It’s September 29, the day that America celebrates its least guilty vice and addiction, known in the streets as “java” or “joe.” That’s right, it’s National Coffee Day—the day that thousands of people burn $2 worth of gas waiting in a drive-thru to get a free $2 cup of coffee from Dunkin‘.
Or how about this instead? Get free or cheap coffee without leaving your house, like a civilized person in the age of the internet. Take advantage of online coffee subscription deals instead.
WIRED has long considered delivery coffee subscriptions to be the promise of technology fulfilled: The best coffee, from all over the country and world, gets scooted to your door without you lifting more than a finger. Anyway, three of WIRED’s absolute favorite coffee subscriptions are offering big introductory deals for National Coffee Day 2025, so it’s a good day to discover the joys of always having good coffee.
Here are National Coffee Day deals on Atlas Coffee Club, Trade Coffee, and Podium Coffee. Each is 50 percent off for the holiday.
Atlas Coffee Club Deals and Promo Code
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
Atlas Coffee Club
Coffee Subscription
Atlas is WIRED’s favorite overall coffee subscription for multiple very good reasons. It roasts very good coffee. It also offers reliable, friendly, and swift service—a simple necessity when conducting long-distance relationships over the web. But especially, it offers single-origin coffee from a different country each month, letting you try coffee with flavors you likely haven’t tried before. Arabica coffee from Vietnam, or coffee grown in multiple regions of China or India. It’s cool. It’s kinda what you want showing up at your door, and you can choose your favorite roast level to suit the kind of person you are.
Anyway, Atlas Coffee Club deals are going big for National Coffee Day.
Between September 29 and October 1, 2025, enter the Atlas Coffee promo code FREECOFFEE to get the following discounts and freebies:
National Coffee Day Deals at Trade Coffee
Courtesy of Trade Coffee
If Atlas is our favorite single-origin roaster subscription, Trade Coffee is your ticket to coffee from everywhere—the best and broadest selection of coffee from the best coffee roasters all over the country. I like Trade, especially, as a great way to find roasters I would have never tried, whether chocolatey roasts from Canton, Georgia, or big funky, fruity, light roasts from Portland, Oregon.
And so a Trade Coffee deal is always welcome. On National Coffee Day, Trade Coffee is offering half off a one-month trial subscription.
National Coffee Day Deals from Podium Coffee Club
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
Podium Coffee Club
Coffee Subscription
Podium Coffee Club is yet another vision of coffee subscription, and also among my favorites. The name says it all: It’s a coffee subscription devoted to only award-winning coffees that have been judged among the best in the country and world in large and credible competitions. Podium picks just one wonderful coffee to send you each month, depending on whether you asked for the Gold or the Platinum subscription.
The Podium Gold subscription is generally very balanced, classic, excellent coffee beans. The Podium Platinum subscription, in part, raises its standards for how prestigious an award a coffee might need to be included. But also, the Platinum picks are often rare, funky, interesting, or just different—coffee that changes your mind about what coffee’s supposed to taste like. Either way, lucky you, it’s cheap today with an exclusive code from WIRED.
Enter the Podium Coffee Club promo code WIREDNTNLCFF50 for half off your first month’s subscription.
Coffee is a fast-ticking clock. And the end of this stopwatch is nothing you want. Fresh coffee is all about aroma and intensity—the delicate notes of toffee or nectarine that make each bean distinct. Old coffee loses all of this. It tastes instead acrid and flabby, like a cup of wet cardboard.
But freshness is a difficult target. I drink coffee about like a horse takes to water, but I buy it just as impulsively. I am also constantly testing out coffee to find the Best Coffee Subscriptions, and to give each brand a fair shake, I always drink those fresh in the optimal tasting window. Which means the rando special bag I bought for myself last Thursday often has to wait. And sometimes I can’t manage to brew all my coffee within a few weeks of its roast date.
That’s where freezing comes in.
So, should you freeze coffee beans? Or is freezing just a new way to mess up coffee beans—by introducing frosty moisture, or tainting it with the smell of the frozen chicken and peas in your icebox? The answer, according to coffee experts and chemists alike, is that you’re probably better off freezing coffee than letting warm air do its slow work. But this is only true if you do it correctly.
What’s more, frozen beans can in fact lead to better flavor on light-roast coffee in particular, according to at least one study—because it helps you get more consistent coffee grounds and therefore better flavor. More on that later.
Here’s a quick rundown on how to keep your coffee fresh without also ruining it, and why frozen coffee sometimes trumps fresh.
When Does Coffee Start Going Stale?
Believe it or not, there’s such a thing as coffee that’s too fresh. You probably don’t want to brew coffee the day after it’s roasted. For light roasts in particular, most roasters tend to recommend you wait five to seven days after the roast date before brewing, in order to allow your coffee to off-gas a bit and become a little easier to extract. This is especially important when it comes to espresso, where extraction is a volatile and finicky process.
But, alas, if you just leave the coffee in its bag, on the counter, it may start to go stale beginning a couple weeks later. You know that nice smell of fresh coffee beans? Those lovely aromatic compounds are exiting the beans, and dispersing into the air: That’s why you can smell them. Eventually, they’ll diminish. At the same time, oxygen is sneaking in to do its grim work, turning your beans to stale rust.
Depending how it’s stored, coffee can begin to degrade anywhere from two weeks to a month after roast date (i.e., the optimal window may just be a week or two for each bag).
You can delay this a bit by storing the coffee in an airtight container. One that I particularly like (and that we recommend in our Gifts for Coffee Lovers guide) is the vacuum-sealed Fellow Atmos. This can keep your beans fresher for longer on your counter and also keep them from taking on bad aromas in your freezer.
Photograph: Fellow
Fellow
Atmos Vacuum Canister
When to Freeze Coffee Beans
If you know you’re not going to get through a bag of beans, the best time to freeze is not when your beans are already starting to go stale. Rather, do so just before the optimal flavor window.
The science on the staying power of frozen coffee is somewhat thin, notes Christopher Hendon, a materials chemist at University of Oregon, whose research into coffee extraction and flavor has earned him the nickname “Dr. Coffee.” But there’s reason to believe freezing slows the staling process but doesn’t halt it.
