10 ms·
The world is drinking less coffee while office workers stay home
- ksaj 6y agoA few months ago, it was apparently the opposite. https://financialpost.com/commodities/agriculture/we-are-drinking-too-much-coffee-at-home-and-now-theres-a-mad-scramble-for-coffee-beans https://financialpost.com/commodities/agriculture/we-are-dri...
- sp332 6y agoMaybe people are drinking the same amount of coffee, but they had to stock up their homes in March-April and then haven't needed to refill since then.
- ksaj 6y agoThat makes me wonder if the toilet paper industry is also seeing a short-term dip in sales because of all that hoarding earlier this year.
- antisthenes 6y agoDifferent industries see regular ups and downs throughout the year anyway. Summer, for example, is generally considered a slow season, because many people are travelling and spending time outside, less time shopping.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- Larrikin 6y agoIts annoying how there was pretty much no toilet paper to be found for months with a massive stock pile of paper towels everywhere and now its the opposite. I stock up on toilet paper and paper towels at regular intervals and was lucky to only barely begin running out once stores started getting toilet paper again but there seems to be no paper towels anywhere now.
- ci5er 6y agoI moved into a "new" apartment just over two years ago, and ordered TP on Amazon. 24 or 36 rolls or something. I fat-fingered the "Add to Cart" volume button, and got like 4x36 rolls. I'm a single guy - so I accidentally stocked up in advance! (I am not even half way through two+ years later - happy accident, in retrospect!)
- save_ferris 6y agoFWIW, major grocers like HEB spent months planning and simulating the effects of the pandemic before it hit the US and still didn't see the run on toilet paper coming.[0] 0: https://www.texasmonthly.com/food/heb-prepared-coronavirus-pandemic/ https://www.texasmonthly.com/food/heb-prepared-coronavirus-p...
- pstrateman 6y agoClearly they didn't read their history books. King of the hill predicted the TP apocalypse for y2k. https://kingofthehill.fandom.com/wiki/Hillennium https://kingofthehill.fandom.com/wiki/Hillennium
- bsder 6y agoThe "press" also causes active damage in these kinds of situations. "<X> shortage in stores" in the news will immediately cause a run on said <X> thus creating the shortage even if it didn't exist before.
- save_ferris 6y agoSo you're arguing that the press should self-censor in this situation? Their job is to report the news in factual and objective manner, not ensure that everyone has enough toilet paper. If the latter isn't true, how do you blame the press for "active damage" in this situation?
- bsder 6y ago> Their job is to report the news in factual and objective manner, not ensure that everyone has enough toilet paper. The job of the press is to inform the public--not yell "Fire!" in a crowded theatre. Yes, they should have self-censored. Shouting "Covid causing shortage of bottled water--News 6 reports!" does nothing to inform the public nor does it create a useful call to action. It only creates a problem--often where none previously existed. There was ZERO reason to believe that Covid would cause a water system failure or contamination. This is different from "Hurricane incoming. Stock up on water. Here are the places which still have it." The information is useful, timely, and relevant. Having the free speech protection of being the press does not absolve the press of the responsibility to not be a jerk.
- netsharc 6y agoApparently industrial (enterprise? hahaha) toilet paper is different to home ones, and they couldn't just route for-office TP to retail. Although I heard this on a podcast which didn't cite any sources. The shittiest (ha) TPs are the ones where the buyer cheaps out, i.e the one you found in every AirBnB on the planet (when AirBnB was still a thing)...
- pkroll 6y agoThe TP at my place of work was (probably still is but I've not been there in months) Angel Soft... which is sold in a giant box by Staples. And that's the only place I could get it from, early on when TP became a unicorn. It is, frankly, horrible, and now I have half a box of nasty TP and more recent, decent TP of various kinds. I do not recommend Angel Soft unless "falls apart like it was formed from loosely collected glitter" is a plus for you.
- boomboomsubban 6y agoI imagine the spike was caused by individuals suddenly purchasing more coffee before the major companies could alter their long term orders. Plus the pandemic likely caused some issues in the supply line. That article even predicts that eventually demand would drop as restaurants closed.
- seattle_spring 6y agoWow not me. Probably because my home coffee setup and beans are a lot better than my office.
