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What's all the buzz about decaf coffee?

Jun 7, 2024
With advances in the decaffeination process and the use of better beans, coffee lovers are giving decaf another shot.
A coffee maker from Houston won the U.S. Brewers Cup, "but he won it with decaf, which is kind of like winning the Tour de France on a unicycle," says reporter Matt Kronsberg.
Tim Boyle/Getty Images

Why the cost of coffee beans is climbing

May 27, 2024
Higher global demand for the drink and climate change's effect on supply are behind the upward trend.
A coffee producer in Minas Gerais, Brazil, holds up a handful of robusta beans. Vietnam and Brazil, the top growers of robusta, are suffering droughts. 
Douglas Magno/AFP via Getty Images

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

For public good, not for profit.

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

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