During the course of my research or my general coffee reading I occasionally come across some laugh out loud coffee writing. I will keep a “notebook” of some of my favorites here on this post.
I start this post with a couple of paragraphs from Pete Cottell’s January 2nd 2019 post entitled, “Five Coffee Trends Baristas Hope Will Die in 2019“.
https://www.wweek.com/culture/2019/01/02/five-coffee-trends-baristas-hope-will-die-in-2019/
Bizarre travel mugs
Back in the good old days, woke regulars would bring their own Kleen Kanteen, Hydro Flask or Contigo tumbler as an environmentally conscious receptacle for their beverage. Aside from the occasional lunatic who preferred to barehand an old Ball jar filled with scalding hot coffee, there was some semblance of normalcy to the bring-your-own-cup world that’s rather popular here. Then, in 2016, Hydro Flask was acquired for $210 million by the same company that makes Revlon makeup and Oxo kitchen gadgets, and all hell broke loose. Some coffee drinkers migrated to Yeti tumblers, which was fine until it was revealed the popular Austin-based cooler and cup manufacturer was cozy with the National Rifle Association. Others hit up their local New Seasons to see what they could find on an end cap and landed on what must be the most impractical and maddening selection of drinkware baristas have ever seen.
First, it was all-glass tumblers protected by a rubber band, which are so fragile they crack right up the middle if you look at them askance. Then it was tall, narrow cylinders that become top heavy when you fill them all the way, creating a heightened risk for chaotic spills at the pickup counter. Now it’s shorter tubes with tapered openings so small you can’t even fill them with drinking water without attracting all sorts of calamity. You want your barista to put an iced dirty chai into a silver container that looks like a space-age butt plug? You can’t even fit ice in the damn thing! Please just grab a Ball jar from the thrift store like a normal person.