All posts by Jordan Johnson

Achievement Unlocked: Custom Retro Arcade Espresso Machine

August 14, 2019 Jordan Johnson

An interview with Kelly Stombaugh, artist and roaster, on how she transformed a Synesso MVP into the retro arcade machine of her childhood dreams.

Café Basics, In the Café

How to Make an Instagrammable Café

July 31, 2019 Jordan Johnson

Instagrammability is a characteristic that’s frequently talked about in our industry. But what does that term mean—and what’s the value of it?

In the Café

Can Your Café Go Zero Waste?

July 24, 2019 Jordan Johnson

Coffee shops hand out an estimated 250 billion paper cups every year, which go straight to landfills. Even the cups that say they’re recyclable on the packaging are misleading, because the infrastructure to recycle them is very expensive and doesn’t exist in many municipalities.

Tea & Tisanes

A Wee Problem: Scottish Tea Steeped in Scandal

May 8, 2019 Jordan Johnson

Scottish farmer Tam O’Braan, also known as the self-styled “Mr. Tea,” became a fixture of the global tea community in 2015 after he claimed to have won gold at the prestigious Salon de Thé awards for his Scotland-grown teas. A little (wee, if you will) problem: No one can seem to find any evidence that the awards ever existed.

Barista, Coffee