Type 2 diabetes, which affects around 1 in 10 people in America, is a chronic disease marked by insulin resistance. Insulin is a hormone that regulates blood sugar, so people with Type 2 diabetes may have high blood sugar levels, which can lead to heart disease, vision loss, and kidney disease. Diabetes is also linked to high inflammation levels.
It’s National Coffee Day, which means you’ve probably already got your go-to order in hand. But here’s the thing — your favorite cup of coffee may actually say a lot more about you than you think.
Dutch Brothers Coffee recently released a personality profile that breaks down the quirks, habits, and even zodiac signs of coffee drinkers based on how they take their brew. Whether you drink it black, add a little sugar, or pour in some milk, your order might just be your personality in a cup.
Stock Photo
Black Coffee Drinkers: The No-Nonsense Crew
Black coffee has long been the badge of the serious, straightforward drinker. No frills, no foam, no caramel drizzle — just caffeine and character. And the stats back it up:
Black coffee drinkers most likely to be introverts — 52%
Black coffee drinkers are morning people — 53%
Black drinkers are dog people — 45%
Black coffee drinkers are light sleepers — 43%
Law and Order — black coffee are biggest fans 46%
48 percent of black drinkers are always on time — most of drinkers
Black drinkers most likely to be Taurus
Black coffee favors winter
If you’re picturing yourself in this group, chances are you’ve already been up since dawn, walked the dog, and probably caught the latest Law and Order rerun before anyone else even brewed a pot. Black coffee people aren’t just punctual — they’re dependable. And yes, apparently they’re also heavily represented in the Taurus camp. Steady, reliable, maybe a little stubborn. Sounds about right.
Black with Sugar: Sweet but Still Strong
For those who take their coffee black but add a spoonful of sugar, it’s like saying, “I want the caffeine kick, but I’m not here to punish myself.” These drinkers lean into balance — a little edge, a little sweetness. According to the Dutch Bros breakdown:
Black with sugar are dog people — 38%
Black with sugar are average sleepers — 49%
Marvelous Mrs. Maisel — black with sugar are biggest fans 40%
Black with sugar most likely to be Taurus
This group is still grounded — still Taurus territory — but with a softer side. They’ll stay up late binging The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, fall asleep at a reasonable hour, and probably still hit snooze once or twice before the morning commute.
Coffee with Milk: The Social Sippers
Now, let’s talk about the creamers, the oat-milkers, the almond latte crowd. Coffee with milk is the order of choice for extroverts, night owls, and the binge-watchers who are always ready to talk about their latest show obsession. The numbers tell the story:
Extroverts were most likely to take their coffee with milk — 35%
Coffee with milk fans are equally morning/night people — 49%
Deep sleepers are most likely to be coffee with milk (20%) or coffee with milk and sugar (19%)
Big Little Lies — coffee with milk are 49% more likely to watch than black drinkers
Games of Thrones — coffee with milk are biggest fans 58%
Coffee with milk most likely to be an Aries
This group is living proof that coffee isn’t just about function — it’s about community. They’re the folks who will happily grab a latte at 10 p.m. and still crash like a rock. And if you need someone to debate whether Big Little Lies was better than Game of Thrones, this is your crew. With Aries in the mix, it makes sense: bold, outgoing, and maybe just a little dramatic.
What It All Means
At first glance, it’s easy to laugh off the idea that your coffee order could predict your personality. But there’s something to it:
Black coffee drinkers keep it simple, punctual, and consistent.
Black with sugar fans balance strength with a touch of comfort.
Coffee with milk drinkers bring the social energy and love to binge-watch the big shows.
Coffee is ritual. It’s the way you start your morning, the comfort you reach for on a long afternoon, or the companion on a late-night project. The way you take it may not define your destiny, but it does paint a picture of who you are when nobody’s looking — or when you’re just trying to wake up.
Final Sip
So next time you order, think about what your cup says about you. Are you the no-nonsense black coffee drinker who’s always on time? The black-with-sugar type who needs a little sweetness to balance the day? Or the milk-and-latte lover who’s ready to chat about the latest HBO hit?
Either way, on National Coffee Day, raise your mug high. Your coffee isn’t just keeping you awake — it might be telling your story.
Jim O’Brien is the Host of “Big Jim’s House” Morning Show at 94.7 WCSX in Detroit. Jim spent eight years in the U.S. Naval Submarine Service, has appeared on Shark Tank (Man Medals Season 5 Ep. 2), raised over two million dollars for local charities and is responsible for Glenn Frey Drive and Bob Seger Blvd in the Motor City. Jim’s relationship with Classic Rock includes considering Bob Seger, Phil Collen from Def Leppard, Wally Palmer of the Romantics and many others good friends. Jim writes about ‘80s movies, cars, weird food trends and “as seen on TikTok” content.
There are a number of deals for National Coffee Day 2025 on Monday September 29th. I haven’t been able to confirm all of these, but I believe these are all accurate.
Freebies:
(Direct Link)Krispy Kreme – Free medium hot or iced coffee + free doughnut of choice, no purchase required (in-store or drive-thru). Plus: buy any dozen, get a dozen Original Glazed for $1.
(our original post) Smoothie King – free 20 ounce Coffee High Protein Almond Mocha or Pumpkin Coffee High Protein Smoothie. Must show some type of coffee rewards like Starbucks Stars.
(Direct Link)Scooter’s Coffee – Free medium coffee in the Scooter’s Coffee mobile app (limit one per customer per day).
Whataburger – Free 16 oz hot or iced coffee, no purchase necessary (via app or online).
Circle K – Free medium hot or iced coffee via the Circle K app, no purchase required.
Pilot / Flying J Travel Centers – Free any-size hot coffee in the app for rewards members.
Other Deals:
(Direct Link)Dunkin’ – Free medium hot or iced coffee with any purchase in the app for Rewards members. (Also: $6 off $20+ Dunkin’ delivery on DoorDash.)
Starbucks – Buy any brewed hot or iced coffee and get 100 Bonus Stars in the Starbucks app – that’s enough for a free drink next time. (Also: Grubhub+ members also get $7 off $20+ Starbucks delivery.)
Sheetz – Free self-serve hot or iced coffee of any size with any purchase.
Burger King – Free medium iced coffee with $1+ purchase for Royal Perks members (in-app).