- chrissnell 6y agoThis, absolutely. The 'Rona shutdown inspired me to buy an old commercial espresso machine (1964 FAEMA E.61) and build out a little home coffee shop in the garage, where I learned to pull shots. https://www.instagram.com/p/CCgeL3dsTzW/?igshid=u06d4u494zyq https://www.instagram.com/p/CCgeL3dsTzW/?igshid=u06d4u494zyq
- elliekelly 6y agoDid you set out to buy that particular machine or did you just happen across it? If you don’t mind my asking, how much did it cost? I have so many questions! Do you have a blog? I’d love to read how all of this came about. What an awesome project. It looks great!
- chrissnell 6y agoI have loved the old FAEMAs for a while and found this one for sale in the Netherlands. It had been restored. Price was around $5500. It turned out to need a bit of work but I finally got it running well and use it every day now. I don't have a blog but I do post coffee pics on Instagram. https://instagram.com/desertdefender https://instagram.com/desertdefender
- rootsudo 6y agoThis, I never am a coffee fan but to be able to buy one to experiment and to learn seems useful... And forever be overqualified for working at Starbucks, lol.
- tianlong 6y agoA simple 20$ Moka machine does brilliantly the job.
- volkk 6y agoi personally drink coffee less because i can simply take a 25 min power nap when i get my usual noon drowsiness after lunch. i also sleep longer because i dont need to commute as much and feel much more refreshed throughout the day
- Mc91 6y agoBefore working from home, I used to set my alarm to two hours before work. I would shave, shower, brush my teeth, have a quick breakfast, then commute in. Now I set my alarm for fifteen minutes before work. It's preferable for me if I go to bed early enough that I wake up with enough time for a shower, but if I don't I can take one after work (or during lunch). The only reason I need a whole fifteen minutes in the morning is that it takes a couple of minutes for me to log in my Mac and VPN in. At work we have nice coffee machines with free coffee. I have coffee at home too but I am less tired in the morning. Not that costing a little prevents me from drinking coffee, it's more that it being free is an enticement to drinking it, as if I am missing one of my perks of the days at the office when I skip coffee. Also, I am getting less physical activity every week now, so I also avoid coffee for the calories, and go for water instead.
- volkk 6y ago> as if I am missing one of my perks of the days at the office when I skip coffee same mentality for me. > so I also avoid coffee for the calories, and go for water instead. i'm pretty sure coffee is like almost 0 calories as long as you dont add milk, isnt it?
- bluedino 6y agoIf I can’t stay at the coffee shop to work, there’s no point in going. I can make a cup at home and save $5
- pantaloony 6y agoI drink a lot less good coffee at home. Not worth shelling out for 5lb of the good stuff when everything past the first pound will be stale and not very good by the time I get to it, and purchased in smaller (usually 8-12oz) bags high-quality, freshly-roasted beans are way too expensive to have more than occasionally. So those transcendently good cups where one can actually taste stuff other than "coffee flavor" or "three-day-old rained-on camp fire" happen a lot less often for me now. :-( Upper-end-of-bad coffee beans from Costco (so, about the best they have there) are my go-to at home. Steeping the grounds slow & cold yields way less cigarette butt flavor/odor than doing pourovers with them, so I'm making a lot more cold brew than before. Good thing it's Summer.
- Ductapemaster 6y agoThe more expensive beans from Costco are great as Toddy cold brew! I don't like them as normal hot-brew...too much cigarette/burnt flavor comes through for me as you mentioned — but not in the cold brew!
- mtts 6y agoYou can freeze coffee beans. Helps keeps them fresh a lot longer.
- regularfry 6y agoI do this. Get a kilo of good beans, freeze them in 250g batches.
- dwd 6y agoAny issues with moisture? I find most things I freeze end up with condensation freezing inside the bag, which isn't going to be good for the coffee. I could imagine it going moldy within days of defrosting with the local humidity.
- regularfry 6y agoNot for me, no. Once they're defrosted they're in the fridge. 250g coffee doesn't last more than a few days for me anyway, but if you were worried about it you could split down again to 125g, so you've never got more than two or three days for mould to set in.
- jt2190 6y agoSame article, no paywall: http://a.msn.com/00/en-us/BB16BZzj http://a.msn.com/00/en-us/BB16BZzj
- finphil 6y agoThank you. Initially I posted a link from BNN (no paywall) but it has since been changed to bloomberg.com .
