Fionn Pooler

Scotland

Coffee Writer at Freelance

Writing about coffee.

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Articles

Coffee News Club: Week of June 2nd

5 days ago | freshcup.com | Fionn Pooler

Stop us if you’ve heard any of these headlines before: A coffee group rolls out a new quality tool, a coffee ad disguises itself as a dream coffee job, and a lawsuit challenges charging extra for alternative milks. ‘ASEAN Coffee Federation Launches ACAP Platform for Evaluation, Education’ – via Daily Coffee NewsOver the past few weeks, the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) has been very active.
A Group in Ethiopia is Proving Regenerative Agriculture Works

1 week ago | freshcup.com | Fionn Pooler

✉️ This story was featured in this week’s Coffee News Club👋 Get the Coffee News Club newsletter in your inbox weekly—sign up. Last week, we told you about a new study from TechnoServe that found investing in regenerative agriculture can deliver multiple benefits—including increased crop yields, higher farmer incomes, and reduced carbon emissions. In Ethiopia, a similar approach yielded positive results, Daniel Woods reports for Global Coffee Report.
Tomato, Shoyu, and Coconut Water are Just Some Descriptors on New Robusta Flavor Wheel

1 week ago | freshcup.com | Fionn Pooler

✉️ This story was featured in this week’s Coffee News Club👋 Get the Coffee News Club newsletter in your inbox weekly—sign up. Once relegated to low-cost blends and jars of instant coffee, Coffea Canephora, usually referred to as robusta, has grown in popularity in recent years. Even the specialty coffee industry—which has often dismissed robusta as inferior in taste to arabica—is beginning to embrace it, thanks to farmers and researchers working to improve robusta’s flavor.
The SCA's Q Program Takeover Leaves the Coffee Industry Divided

2 weeks ago | freshcup.com | Fionn Pooler

Just days before thousands of coffee pros gathered in Houston for the Specialty Coffee Association’s (SCA) annual Expo, the organization announced it would be taking over management of the Q Grader Program from the Coffee Quality Institute (CQI). The Q Grader certification is a rigorous professional training program that helps coffee pros build the sensory skills necessary to evaluate and assess coffee quality.
TechnoServe Report Proves Regenerative Agriculture Works, Urges Industry to Invest

2 weeks ago | freshcup.com | Fionn Pooler

✉️ This story was featured in this week’s Coffee News Club👋 Get the Coffee News Club newsletter in your inbox weekly—sign up. Investing in regenerative agriculture could boost smallholder farmer income and coffee exports while reducing carbon emissions, according to a new report released by the nonprofit organization TechnoServe.
In Uganda, Bayaaya Pays a Premium for Cherries from Women Farmers

2 weeks ago | freshcup.com | Fionn Pooler

✉️ This story was featured in this week’s Coffee News Club👋 Get the Coffee News Club newsletter in your inbox weekly—sign up. A Ugandan entrepreneur founded a company that pays a premium for coffee cherries from women farmers. The company hopes to encourage more women to get involved in the business side of coffee production. Meridah Nandudu grew up on a coffee farm in Uganda’s eastern Sironko district, close to the Kenyan border, and observed how gender dynamics play out during the harvest season.
Coffee News Club: Week of May 19th

2 weeks ago | freshcup.com | Fionn Pooler

Wrong shirt, wrong shoes, no service: Thousands of unionized Starbucks workers go on strike over the new dress code. Plus, the SCA announces a new tiered pricing structure to make its coffee education more accessible, and a report from TechnoServe shows that regenerative farming is both environmentally and economically beneficial.
Coffee Goods in Limbo as Tariffs Impact Gear Manufacturers

3 weeks ago | freshcup.com | Fionn Pooler

✉️ This story was featured in this week’s Coffee News Club👋 Get the Coffee News Club newsletter in your inbox weekly—sign up. The coffee industry is facing uncertainty and chaos due to the Trump administration’s threat (and partial implementation) of tariffs. The cost to import green coffee has jumped and roasters and cafes are raising prices in response. China is one of the hardest-hit countries, with the administration placing a 145% tariff on the country’s imports.
Coffee News Club: Week of May 12th

3 weeks ago | freshcup.com | Fionn Pooler

ICE is targeting children in Hawaii’s coffee-growing regions. Plus, it’s a union double bill in Boston, tariffs are starting to impact coffee gear manufacturers, and visiting Venice? You can get a coffee made with canal water. ‘ICE Takes Aim At Immigrant Kids In Big Island’s Coffee Belt’ – via Honolulu Civil BeatThe current U.S. presidential administration has widely expanded Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids over the last few months.
ICE Raids in Hawaii Target Children, Impact Coffee Workers

3 weeks ago | freshcup.com | Fionn Pooler

✉️ This story was featured in this week’s Coffee News Club👋 Get the Coffee News Club newsletter in your inbox weekly—sign up. The current U.S. presidential administration has widely expanded Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids over the last few months. Now, ICE officers are targeting children living in the South Kona region of Hawaii, where most of the state’s coffee comes from. Many migrants from Mexico and Honduras come to Hawaii to work on one of Kona’s 600 coffee farms.