7-Eleven – Free large coffee with a sandwich purchase for loyalty members.
Our Verdict
Some nice freebies here, hopefully it doesn’t create big lines.
On Thursday, the coffee giant unveiled a $1 billion restructuring plan that will shutter more than 100 North American cafes, cut 900 non-retail jobs, and remodel over 1,000 locations.
The reset, CEO Brian Niccol said, is about restoring warmth and comfort — an effort to recreate the “third place” he has championed since taking the helm last year, the hangout between home and work that first made Starbucks a global brand in the 1990s.
At the same time, Starbucks appears to be losing ground with Gen Z, something it tacitly admitted in its latest earnings, when it moved to shutter mobile-only “pickup” stores built for speed and “frictionless” transactions that it assumed would be catnip for a digital-native generation. Its market share among the cohort has slipped from 67% to 61% over the past two years, marking four consecutive quarters of declines, according to Consumer Edge.
Like many restaurant chains, Starbucks misread the generation. Seeing their social awkwardness and preference for digital ordering, the company wrongly assumed it should structure its stores around those behaviors. But Niccol told analysts in July that the mobile-only format was “overly transactional and lacking the warmth and human connection that defines our brand.”
But Gen Z, Niccol is betting, craves that old Starbucks feeling the same way it pines for a “90s kid summer.”
Dubbed by some as the loneliest generation, they’re gravitating instead toward quirky, local coffee shops that double as community hubs and cultural signifiers – the kind you would see on ‘90s shows like Friends or How I Met Your Mother, Consumer Edge data show.
Niccol thinks the answer is in the original Starbucks innovation of the “third place.”
Bringing back that Central Perk feeling
The idea of the “third place” comes from urban sociologist Ray Oldenburg’s 1989 book The Great Good Place, which argued that society needs gathering spots beyond home and work. Cafes, pubs, gyms, the nail salon — all counted.
Starbucks worked hard to claim that term; the CEO at the time of Oldenburg’s book, Howard Schultz, used it so often on radio shows and in interviews that people assumed he invented it.
“Starbucks was notable for spacious, comfortable seating in the early days,” Karen Christensen, an author and collaborator of Oldenburg’s, told coffee newsletter The Pourover. “It was the usual place to find a seat and Wi-Fi and electricity in a strange city, and a common place to meet friends.”
However, that vibe has been harder to find in recent years. Drive-throughs and mobile pickup now outnumber long sit-down visits, and six straight quarters of falling same-store sales suggest that customers aren’t sticking around. Niccol said in his note the goal now is to bring people back.
“Our goal is for every coffeehouse to deliver a warm and welcoming space with a great atmosphere and a seat for every occasion,” he told employees.
The company says the new investment will prioritize stores that can be remodeled into “lingering spaces.”
Expect more ceramic mugs, softer seating, outlets and layouts designed to slow customers down rather than speed them out the door. Starbucks ended its fiscal year with roughly 18,300 locations across North America, but store growth won’t resume until 2026.
The once and future third place
The price tag is steep: Starbucks expects $150 million in severance costs and $850 million tied to closures and remodeling. The announcement follows an earlier $500 million investment in barista hours through its “Green Apron Service.”
But labor tensions loom. Starbucks Workers United, which represents more than 12,000 baristas, said it would demand bargaining over the closures. Union leaders warned the cuts risk undercutting the very community vibe Starbucks says it wants to restore.
Beyond finances, the stakes are cultural. As Oldenburg argued, third places are vital to social cohesion — spaces where people of all kinds can rub shoulders. In recent years, many third places have vanished, a trend accelerated by the pandemic.
“Public leisure space is critical for society,” Notre Dame professor Gwendolyn Purifoye told TheNew York Times. “If you don’t build places to gather, it makes us more strange, and strangeness creates anxiety.”
Fortune Global Forum returns Oct. 26–27, 2025 in Riyadh. CEOs and global leaders will gather for a dynamic, invitation-only event shaping the future of business. Apply for an invitation.
U.S. lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are trying to make a bill to exempt coffee from tariffs, as prices are up 21% compared to last year.
That’s because the U.S. gets most of its coffee from Brazil, and as of last month, the South American country is facing 50% tariffs.
The effect is trickling down to even local coffee shops like Roots Roasting in St. Paul. Owner Peter Poire-Odegard opened the cafe seven years ago.
“The margins used to be significantly higher,” he said.
After streamlining as much as he could he reluctantly made two price increases this year. A regular cup of coffee went from $3 to $3.80.
“We spent half again as much on green coffee since the beginning of the year that we did the same period last year. So went up 50%,” he said.
He credits a bad growing season and the tariffs.
“Now that prices are changed, we’re in a wait-and-see. Do people start drinking less? Do people start going out less? What happens to traffic counts? Does this still financially work? It’s a big unknown,” he said.
So far he’s seen a cutback in the specialty drink orders. More people are ordering less expensive drip coffee but they’re still showing up.
Poire-Odegard acknowledges that coffee is one of the last things people give up. Roughly two thirds of Americans have coffee every day, and most have three cups, according to the National Coffee Association.
He’s hoping that his shop will adapt. Even though the cost of supply is going up, the cost of demand isn’t drying up either.
The proposed bill by Congress to lower prices is called the “No Coffee Tax Act.” It would have to be signed by President Trump.
As for tariffs in general, the White House said in a statement that “President Trump is strengthening the international economic position of the United States and protecting American workers.”
Susan-Elizabeth Littlefield loves sharing the good news. She hosts a show on Sunday mornings based on local “positivity and empowerment,” leading right into CBS Sunday Morning.
“Everyone can identify with a fragrant garden, with beauty of sunset, with the quiet of nature, with a warm and cozy cottage“
There’s a certain magic when the air turns sharp and the nights come early. Nothing fancy, just the small luxuries: a crackling fire, someone you love next to you, a drink that warms your chest, and a movie you’ve seen a hundred times but still love. That’s comfort.
Welcome to Daily Evening Randomness, where we wind down for the evening under whatever random theme we’ve chosen that night. Tonight? One word: Cozy.
Starbucks workers in Colorado and two other states took legal action against the coffee giant Wednesday, saying it violated the law when it changed its dress code but refused to reimburse employees who had to buy new clothes.
