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The dramatic recovery of China's Luckin Coffee chain draws fans and skeptics

Mar 1, 2024
Luckin was punished for fabricating $300 million in sales, but now it has overtaken Starbucks' Chinese business. What's changed?
A Luckin coffee shop in Shanghai. Luckin has expanded to surpass Starbucks' business in China.
Charles Zhang/Marketplace

Can McDonald's latest venture satisfy consumers' thirst for specialty beverages?

Dec 20, 2023
The chain's new cafe concept, CosMc's, wants a sip of Starbucks' or Dunkin' Donuts' market share.
McDonald's recently launched CosMc's to compete with drink purveyors like Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts.
Scott Olson/Getty Images

Starbucks is betting there aren't enough Starbucks

Nov 6, 2023
The beverage chain has a plan to grow to 55,000 locations globally, including some that specialize in drive-thru and delivery.
Starbucks plans to open more locations focused solely on delivery and drive-thru.

For 50 years, the price of coffee has barely budged. Some farmers have had enough.

Jun 15, 2023
Farmers, roasters and economists say the price needs to reflect the labor that goes into the crop to ensure the long-term sustainability of the market.
Raw, green coffee beans ready to be roasted at Proud Mary Coffee's roastery in Oregon. Many growers are having a tough time with the economics of the global market.
Crystal Ligori

Mismatch in supply and demand sends coffee prices higher

Jul 12, 2021
Coffee commodity prices are hitting their highest levels in years. Will consumers keep paying more?
Global coffee consumption continues to rise.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Starbucks sees grounds for optimism as sales in China rebound

Jan 27, 2021
The coffee giant has been able to weather the pandemic by expanding its drive-thru and online ordering.
Starbucks has the resources to weather the COVID-19 slowdown, one analyst says. Above, a woman wearing a face mask walks past a Starbucks in Beijing on Jan. 30, 2020.
Nicolas Asfouri/AFP via Getty Images

How a coffee company CEO is getting through the pandemic

Oct 14, 2020
Keba Konte, CEO of Red Bay Coffee based in Oakland, California, recounts the challenges his business has faced due to the pandemic.
Keba Konte, CEO of Red Bay Coffee based 
 in Oakland, California.
Courtesy of Keba Konte/Red Bay Coffee

For public good, not for profit.

The real cost of a $6 cappuccino

Feb 13, 2019
The price of unroasted beans hasn’t changed since the 1970s, but that cup of coffee you are drinking has gotten a whole lot more expensive for everyone.
AFP Contributor / Getty Images

Volcanic activity takes the buzz out of Hawaii's coffee harvest

Feb 4, 2019
Coffee farmers in Hawaii are citing volcanic activity for a poor harvest.
Lava spews in Kilauea's East Rift Zone on May 23, 2018 in Pahoa, Hawaii, amid eruptions from the Kilauea volcano.
RONIT FAHL/AFP/Getty Images

Cold brew coffee is straight hotness right now

Jan 23, 2019
Across the United States, more people are getting their caffeine drinks ice-cold instead of steaming-hot.
Cold brew sales surged more than 500% from 2011 to 2016, according to the National Coffee Association.
Renata Sago/Marketplace