I don't drink coffee, but this is one of my favorite newsletters! Your discussions about industries at large definitely transcend just the coffee industry and your essays are always incredibly thoughtful <3
Thank you for this read, Ashley! I'm a coffee drinker, but I want to be more intentional with how I engage with. I never thought about how I could do this, so I appreciate all the tips!
Wow! What a lovely comment! I'm glad to hear these suggestions make sense for people — let me know if you end up drinking something new and exciting soon!
A great newsletter issue to start of the year. I no longer drink coffee but your points about keeping dollars as personal and local as possible are important everywhere.
Love your list. If Olympic National Park is one of your five this year, let me know.
Thank you Kate!! Agreed — the lesson of keeping things close is applicable to all industries and a good way to frame consumer habits when possible.
I want to go to Olympic National Park so badly! I'm realizing that there are very few national parks close to me in the Midwest so I might need to plan a trip...
I love this! Thank you for the suggestion! And I also like that this is your friend — I consider making one of the suggestions "buy coffee from your friends and close ones" because those purchases matter too in terms of keeping coffee close.
Thanks Jolene! That article was SO HARD to write since so much of what I knew about coffee blooms is anecdotal (as is a lot of coffee science), but at the same time I felt like I could have conducted 100 more trials and experiments and still had stuff to discover.
Chemex brewing can be tricky! It's definitely the least forgiving brew method, but it's also such a beautiful piece of equipment and produces wonderful flavor clarity! Have fun!
It is so pretty! I’m going to write about the history of it (and my attempts to use it properly, lol!) in a couple of weeks and I will link to your piece on ‘blooming’ and also your Substack!
Thank you for the impulses you share in this article and the context you constantly give to coffee, workers' rights and community. Looking forward to continuing to support local roasters and find ways in 2023 to get closer to producers, too! One bag of coffee at a time.
Also, as no stranger to startups, I appreciate the way in which you challenge the notion of "disruption" and remind us to ask who a shake up intends to serve... if anyone and what we stand to lose by an overhaul of an existing market, especially if context isn't understood by the disruptors themselves.
I've been trying to get closer to my coffee for a while and your suggestions are helpful! I loved your winter goals, #5 is something I always do and I'm also trying to get back to the habit of reading, including catching up with your newsletter that I haven't had time to read since August. I'm feeling really good about the additional time I got after a big purge on my Instagram feed ;-)
I don't drink coffee, but this is one of my favorite newsletters! Your discussions about industries at large definitely transcend just the coffee industry and your essays are always incredibly thoughtful <3
This is such a lovely comment! Thank you! It's wild and very gratifying that the topics in this newsletter hit for folks who don't drink coffee!
Thank you for this read, Ashley! I'm a coffee drinker, but I want to be more intentional with how I engage with. I never thought about how I could do this, so I appreciate all the tips!
Wow! What a lovely comment! I'm glad to hear these suggestions make sense for people — let me know if you end up drinking something new and exciting soon!
I really enjoyed your example of Uber/Lyft as a cautionary tale for the consequences of disruption. Great read!
Thanks Aaron! I hope you're well!
A great newsletter issue to start of the year. I no longer drink coffee but your points about keeping dollars as personal and local as possible are important everywhere.
Love your list. If Olympic National Park is one of your five this year, let me know.
Thank you Kate!! Agreed — the lesson of keeping things close is applicable to all industries and a good way to frame consumer habits when possible.
I want to go to Olympic National Park so badly! I'm realizing that there are very few national parks close to me in the Midwest so I might need to plan a trip...
You might deeply appreciate my friend Ian Goodman's efforts to "stay close to the coffee." https://www.goodmancoffeeroasters.com/about
He has some of the very best coffee I've had in my life. (And that's saying something.)
I love this! Thank you for the suggestion! And I also like that this is your friend — I consider making one of the suggestions "buy coffee from your friends and close ones" because those purchases matter too in terms of keeping coffee close.
I've know Ian since the early 90s and coffee has been his passion since he was a teenager! It is a true labor of love for him.
Happy New Year, Ashley! I just read your piece on pour over “bloom” on Serious Eats -terrific!
Thanks Jolene! That article was SO HARD to write since so much of what I knew about coffee blooms is anecdotal (as is a lot of coffee science), but at the same time I felt like I could have conducted 100 more trials and experiments and still had stuff to discover.
It really helped me, I got a Chemex for Christmas and I’m learning all about ‘the bloom’ :)
Chemex brewing can be tricky! It's definitely the least forgiving brew method, but it's also such a beautiful piece of equipment and produces wonderful flavor clarity! Have fun!
It is so pretty! I’m going to write about the history of it (and my attempts to use it properly, lol!) in a couple of weeks and I will link to your piece on ‘blooming’ and also your Substack!
Also, what you just wrote is a perfect quote about it, may I quote you, Ashley?
Of course! I actually wrote an article about the Chemex and its place in pop culture too: https://www.salon.com/2021/10/27/how-did-chemex-the-coffee-making-darling-of-the-60s-earn-a-recurring-spot-on-friends/
Thank you for the impulses you share in this article and the context you constantly give to coffee, workers' rights and community. Looking forward to continuing to support local roasters and find ways in 2023 to get closer to producers, too! One bag of coffee at a time.
Also, as no stranger to startups, I appreciate the way in which you challenge the notion of "disruption" and remind us to ask who a shake up intends to serve... if anyone and what we stand to lose by an overhaul of an existing market, especially if context isn't understood by the disruptors themselves.
I've been trying to get closer to my coffee for a while and your suggestions are helpful! I loved your winter goals, #5 is something I always do and I'm also trying to get back to the habit of reading, including catching up with your newsletter that I haven't had time to read since August. I'm feeling really good about the additional time I got after a big purge on my Instagram feed ;-)