The employees, who are backed by the union organizing Starbucks’ workers, filed class-action lawsuits in state court in Illinois and Colorado. Workers also filed complaints with California’s Labor and Workforce Development Agency. If the agency decides not to seek penalties against Starbucks, the workers intend to file a class-action lawsuit in California, according to the complaints.
Starbucks didn’t comment directly on the lawsuits Wednesday, but the company said it simplified its dress code to deliver a more consistent experience to customers and give its employees clearer guidance.
“As part of this change, and to ensure our partners were prepared, partners received two shirts at no cost,” the company said Wednesday. Starbucks refers to its employees as “partners.”
Starbucks’ new dress code went into effect on May 12. It requires all workers in North America to wear a solid black shirt with short or long sleeves under their green aprons. Shirts may or may not have collars, but they must cover the midriff and armpits.
Employees must wear khaki, black or blue denim bottoms without patterns or frayed hems or solid black dresses that are not more than 4 inches above the knee. The dress code also requires workers to wear black, gray, dark blue, brown, tan or white shoes made from a waterproof material. Socks and hosiery must be “subdued,” the company said.
The dress code prohibits employees from having face tattoos or more than one facial piercing. Tongue piercings and “theatrical makeup” are also prohibited.
Starbucks said in April that the new dress code would make employees’ green aprons stand out and create a sense of familiarity for customers. It comes as the company is trying to reestablish a warmer, more welcoming experience in its stores.
Before the new dress code went into effect, Starbucks had a relatively lax policy. In 2016, it began allowing employees to wear patterned shirts in a wider variety of colors to give them more opportunities for self-expression.
The old dress code was also loosely enforced, according to the Colorado lawsuit. But under the new dress code, employees who don’t comply aren’t allowed to start their shifts.
Brooke Allen, a full-time student who also works at a Starbucks in Davis, California, said she was told by a manager in July that the Crocs she was wearing didn’t meet the new standards and she would have to wear different shoes if she wanted to work the following day. Allen had to go to three stores to find a compliant pair that cost her $60.09.
Allen has spent an additional $86.95 on clothes for work, including black shirts and jeans.
“I think it’s extremely tone deaf on the company’s part to expect their employees to completely redesign their wardrobe without any compensation,” Allen said. “A lot of us are already living paycheck to paycheck.”
Allen said she misses the old dress code, which allowed her to express herself with colorful shirts and three facial piercings.
“It looks sad now that everyone is wearing black,” she said.
The lawsuits and complaints filed Wednesday allege that Starbucks’ dress code violates state laws that require companies to reimburse workers for expenses that primarily benefit the employer. Colorado law also prohibits employers from imposing expenses on workers without their written consent, according to that lawsuit. The plaintiffs seek damages on behalf of all Starbucks workers in those states, whether or not their stores are unionized.
Multiple plaintiffs, like Allen, said they requested reimbursement from Starbucks to conform to the dress code but were denied. Gilbert Cruz, an employee in Aurora, Illinois, requested $10 for the cost of removing a nose piercing.
Worker-led lawsuits in state courts are a shift in tactics in the multi-year effort to unionize Starbucks’ stores.
Starbucks Workers United, the labor group that has unionized 640 of Starbucks’ 10,000 company-owned U.S. stores, has filed hundreds of unfair labor practice charges against Starbucks with the National Labor Relations Board. The union filed a charge over the dress code in April, but it is not a party in the current lawsuits.
But the board’s ability to hear cases has been curtailed under President Donald Trump. Trump fired an NLRB member in the spring, leaving the board without the quorum it needs to decide cases.
Luckin Coffee, China’s largest coffee chain, is making a fully caffeinated move into the U.S., directly challenging Starbucks. After surpassing Starbucks in store count across China, Luckin has launched five cashier-less locations in New York City.
All orders at Luckin stores are placed via a mobile app, and to help convert American coffee guzzlers, Luckin offers steep app-based coupons, with discounts of up to 50%, undercutting Starbucks‘ prices and going straight at its legacy model of in-store ambience and experience.
While Starbucks focuses on operational profitability—targeting a per-store minimum margin of 15%—Luckin is accepting early losses to build brand recognition and rapidly increase its market presence, Bernstein U.S restaurant equity research analyst Danilo Gargiulo told CNBC.
Speaking on Luckin’s mindset, Gargiulo said: “I want to make sure that the brand gets recognized on a national basis, even though at the beginning, this means that I might need to be suffering from some smaller losses on a per-store basis.”
What Is Luckin Coffee?
Founded in 2017 in Beijing, Luckin Coffee is now China’s dominant coffee retailer, boasting more than 26,000 stores worldwide. (Starbucks has 8,000 China locations.) The menu includes Americanos, matcha drinks, fizzy drinks, and a selection of creative lattes, including the popular coconut and velvet varieties.
In 2020, the company was embroiled in a massive accounting fraud scandal, with executives admitting to fabricating over $300 million in sales. The incident led to fines, executive firings, bankruptcy proceedings, and a major corporate overhaul, per the SEC.
Despite these setbacks, new management and a focus on transparency allowed Luckin to recover, and by 2023, Luckin Coffee was brewing $3.5 billion in net revenue.
Luckin Coffee, China’s largest coffee chain, is making a fully caffeinated move into the U.S., directly challenging Starbucks. After surpassing Starbucks in store count across China, Luckin has launched five cashier-less locations in New York City.
All orders at Luckin stores are placed via a mobile app, and to help convert American coffee guzzlers, Luckin offers steep app-based coupons, with discounts of up to 50%, undercutting Starbucks‘ prices and going straight at its legacy model of in-store ambience and experience.
One of the most prestigious honors we award products is inclusion on our Buy It for Life gear roundup. This list represents products that WIRED writers have personally used for years, and as the name implies, they should last you for the rest of your life with proper care and warranty support. There’s only one coffee maker on that list, the Moccamaster KBGV Select, and you can currently pick it up from Amazon for up to $40 off its list price, depending on the color.
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
Courtesy of Moccamaster
Moccamaster
KBGV Select Coffee Maker
These drip coffee makers are seriously built to last, handmade in the Netherlands with solid steel and copper components. They’re fully repairable, which means they’ll keep churning out hot mugs of perfect coffee even after the five-year warranty ends. There are a variety of models, but we like the KBGV Select because it can also brew a half carafe instead of a full carafe, a useful trick for smaller households or an afternoon energy burst.
