Known for small, no-frills cafes, Luckin Coffee goes big with its new flagship store. Plus, the industry mourns two California coffee-farming pioneers, and coffee could lower your risk of dementia.
‘California Coffee Farming Pioneers Jay and Kristen Ruskey Have Died’
Jay and Kristen Ruskey, owners of Good Land Organics and Frinj Coffee, died last week in what was described as a “tragic accident.” The couple was regarded as trailblazers of the California coffee-growing movement.
Originally, the Ruskeys were focused on growing rare fruits on their farm in Goleta, near Santa Barbara. Jay began experimenting with coffee in the 2000s and encouraged other California farmers to follow suit. They founded Frinj, a “soil to cup” coffee company, in 2017 to provide technical assistance and post-harvest processing to a network of 70 farms.
A GoFundMe has been set up to assist with funeral costs and other expenses for the Ruskeys’ three children. In a statement on Instagram, Frinj wrote that Jay “dedicated the past 23 years to his dream of establishing an industry in California that could produce the most distinct coffees in the world.”
“To those of us who knew him and worked with him, he was more than just our CEO,” the statement continued. “He was a best friend, and to some, a father figure. He was as much a larger-than-life inspiration as he was a down-to-earth friend.”
Read more on the Ruskeys’ legacy here and donate to the GoFundMe here.
‘Thailand’s Coffee Giants To Halve Default Sugar Levels in Major Health Drive’ – via Nation Thailand
Thailand’s wide-ranging campaign to convince its residents to consume less sugar received a major boost after nine of the country’s largest coffee chains joined the program.
The Thai government has long worried about the health impacts of the country’s above-average sugar consumption. In 2015, the average Thai person consumed four times the WHO’s recommended daily sugar limit, with much of that coming from sugar-sweetened beverages.
In 2017, Thailand implemented a campaign to reduce the sugar content of such drinks, which include ready-to-drink coffees. It launched a public awareness campaign to encourage people to consume less sugar.
While the sugar content of RTD beverages is relatively easy to measure, implementing the initiative for cafe drinks has been harder. An initial pilot program took place between 2017 and 2020, during which the government worked with smaller cafes to develop low-sugar syrup recipes and clearly labeled them as reduced. The government also worked with companies to encourage consumers to purchase lower-sugar drinks using promotions and discounts.
The pilot was a success: According to sales data collected in 2020, during the pilot, 32% of consumers chose a drink with a lower sugar content, and between 2019 and 2023, the country’s sugar consumption fell from 2.5 million tons to 0.8 million tons.
The initiative was then widened to include more companies. Now, nine of Thailand’s biggest coffee chains have joined and reduced the sugar content of their syrups, based on government-approved recipes. Some brands, like Cafe Amazon, have thousands of locations, further increasing the program’s reach. From Feb. 11, Nation Thailand reports that any customer who orders a “normal sweetness” beverage will receive a drink containing 50% less sugar than previous recipes.
Thailand’s strategy to reduce sugar consumption is based on the “nudge theory” of behavioral economics, which holds that people can be gently nudged toward preferred policy outcomes through subtle changes in their choice options rather than mandates. One example is making organ donation opt-out rather than opt-in.
Governments around the world have used nudge theory to enact policy changes. Still, the theory has been criticized for lacking evidence and for focusing on small changes rather than systemic fixes.
Still, the Thai government hopes that by lowering the amount of sugar in popular drinks, it can encourage people to consume less. For the brands, Nation Thailand writes, the changes offer them a way to cut costs while continuing to charge the same price, “thereby protecting profit margins against rising tax pressures and raw material inflation.”
Read more on Thai coffee syrups’ slashed sweetness here.
‘China’s Luckin Coffee Opens First High-End Store As It Takes On Starbucks’ – via CNBC
Luckin Coffee, known for its small stores and low-cost beverages, is branching out. The company opened a gigantic, two-story flagship store in Shenzhen, China, on Feb. 9.
As Evelyn Cheng reports for CNBC, the 4,521-square-foot shop is Luckin’s first premium store, emphasizing higher-end pour-over coffees and specialty drinks. Customers say they’ve waited in line up to three hours since the store’s soft launch in late January.
