooted in Coffee\u2019 Podcast<\/a>\u2019 – via Daily Coffee News<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018La Marzocco Surrenders Rights to Integrated Scale Technology<\/a>\u2019 – via Global Coffee Report<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018Why Blue Bottle is Rolling Out Its First Capsule Collaboration with Nespresso<\/a>\u2019 – via Modern Retail<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018CQI and African Fine Coffees Association Plan Long-Term Collaboration<\/a>\u2019 – via Daily Coffee News<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018Dutch ‘Coffee Shops’ Savor Legal Pot Trial<\/a>\u2019 – via France 24<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018Robusta Price Remains at Near-record High: ICO Market Report<\/a>\u2019 – via Global Coffee Report<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018Regal Ware Sells French Press Brand Espro to Toronto\u2019s DKK<\/a>\u2019 – via\u00a0Daily Coffee News<\/em> Starbucks was on the wrong end of two more rulings this week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A National Labor Relations Board judge ruled that<\/a> former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz illegally threatened a union supporter during a \u201clistening tour\u201d in 2022. At a session with workers in Long Beach, California, a barista, Madison Hall, asked Schultz about union-busting allegations. Schultz replied that he wasn\u2019t there to discuss union issues and told Hall, \u201cIf you’re not happy at Starbucks, you can go work for another company.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Administrative Law Judge Brian Gee said this \u201camounted to a warning that protected pro-union speech was not compatible with employment at Starbucks,\u201d according to Reuters<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a separate ruling<\/a>, a federal judge told Starbucks it must provide regulators with details of its spending on responding to the union drive. The US Department of Labor issued a subpoena as part of its investigation into whether Starbucks violated financial disclosure laws during its unionization response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Specifically, the DOL wants to see details of travel expenses when Starbucks sent Schultz<\/a> and other executives<\/a> to Buffalo, New York, in 2021 in the wake of the first unionization drive<\/a>. Starbucks challenged the subpoena, so DOL filed a court petition to force the issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe will not sit idly by when any company, including Starbucks Corp., defies our request to provide documents to make certain they are complying with the law,\u201d said US Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda\u00a0in a statement<\/a>. Starbucks commented that DOL had not accused the company of wrongdoing and would \u201ccontinue to engage with government officials to provide clarifying information on our compliance with decades of labor law.\u201d \u201cThe climate is confused. There\u2019s no logical sequence as there was. We have moments when it was supposed to be dry, and it\u2019s raining. The opposite also happens. And the plant doesn\u2019t know how to react. It totally breaks its logical sequence. The plant has blossom, chumbinho [early-stage fruit], ripened coffee, dried coffee, all at the same time. It\u2019s a horror.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is how Jos\u00e9 Oscar Ferreira Cintra, a Brazilian farmer, describes how his coffee reacts to the changing climate. His perspective is part of a report in Mongabay<\/em><\/a> <\/em>that interviews producers in the world\u2019s largest coffee-growing country on dealing with multiple climate threats, from lack of rain to fires and intense frosts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn recent years, we\u2019ve had days with more extreme weather, more intense cold and more intense heat,\u201d says Felipe Barretto Croce, a producer in Mococa, in the state of S\u00e3o Paulo. \u201cWe\u2019re seeing a rain deficit in general. This is probably due to a lot of deforestation around us, in the Cerrado and the Amazon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even in regions that traditionally receive more rain, farmers are finding it difficult to rely on previous years\u2019 data. \u201cIn the last five years, the March bloom has produced less,\u201d says Afonso Donizete Lacerda, who grows coffee at altitudes of up to 1,400 meters in Dores do Rio Preto, Esp\u00edrito Santo. \u201cJanuary has been rainy and we think that\u2019s what\u2019s affecting the decrease in late flowering here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n As climate patterns become less predictable, more farmers are looking to adaptive solutions. One option is agroforestry, which\u00a0is becoming<\/a>\u00a0more popular<\/a>\u00a0in Brazil<\/a>\u00a0and uses shade trees and intercropping to protect the coffee plants, improve the soil, and create additional income. \u201cI\u2019m completely changing the way things have been managed in the past,\u201d says Croce. \u201cToday I\u2019m planting with functional agroforestry in the middle of the coffee, fully mechanized, to create a comfortable, balanced and stable habitat for my coffee.\u201d \u2018When Coffee Becomes Art\u2019 by Valorie Clark<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u2018La Marzocco And Mahlk\u00f6nig Team Up For The Sync System\u2019 – via <\/strong>Sprudge<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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