Extremely precise temperature control means you get excellent coffee every time, managing to consistently heat within a range of 4 degree Celsius. Technivorm is one of less than a dozen companies producing SCA-certified coffee makers for home use, and the Moccamaster models take up a noticeable chunk of that list.
It has all the features you’d expect from a drip coffee maker, like a hot plate for the carafe that has an automatic shut off, which automatically adjusts temperature based on whether you brewed a full or half carafe. The reservoir is 1.25 liters, so you can brew up to 10 cups of coffee at once, and it takes just four to six minutes from start to finish.
This model is available in a huge variety of colors, and your discount will vary based on which you think will match your kitchen best. I found the best price of $317 on the Turquoise, with the Apricot and Matte Black right behind at $320, as well as lesser discounts on the Off-White, Polished silver, and Juniper varieties. While we think it’s worth spending the extra cash for something that will last you years to come, you can always peruse our other favorite coffee makers if you’re looking for something more wallet-friendly.
Four Sigmatic Organic Coffee for $17: Four Sigmatic was founded about a decade ago by Finnish-American bohos who had the prescience to market mushroom coffee to woo-woo Angelenos who are rich enough to disregard science. Its catalog is expansive and includes a whole constellation of mushroom-infused ingestibles, with bagged, preground coffee serving as the flagship product alongside instant latte mixes, smoothie add-ins, and “capsules.” Buying from Four Sigmatic is a breeze—no need for subscriptions, kits, or any other nonsense. Just pick out what you want, pay for it, and it shows up on your doorstep a few days later. Four Sigmatic’s Focus blend is labeled as a dark roast, but it’s missing the cigarette-butts-and-bowling-alley aftertaste that looms on the finish of similar blends. Despite my preference for lighter beans, this hit like a hug from an old friend after weeks of sipping murky silt. The caffeine buzz normalized after two days of using Think in lieu of more standard shroom-based coffee replacements, so I added a three-quarter-teaspoon hit of the powdered Focus blend to my daily cup to see what would happen. Within 10 minutes I felt an overwhelming urge to sort my finances spreadsheet in preparation for tax season, then I set up a new template in Loopy Pro to accommodate a friend who planned to join my basement jam session that evening. He bailed, but I was jacked on Genius Adaptogens so I played all the instruments myself into the wee hours of the night.
Photograph: Pete Cottell
Not Recommended
MUD/WTR Original Blend for $60: The packaging of MUD/WTR isn’t quite as unhinged as a bottle of Dr. Bronner’s, but it’s definitely in the same realm. The spicy dust inside the can is a maximalist circus of weirdness as well, with herbaceous stalwarts like turmeric and masala chai holding it down alongside the usual shroom suspects. It took me a few days to realize that properly emulsifying this ruddy power per the suggested instructions—1 tablespoon with ¾ cup of water, battered thoroughly with the included handheld immersion blender—is an impossible task, so I started experimenting with supplemental ingredients in hopes that some blend of milk, fat, and sugar would minimize the gritty aftertaste that overwhelms the palate. I landed on 1 tablespoon of simple syrup and 4 ounces of whole milk frothed in my trusty Subminimal NanoFoamer Pro. The final result hits somewhere between a chai latte and the kind of hot cocoa you’d order at a coffee shop with boring ’90s music, mean baristas, and a dirty bin full of stale vegan + gluten-free snacks next to the register. I didn’t hate it, but the bottom quarter of the cup is an undrinkable gunky mess. And don’t get me started on the chunky brown lacing that clings to the edge of the cup. The physical and mental effects of MUD/WTR felt more like a facsimile of a boost than a visceral kick in the pants, but a placebo high is better than nothing, right? Combine that with the amount of adjunct ingredients required to make this drinkable and I ended up with a beverage I would only drink every now and then as a treat on a chilly day rather than a daily sipper I can rely on for increased focus, energy, virility, and the million other things this product promises within the wall of text that adorns its packaging.
Protein powder: For a vanilla latte without all the added sugar, try Burgess’ “proffee” recipe. Mix your favorite protein powder and milk (bonus points for whipping it with a milk frother) and add it to a hot or iced coffee. “It creates a creamer taste,” Burgess says, adding that it’s a fun way to increase your protein intake without a lot of extra filler ingredients.
Alongside grinding and dosing by weight, the steam wand likewise allows for a bit of added control, with settings from mild to strong. “Strong” means strong, for big cappuccino froth: Heed the warning and keep your milk level low in the frothing cup, or you’ll probably have cleanup. But especially, the steam wand offers an automatic shutoff at your desired temp, so you don’t accidentally burn off milk sugars. In practice, it’ll probably stop a few degrees lower than you set it, so plan accordingly.
Jump into the custom settings and you can also add a pre-infusion—a lower-pressure water infusion, for more gentle soaking of the grounds. And of course you can adjust the temperature of your water to account for lighter or darker roasts. It’s all pretty easy to do. More espresso machines should do these things. All of these things. But few do.
A Fine Grind
So far, so good. So how’s the espresso that results? This depends in no small part on the grinder, of course.
I have put the Meraki’s pentagonal conical burr grinder through the paces, on light, medium, and dark roasts. And it does give the Baratza Encore ESP a run for its money, according to taste tests, coffee extraction testing, and particle size analysis I conducted using a device called the DiFluid Omni.
Omni via Matthew Korfhage
Omni via Matthew Korfhage
At the finest grinds, the built-in Meraki grinder actually came in a bit more tightly dialed than the ESP, with fewer large particles that might indicate clotting and cause channeling. It also fared well with light-roast grinds that often overtax integrated grinders. And according to particle size analysis, it maintained good consistency. (This said, I tend to increase dose on light roasts, rather than grind so finely I feel like I’m playing the choking game with my espresso machine.)
Which is all to say, the Meraki’s built-in grinder handily rivals the Breville Oracle Jet’s grinder in raw specs, putting this machine in rarefied air when it comes to espresso machines with built-in grinders. This is true especially because the grinder is stepless, meaning you don’t have large gaps between grinder settings.
