Specialty coffee spent fifteen years adding tasting notes and pour-over ritual, and now some of its best roasters are quietly taking it back out.
The math was never in doubt. A pour-over runs about three minutes plus cleanup, per Works in Progress, while a barista can pull ten espresso drinks in the same time.
- Great North Coffee in Portland dropped pour-overs entirely, batch-brewing because the bars are busy.
- Starbucks cut thirteen drinks in March 2025 under its "Back to Starbucks" campaign.
- WBC finalist Hugh Kelly says dropping jargon no longer impresses, it alienates.
Call it a fourth wave if you like, though Ashley Rodriguez notes waves are marketing, not nature. Nearly half of American adults drink specialty daily now, mostly as a latte, not a lecture.
The point was always just a good cup.