- dang 6y agoOk, changed from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-11/the-world-is-drinking-less-coffee-while-office-workers-stay-home https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-11/the-world.... Thanks!
- WheelsAtLarge 6y agoI drink a lot less. I drink a cup a day now. I used to drink a few a day but I'm better rested and needed less of it now. Quick tip, McCafe coffee is great tasting and a pretty good bargain. I bought it for the cost and kept it for the taste.
- stunt 6y agoOne cup of coffee in the morning, and one cup of tea in the afternoon. I'm on the same routine since 5 years ago.
- stefan_ 6y agoGoing to fetch a coffee in the office kitchen is a social event or discussion break. Doesn't work as well at home.
- hprotagonist 6y agomeanwhile i laid in a 15 pound supply in late February when it was starting to look scary, Just In Case.
- eecc 6y agoHmm, morning doses remain the same. In the afternoon laziness might delay the inevitable second moka round but eventually I’ll go for it. I have a 6cups Bialetti Venus... should I be worried?
- setgree 6y ago> Shutdowns for cafes and restaurants -- which typically account for about 25% of demand -- were overwhelming, and it could be a while before things pick up again. I was originally going to theorize something about office workers having more options to deal with fatigue -- taking a nap, or staring into space (and maybe being less fatigued in general from all the time saved commuting?) -- rather than just drinking coffee and toughing it out at their desks; but in light of this stat, it seems that this is all about how hard cafes & restaurants have been hit by lockdown.
- jseliger 6y agoI went to coffee shops not so much for the coffee (as many point out, I can make it for 10% or less of what the coffee shop does) but for the hanging out in a "third place."
- setgree 6y agoThe coffee shop near my (former) Manhattan apartment is one of the places I miss most in all this.
- eli_gottlieb 6y ago... I was going to respond saying that I simply don't limit my sleep anymore. Sure, I work all hours of the day, but I did that before the COVID-19 shutdowns. Now I'm just working all hours of the day, then sleeping until I feel good about waking up.
- caymanjim 6y agoMost workplaces have free coffee, but few have anything else to drink. I suspect if you looked at workplaces which stock a variety of free beverages, coffee consumption there would be much lower as well. I'm somewhat ambivalent about coffee; I'll drink it if someone else prepares it, but I almost never bother brewing a pot myself. Without an office where someone's always got a pot going, or where they have one of those horrible mini-cup instant brewers, I never drink it.
- nabaraz 6y agoI feel the same. I used to walk around the campus every couple of hours and grab a coffee on the way to my desk. For most days, it amounted to 4-5 cups of coffee. At home, I barely go past 2 cups.
- padde 6y agoI ordered more Nespresso capsules during the last four months than I had during the last four years.
- christoph 6y agoSame, as much as I still love my aeropress and french press and hate the Nespresso lock-in, wastage, etc. I do honestly feel my Nespresso Vertuo makes a damn great cup every time, with zero fuss. Plus their ordering and delivery is slick as hell. Ordering a load of different capsules on their mobile app in the evening and they’re at my door the next morning is pretty incredible. They still can’t seem to send a properly formatted HTML email with the invoice/receipt though.
- rafaelvasco 6y agoDon't know why but my body tends to react badly to acidic foods. So I don't drink coffee (and no alcohol, no junk food, no carbonated sugary poison drinks... and so on ). That said, home office was a godsend for me. I'm now productive and happy. Without coffee :)
- tamiral 6y agoyou can find some low acidic coffee, there are some high elevation smooth coffees from Uganda as an example that might be of interest.
- datenhorst 6y agoOne Word: histamines
- elindbe2 6y agoAnecdotally, I've been quite addicted to coffee since college and wanted to try giving it up. Going to work every day, I had trouble going cold turkey, but once COVID hit and I started working from home I gave it up almost effortlessly. I feel like the disruption of routines makes changing your habits easier.
- blackrock 6y agoDid anyone get headaches after stopping drinking coffee for a few days?
- bitwize 6y agoMy girlfriend moved up just before the major COVID lockdowns and brought with her a French press and a barista's expertise. So we've been having good coffee virtually every day.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]