Another potential fun feature is an RFID scanner that allows you to scan a coffee roaster’s bag and load up the ideal grind settings for each bean. This said, only one US roaster, Dark Horse, is listed on Meraki’s site as of now. So this feature remains mostly theoretical.
Caveats and Quibbles
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
This all said, the grinder settings do seem to “float” a bit as the machine operates, perhaps because of vibration or perhaps just while grinding. The Meraki’s grinder may migrate a full setting between one day’s grind and the next—meaning that if you don’t pay attention, tomorrow’s shot may not be the same as today’s. I also have minor quibbles with the tamper and puck leveler, whose tops have a tendency to unscrew while you’re preparing your portafilter.
Starbucks is joining the protein craze with a new line of lattes and cold foams, part of what the company says is a strategy to modernize its menu.
The Seattle-based coffee chain said Tuesday that starting Sept. 29 it will add protein cold foams and protein lattes to its menu. The cold foam, which customers can order to top coffee, tea or Starbucks Refreshers, adds about 15 grams of protein to a grande drink. The lattes, made with “protein-boosted milk,” contain 27 to 36 grams of protein, according to Starbucks.
The new menu items come as the company works to reignite sales after a revenue slowdown last year. Under CEO Brian Niccol, Starbucks has rolled out a “Back to Starbucks” plan to win back customers.
The new drinks “will resonate with our customers,” said Tressie Lieberman, Starbucks global chief brand officer, said in a company statement.
Protein-laden drinks and foods are gaining in popularity for their perceived health benefits, such as helping build muscle and provide extra nutrition. The number of high protein drinks on the market jumped by 122% from 2020 to 2024, according to Innova Market Insights, a global market intelligence company.
The protein shake market is now a $6 billion sector, according to Beverage Digest, while TikTok videos show a growing fascination with protein-packed meals. Items ranging from potato chips to breakfast foods like cereal also now come fortified with protein.
What are Starbucks’ new protein drinks?
The new lineup of cold foams will be available flavors including:
banana
vanilla
sugar-free vanilla
chocolate
matcha
salted caramel
brown sugar
and plain protein cold foam
Starbucks is also shoring up its popular fall menu, which kicked off Aug. 26, with pumpkin and pecan protein cold foams.
Alongside the cold foam toppings will be a new line of lattes, made with milk that is blended with protein powder.
Starbucks didn’t disclose how much the new products will cost relative to the coffee chain’s other beverages. A regular grande iced latte from Starbucks costs customers $5.95 before tax.
Customers will also be able to request 2% milk blended with protein powder in other milk-based drinks including regular lattes, iced shaken espresso, and coconut milk Refreshers.
As consumer demand grows, major U.S. brands are looking for ways to cash in. General Mills announced Cheerios Protein in December 2024, which it says have 8 grams of protein per serving.
PepsiCo is also planning to expand its protein offerings. During their most recent earnings call in July, PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta said the company has some “big launches” coming up in the liquid protein space at the end of this year and early next year.
“Consumers are adopting protein solutions in the diet at a pace that was not the case in a few months back, a few years back,” he told investors during the call.
Mary Cunningham is a reporter for CBS MoneyWatch. Before joining the business and finance vertical, she worked at “60 Minutes,” CBSNews.com and CBS News 24/7 as part of the CBS News Associate Program.
“You need to realize you’ve already rejected tradition by not getting a dark roast coffee. You’ve embraced modernism,” Hedrick says. “And if you’re going to embrace modernism and reject traditionalism, you must always also reject traditional shot parameters.”
But terrific light roast is possible. There are two ways to go.
You can go traditional—changing your dose and ratios a bit but aiming for a cup with intensity and balance. That’s what I’ve been honing for the past year.
But there’s also a wilder, weirder path: The turbo shot, also called a gusher. Hedrick, following the results of new scientific research from University of Oregon biochemistry professor Christopher Hendon and others, has gone all in on throwing out the entire traditional espresso rulebook in his pursuit of light roast espresso that’s neither sour nor bitter.
Here are two ways of making light roast espresso, and the results.
How to Make a “Traditional” Light Espresso Shot
Some of the knee-jerk advice for light roast espresso was just to keep grinding finer and finer and jack up the temperature on your machine in order to get better extraction.
Problem is, the finer you grind, the more likely you’ll choke your machine. And also the more likely that water will clog up in places and find a path of least resistance through your coffee puck. Which is to say, it’ll “channel” through only some of the coffee, extracting too much from some parts of your coffee puck while under-extracting from other parts. The results will be intense, bitter, and sour. It’ll taste like those early light roast espressos that put me off of light roast espresso.
There’s a different path.
Instead of pretending light roast is dark roast and going finer and finer, you can instead adjust the amount of coffee and water. Use more coffee and pull longer, for more time—and grind fine but not ridiculously fine.
This was the approach used on a recent visit to Sterling Coffee Roasters, one of the few Portland, Oregon, roasters I’ve found that regularly (and expertly) pulls light roast espresso shots. The shop offered up an excellent, cranberry-fruity light roast Ethiopia Bensa Bombe using this method. My barista let a two-ounce shot drag out for 37 seconds until its fruity-acidic flavors mixed with a little bit of backbone, not to mention the flavors of ferment resulting from natural-process beans.
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
This is the classic approach I’ve arrived at through trial and error, a bit of research, and a lot of conversation with smart baristas:
Increase the amount of coffee you use. A darker-roast double shot is often 15 or 18 grams. But going bigger, about 20 grams, can extend the extraction time without having to grind so fine you choke your machine.
Increase the water-to-coffee ratio. Standard espresso is a 1:2 ratio. That means if you use 15 grams of espresso, you’ll aim for 30 grams of espresso in your cup. Longer ratios, often called “lungo,” will also help increase extraction by simply running more water through a certain volume of coffee. I often go as long as 1:3, which is about 60 grams (two ounces) for a 20-gram espresso shot.
Go a little longer. It’s a long shot, and a lot of coffee. Don’t worry about the “25 to 30 seconds” you’ve been told is the only way to go. Drift a little longer, maybe into the mid-30s or so. You may find a more balanced shot by the end of it.
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
Grind only as finely as you need to, but don’t go crazy. Longer shots, and thicker pucks, will offer resistance to the flow of water, without needing powder-fine espresso dust that ends up creating more unpredictable results.
