Klave

My answer: no.

There is not enough exploitable labor in high-income economies to keep the cost of production low, especially at scale.

We are very close to bodyless brains, with consciousness, grown in a lab, spending their entire life hooked up to computers.

This paints a very scary possibility if things aren't put in check quickly.

Human brain organiods are quickly advancing. We've taught them to
play Pong, operate simple machines, and solve equations. They can compute better than AI and have shown dream-like wave-rhythms.

Who needs AI "artists" when you can have undead content machines! "You can sleep when you're dead" is a weak mentality, churn profits in the afterlife too!

To be fair, based on his life's work and his daughter's reaction, this is likely a thing he would have wanted.

Rare non-coffee related news that I need to talk about:

An art installation titled, "Revivification," sees researchers perform quasi-ressurection on DNA from recently deceased composer Alvian Lucier, creating a brain-like entity that continuously creates music through errant electrical signals.

Ya know... I think they finally figured it out... The cafe space will definitely feel more enjoyable when every semblance of self-expression is gone. Interchangeable, identical, coffee making drones is really what makes the space. #coffeesky

What’s the point in learning about coffee’s history and oppressive systems if we don’t use what we learn to better the industry?
#specialtycoffee #coffeepeople #coffeelife #coffeesky

Tokyo Ghoul is so good; Manga and Anime
Right now reading PTSD Radio. Great horror Manga.
Love watching Inuyasha and enjoyed what I've seen from Demon Slayer (don't watch both at once though, they use the same terminology with different definitions so lore can get confusing)

I'm not siri. But I also recommend Japanese bands 😅

LiSA
Superfly
Fate Gear
Hanabie.
Ancient Myth
Minako Ito
iscream never ground

use water in your coffee machine to brew coffee

I was going to post about Bialetti being acquired by Nuo; "rejoice! Non-world-ending news in coffee" but then remembered that the new Chinese tariffs may affect sales in the US. And research on that led me down a rabbithole of outsourced labor and AI journalism. Needless to say, depressed again ☕

An Aeropress (or similar) in a cup holder, my friend 🍵

"I'm not a scientist"

😮‍💨 Two steps forward, 15 leaps & bounds back

Methylene was banned in the US last year

On top of this, 25% tariffs on Canadian imports (with threats of trade war) may see a decline in Swiss Water Process decaf coffees, as well.

Trump signed into effect 25% tariffs on Mexican imports. We could see a nationwide decrease in Mexican coffees available in shops, including Mountain Water Process decaf coffees no matter where they originated.
#coffeesky

Only 5% of the world's coffee farmers are under age 35. Most countries have an average of 50-60 years old. Young people don't want to work on coffee farms; there's no money in it, farmers are barely paid at operating costs, and coffee's dying anyway. There's no future in it it seems. #coffeesky

just bought 400lb of avocados before tariffs start. I'm set for the year as long as they don't go bad.

That's really interesting. Everyone is always pushing Robusta as the answer, but the industry is already terrible about water usage, it wouldn't be good to add to it.
I'm very interested in the development and resurgence of stenophylla.

Robusta needs more water than Arabica. In a webinar, Indian farmers shared a solution: grafting Eugenioides roots system onto Robusta and Excelsa trees, allowing deeper water access and reducing irrigation needs.

Could this be the way forward? Or at least one of many needed?

The most recent projection is sometime between 2030-2050, we will lose 50% of coffee producing land to increasing temperatures. 60% of wild coffee species are threatened by extinction due to climate change, deforestation, and disease.
#coffeesky #climatechange

You cannot enact new policies without having proper protocol in place first.

In other words, don't expect people to do things right if you don't know how you want them to do things.

I was just going to say, "if the panther is articulated, sure" 🤣

Funnily enough, Grind is also a B Corp. 🙌

I feel like when brands start their own charities they're doing it for the wrong reasons. But hopefully not! Maybe Grind will actually change the industry for the better 😅 one fake cold brew based flat white at a time

Hopefully they actually are doing what they say they're doing. The coffee industry does kinda suck with environmentalism. But the Better Coffee Foundation is a charity started by Grind, which makes me a bit weary.

I was thinking maybe ristretto shots, but I looked it up and all their drinks use cold brew, so.... 🤷‍♂️
Maybe it's a flavor? Somewhere along the line hazelnut became "cappuccino flavor" at a lot of gas stations and commodity shops, maybe it's something like that.

The Hidden Slave Driver: Coffee Coffee has a slavery problem.

I wrote a little informative piece on the history of slavery in coffee and the forms in which it can be found today:
open.substack.com/pub/coffeekl...

The coffee industry was built on slavery and continues to utilize forms thereof. Unfortunately, many times it goes unseen or unnoticed. Without a monumental shift within the industry this practice will continue. The first step in changing it is educating yourself.