When Chase & Sanborn introduced sealed tins of coffee to the U.S. in 1880, consumers didn't care where the contents came from—just that they would keep longer. Likewise, exotic origins weren't the hook for Nescafé's instant coffee launch in 1937; convenience was.That started changing with a Dutch immigrant named Alfred Peet, who opened a tiny coffeehouse in Berkeley, California, in 1966. His small batches of dark roasts caught on; customers started caring about beans, not containers. Seeing what was percolating, two of his employees quit to open a small Seattle shop called Starbucks in 1971.Content Continues Below
More than four decades later, with Starbucks having flooded the market, a backlash against chain brews has begun. Serious coffee drinkers are clamoring for singular flavors. Independent roasters are selling "microlots" of relatively rare coffees from miniscule farms around the world. And coffee shops are offering beans with backstories. Mass-produced varietals like Sumatra or Yirgacheffe are so 10 years ago; savants now seek out coffees from Finca Nueva Armenia farm in Guatemala or Kenya's Gatina Cooperative.
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