Spritz your beans. A recent paper by authors including Hendon showed that there’s real science behind the idea that spritzing water on coffee beans can help reduce static electricity and clumping, leading to more even extraction.
Look for natural-process beans, not washed. Most modern beans, until recently, were “washed,” which removes all of the coffee fruit before processing, leading to a more predictable result. But lately, a lot of growers in Latin America and Africa have begun to try out natural process beans, fermenting some of the coffee berry sugars or mucilage. Natural processing, or honey and bourbon processing, can lead to more body, more sweetness, and more complexity. It can also lead to less acidity. The result, in light roast espresso, is coffee that’s not just more balanced but more nuanced, with added earthy notes that can bind the coffee’s flavors into a more organic whole.
Use a grinder well-attuned to light roast espresso. Some geometries are better attuned to light-roast beans than others, notes coffee expert Hedrick, largely because light roast beans grind less easily. Hexagonal or pentagonal geometries, with more “points” on the conical burr, tend to have better results. Assuming you’re not on a huge budget, Hedrick recommends the Kingrinder K6 manual grinder that’s also recommended by WIRED. I’ve been using it for months, with good results, to make light roast espresso.
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
Kingrinder
K6 Manual Coffee Grinder
How to Make a Turbo Espresso Shot, or “Gusher”
Here’s the new-school approach laid out by coffee expert Lance Hedrick, following new findings published in 2020 by coffee scientist Christopher Hendon at the University of Oregon, among others. The turbo espresso shot, also called a gusher, involves up-ending pretty much every assumption about how good espresso is made—grinding coarser for light roast espresso and running a whole lot of water through the puck quickly and at lower pressure.
The result is a fully extracted shot, sometimes even better extracted than a classic one. But the flavor is different: It tends to be sweeter, aromatic, and almost devoid of bitterness.
Crazy, right? Not really. There’s a bit of science behind it, which you can read about in the bottom section of the article. But first, here’s how to make a turbo shot, according to advice from coffee expert Hedrick, who says the best shots he’s pulled all come from this method.
Use less beans by volume. Try out a 15-gram double shot to better facilitate flow of water through the puck.
Grind coarser. In my own attempts to replicate Hedrick’s method, I’ve found that you need a coarseness a lot closer to the coarsest espresso.
Use a high ratio. Try out up to a 1:3 ratio, meaning 45 grams of espresso for 15 grams of coffee.
Let it gush. The resulting fast flow will knock out a big shot in 10 to 15 seconds or so, way faster than any traditional espresso.
Don’t worry about crema. You’re not going to get the same stable crema you’ll get from robusta-dark-roast Italian beans on traditional methods. But crema is not the most important part of your espresso, and less important to mouthfeel and body than many assume. “Don’t worship crema,” Hedrick says. “In fact, crema is the most bitter part of your espresso.”
Don’t neglect your water. Good water means good extraction. Filter your water, of course, which will help keep your machine running longer. But also? Throw a little baking soda in the tank, if you’ve got soft water, and it’ll help reduce the acidity of your espresso.
First, adjust yield. Then grind size. Don’t play with your grind first. If your coffee is sour, try running the shot to a higher volume. If bitter, dial it back. You can get more consistent results playing with yield than with grind. (Though, you may also need to adjust your grind.)
OK, the pressure thing. Hendon’s research showed best extraction on a turbo shot with 6 bars of pressure, which helps slow water’s path through the puck. But unless you do some modding or hacks on your espresso machine, you probably have a machine designed to pump 9 bars. Is it all for nought? According to Hedrick, it’s probably kinda fine, even if you don’t have a machine that can program lower pressure. With a coarse grind, a fast shot, and fewer grounds, you likely won’t build up 9 bars anyway. Just roll with what tastes good.
The Theory Behind Turbo Espresso Shots
OK, so how does a turbo shot work?
A gusher is exactly what it sounds like. It’s an espresso shot that practically just pours out of the portafilter so it’s over in about 15 seconds, even at high volume—a heresy among traditional espresso people. Conventional wisdom says this shot should taste terrible, underextracted, sour. But magically, it doesn’t. Extraction is in some ways better and more reliable.
Finer grinds don’t necessarily or always mean better extraction, they showed. And the 25-second espresso shot is a tradition … not a scientific certainty. Often, a lot of the unpleasant flavor compounds start to emerge after a mere 20 seconds. But especially, Hendon tells WIRED, grinding more coarsely, and using lower pressure and lower volumes of beans, leads to much more consistency between shots.
“What we were trying to do is find brew parameters that would allow us to make highly reproducible espresso,” he said. What he and his collaborators learned was that if you grind finer, extraction got better, but not forever. At some “critical point,” grinding finer actually led to worse extraction. Coffee clumped up. It clogged. Water actually got less contact with coffee grounds, not more.
If you ground beans more coarsely, and let the water flow longer through lower volumes of beans, you could get more even extraction, they discovered after analysis. This method also offered more repeatability. Using less coffee, and lower pressure, likewise allowed water to spend more time in contact with the coffee grounds—leading to even better extraction.
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
And so, grind coarser. Use less coffee. Use less pressure. Let it gush. Result: excellent extraction of sweet and aromatic compounds. Almost no bitterness. Hedrick tells WIRED that the best shots he’s pulled in recent memory have come using this method.
Hendon figures few would have paid attention to his findings if Hedrick hadn’t taken up the research and run with it—making video after video about the new technique for making what Hedrick now calls “modern” espresso, highlighting a bean’s bright aromatics without all the bitterness. Traditional shots just don’t get the flavors Hedrick wants, and have too many of the bitter flavors he hates.
Now, in the meantime, there are caveats. Hendon published a more recent paper showing that clumping at finer grinds could be avoided if you just spritzed your beans with a bit of water before grinding. (Coffee nerds had been doing this for a while; it just hadn’t been backed up by science.)
Which is to say, while turbo shots are a new and interesting and fun discovery, classic light roast espresso shots can also get good results.
Which Is Better, Classic Light Roast Espresso or Modern Turbo Shots?
Classic light roast espresso shots and turbo shots are both achievable. But note that turbo shots are a lot easier to pull off: Coarser grinds are quite simply more manageable. You’ll get more consistent shots time after time with gushers, Hedrick and Hendon both note.