Luckin describes the new store, its 30,000th, as offering “an immersive experience of the brand’s global supply chain value narrative and quality commitment, illustrated by the store design and exclusive premium menu.” Cheng compared it to Starbucks’ premium Reserve locations, one of which it opened in Shanghai in 2017.
News reports noted the store’s resemblance to Starbucks’ Reserve concept. Mark Faithfull in Forbes wrote that the Shanghai Reserve store helped to “define the idea of coffee as a premium experience in China,” and called Luckin’s flagship “a direct swipe at Starbucks’ premium ambitions.”
While Luckin opens its first high-end store, Starbucks has gone in the opposite direction, closing its two Reserve locations in Seattle in September 2025. According to the company, the move was part of a wider restructuring initiative that involved closing 600 stores across the U.S. Workers at both locations were unionized. However, Starbucks said that wasn’t part of its rationale for closing the stores.
Read the full story on Luckin’s flagship store here.
More News
‘Louisville Coffee Shops Speak Against Ice Following Please & Thank You Controversy’ – via Louisville Public Media
‘Two New US Coffee Champions Were Just Crowned’ – via Sprudge
‘Coca-Cola Keeps Costa Coffee, Cites Brand’s China Struggles’ – via Bloomberg
‘Spin the Wheel at Counter Culture Coffee’s New Brewing Competition Brewlette’ – via Daily Coffee News
‘Dancing Moka Pots At The Winter Olympics Enjoyed By All’ – via Sprudge
‘New CafeClima Platform Supports Climate-Smart Coffee Replanting’ – via Daily Coffee News
The Week in Coffee Unionizing
Last week, workers at Quills Coffee in downtown Indianapolis, Indiana, officially joined the Service Employees International Union local 32BJ after management voluntarily recognized their union.
As Bradley Hohulin reports for the Indianapolis Star, the workers don’t have to bargain for a first contract — their colleagues at a Quills location in Louisville, Kentucky, are already members of 32BJ. In 2024, they ratified a contract, which the Indianapolis workers will also adopt.
“My coworkers are the most important reason I wanted to unionize,” Quills lead barista Fern Thompson said in a press release. “As much as we enjoy making coffee, it’s about the connection and bond we have with each other, and I believe that all of my coworkers deserve a union. We’re proud and excited to set an example for other baristas in the city.”
The contract guarantees baristas will receive at least a $11.50 minimum hourly wage in a state where the minimum wage is $7.50. Also included in the contract are four weeks of paid family leave, increased breaks, and time-and-a-half pay for those working holidays or overtime, among other benefits.
“Quills has been grateful to see such a positive experience with the unionization of its employees in Louisville, and that is made even more evident by the team at our Indianapolis location seeking to join SEIU,” Quills Director of Operations Bryan Beach said in the press release. “This brings the company into an even better harmony moving forward, and we hope to continue to see positivity and growth as a result of this support for the employees.”
Is Coffee Good For You?
New research has found that moderate coffee consumption can significantly lower the risk of developing dementia.
For the study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers analyzed data from two datasets that followed 131,821 participants over more than 40 years. They found that those who drank 2-3 cups of caffeinated coffee per day had an 18% lower risk of developing dementia compared to those who drank no coffee. Those who drank caffeinated tea also saw a lowered risk, while those who drank decaf coffee did not.
The study was a collaboration between researchers from Mass General Brigham, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. “We are not recommending that people who don’t drink coffee start drinking,” lead study author Dr. Yu Zhang from Mass General Brigham told NBC News. “We are just seeing that for people who already drink coffee, the results are really reassuring.”
The study doesn’t prove that coffee causes the protective effect. However, experts cited by the New York Times said it adjusted for many other factors, including health conditions, diet, and socioeconomic status, making the link between coffee and dementia stronger than other studies. Previous research on coffee’s impact on dementia risk has shown both positive and negative correlations.
The study authors remain cautious. “While our results are encouraging, it’s important to remember that the effect size is small and there are lots of important ways to protect cognitive function as we age,” said senior author Daniel Wang from Mass General Brigham in a press release. “Our study suggests that caffeinated coffee or tea consumption can be one piece of that puzzle.”
Beyond the Headlines
‘Compass Coffee Had Starbucks-Size Ambitions. Here’s How It Unraveled.’ by Tim Carman
‘How Early-Modern Islamic World Coffeehouses Shaped Contemporary Cafe Culture’ by Sohel Sarkar
