A technological threat to baristas’ employment security: Coinstar is rolling out a new vending machine that freshly grinds coffee beans and brews a cup of coffee in about a minute. The $1 cup of coffee “tastes pretty close to a cup from any upscale coffee bar,” according to the New York Times. Has the article’s author been to Coava? I doubt it. link

On the other hand, Oliver Strand, who writes the Times’ Ristretto coffee blog, has been to Coava, as well as several other PDX cafés. link

For Boston-area readers: George Howell, one of the northeastern United States’ coffee pioneers, and founder of Coffee Connection, a successful chain of cafes in Boston sold out to Starbucks, is now trying to reintroduce high-quality coffee to the Boston area. He recently opened a new café in Newton under his own name. link

Another story from the Bay State: Apparently, in Massachusetts and New York you can buy a product called an AeroShot, a portable caffeine inhaler. Instead of drinking espresso (or even one of those terrible-tasting energy drinks) to get a lift of caffeine, you can just pop the cap on the little plastic tube, press a button and breathe. Isn’t technology wonderful? link

The Seattle Times has a nice article about the ups and downs of La Marzocco’s business, if you are into coffee technology history. link

Starbucks has given the world another place to enjoy coffee – the ski slopes. The big green snowsuit opened a ski-through café in Squaw Valley, California. Skiers can ski up to the takeaway window and order coffee without taking off their skis. How is it that Mount Hood wasn't the first to get one of these? link