So, how does a turbo shot taste? It is, on my attempts over the past couple of weeks, not quite as complex as more traditional, longer, finer-ground shots—at least when I’ve attempted them with more traditional 9-bar machines, like the Breville Oracle Jet and the new Meraki espresso machine I’m currently testing.
The combination of coarse grind and fast flow actually end up reminding me somewhat of results from some newer superautomatic espresso machines like the excellent De’Longhi Rivelia. These machines grind coarser and flow faster, and smooth out the edges of traditional shots. The results on my turbo shots were likewise smooth and flavorful, and a bit more sweet, but maybe also a less exciting and eventful ride.
Photograph: De’Longhi
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
This said, I’ve also struck intense flavor gold with some turbo shots. And when they were good, the results were shockingly good. I have drunk a 12-second light roast espresso with flavor so round and full it made me question everything I’d previously been told about how good espresso should be made.
The difference between turbo and classic light roast shots is actually, if I’m comparing, a lot like the difference between a new-school hazy IPA and a West Coast IPA. The turbo shot, like a modern hazy IPA, offers more juiciness and less bitterness. Maybe it also offers a little less complexity. But in exchange, it’s an easy, smooth ride across the palate that’s more in line with modern tastes. It’s delicious.
So which do you prefer? Juicy or balanced? Complexity and intensity, or affable aroma and sweetness? A difficult test of espresso mettle, or an easy win? Shoot your shot.
Meet the Experts
Lance Hedrick is one of the most-followed coffee industry voices on YouTube, a two-time World Latte Art champion, two-time US Brewers Cup finalist, and director of EU and West Coast wholesale for Onyx Coffee.
Christopher Hendon is associate professor of computational materials chemistry at the University of Oregon and has authored or coauthored numerous published works on the chemistry of coffee flavor and extraction.
In 2011, Starbucks introduced its mobile app, allowing customers to place their customized orders at the tip of their fingers. By 2015, the coffee chain added a feature that allowed customers to place their orders ahead of time. Although this has made it convenient for customers, baristas have to juggle two mobile order lines in addition to the two physical ones simultaneously.
So after one customer pulled up to the drive-thru to pick up her mobile order, she felt the urge to cry when a Starbucks barista politely reprimanded her.
What happened at this Starbucks?
Throughout the clip with over 676,000 views, TikTok creator Gracie Kern (@graciekern3) shares her experience.
“Pov: you’re a people pleaser & something this small makes me want to cry while sitting in her car at a Starbucks drive-thru,” she wrote in the text overlay.
“Hi. I placed a mobile order for Gracie,” she tells the barista in the speaker. Then, the barista’s response triggers waves of emotion. “It looks like you placed it in-store. If you don’t mind in the future trying to place it for a drive-thru, we would appreciate it,” the male barista replies.
Immediately, she is apologetic. “I am so sorry. I didn’t realize,” she says, flashing an awkward grimace.
To remedy the mistake, the content creator proposes, “Do you want me to come in instead?”
“Oh, no, you’re fine. You can come to the window,” the barista says nonchalantly. But Kern doesn’t feel this way while driving to the front window. “That made me sad. I’m scared,” she expresses nervously.
When she pulled up, the barista greeted her with kindness. “It’s not a big deal,” he says. Despite this, she replies with a flurry of apologies, “It throws you off. So sorry. I had no idea. I didn’t even realize,” accepting her coffee.
“Something so small has me spiraling & overthinking,” she captions the video.
Viewers weigh in
The barista’s response caused outrage in the comments section. Many criticized him.
“Girl he was doin WAAAAY too much it’s really not a biggie,” the top comment with over 20,000 likes wrote.
“He spent longer complaining that it took to go walk and grab that drink,” a second remarked.
A Starbucks worker chimed in, “As a barista, that’s such weird behavior. I’m so sorry.”
Meanwhile, others who defended him found no fault with it.
“He’s literally just communicating,” one commentator stated.
“These comments? Is everyone ok? The employee wasn’t rude at all. Just gave a heads up for next time,” another explained.
Why do mobile orders grind Starbucks’ employees’ gears?
According to Business Insider, a quarter of Starbucks’ transactions were mobile orders. Due to the endless modifications, constant flood of orders, and staffing shortages, it made it challenging for baristas to keep up. As a result, it has increased wait times, leading to frustrations from both customers and baristas alike. If customers head to the incorrect pickup location, it can create additional stress for both parties, especially during peak times. However, CX Drive revealed that Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol is developing an algorithm that will optimize the best sequence as orders roll in.
Melody Heald is a culture writer. Her work can be found in Glitter Magazine, BUST Magazine, The Daily Dot, and more. You can email her at: [email protected]
Coffee is more than just a comforting ritual or a pick-me-up. It’s one of the most widely consumed beverages worldwide. And while many of us reach for it as a morning pick-me up, coffee actually supports long-term health in surprisingly powerful ways.
The self-pour beer wall at The HUB Stadium in Novi.
Self-pour tap walls are growing in popularity in the Detroit area, with the latest opening at The HUB Stadium in Novi.
Guests get a wristband that activates the taps, which track pours by the ounce. It’s a great way to sample different drinks without committing to ordering a full glass, and you can get refills at your own pace without waiting.
The HUB Stadium’s new tap wall has more than 50 options, including beers, wines, cocktails, and cold brew coffee.
“Whether you want to sample a flight of local brews or settle in with your go-to favorite, the self-pour beer wall gives you control over your experience from the very first drop,” The HUB Stadium says.
“This isn’t just a beer wall — it’s an experience,” The HUB Stadium marketing manager Nick Ellis said in a statement. “We wanted to give our guests the freedom to try something new, skip the wait, and pour the perfect drink every time.”
The tap wall opened last week. The HUB Stadium is offering 50% off new pours for the rest of the month.
Elephant & Co. (456 Charlotte St., Detroit; elephantand.com) and Social Brews (211 W. Fort St. #100, Detroit; thesocialbrews.com) also have self-pour taps.
The HUB Stadium is an entertainment venue with games like archery, football bowling, ax throwing, and ice curling, as well as occasional concerts. It’s located at 44325 W. 12 Mile Rd., Suite H-160 Novi.
