Standart Magazine – Issue 18

Standart Magazine Issue 18 is available now on loremnotipsum.com.

Issue 18 introduces an exciting new content structure that takes as its thematic centre a long-form essay ‘On Coffee and Criticism’ by the incredible Noa Berger—a social scientist working on coffee consumption.

The idea of critique, in its many forms, guides our newest release. From pieces that explore the role criticism plays in our everyday lives and how we can turn it into constructive fuel for improvement, to a critical exploration of how we define ‘premium’ in paying farmers a decent price for their work, to how Modernist writers Virginia Woolf and T. S. Eliot used coffee as a literary device to explore the fabric of consciousness.

Ready to take a critical look at coffee? How about criticism itself?

Standart Magazine is a quarterly published print magazine from the Slovak Republic about specialty coffee culture, food and drinks and design. The goal has always been to offer an exceptional experience through meaningful content and solid design. The people behind the Standart Magazine has also founded the Standart Festival. Devoted to bringing together our favourite people, brands, baristas, and bartenders, Standart Festival serves as the signature event of Standart Magazine and is based on three fundaments: coffee, design, cocktails. While each of these segments has its own loyal and dedicated audience, we believe that people immersed in the specialty world share many interconnecting passions and interests. Providing a space where they might come together and explore these through different channels is precisely what we’re bringing about. So far, we have organised Standart Festival Bratislava and Standart Festival Prague. Each had attendance of over 1,000, great speakers, bars, and workshops.

Content

‘Critique gains value when accompanied by action.’ So says Noa Berger in this issue’s long-form treatment on the subject of critique in specialty coffee. And so, in the name of action, this issue we’ve turned our sights to the role of criticism in coffee. Noa surveys in detail the state of critique in specialty coffee, and what approaching the idea of critique through the lens of coffee can tell us about the evolution of criticism and critics in general. Look out for wisdom from James Hoffmann, Scott Rao, Ashley Rodriguez, Michelle Johnson, Matter Perger, Oliver Strand, and more!

Gwilym Davies delivers the second article in his series debunking some common coffee myths. Read about how Coffee is not a bean, Arabica coffee is not from Arabia, and Robusta is not a species.

Ashley Rodriguez takes a critical look at the way we conceive of and—more importantly—price green coffee, and experts weigh in.

Consultant and champion barista Erika Vonie speaks to us about how to deal with criticism, what makes for useful criticism, and how to effectively critique the industry she loves.

More on the theme of the importance of self-reflection and criticism, we speak to a barista turned psychotherapist about the relationship between criticism and attachment, why people like what they like, and how to deal with one’s inner critic for better mental health.

On a lighter side, we ask coffee creative and activist Umeko Motoyoshi what’s pissing her off (and she pulls no punches), we task a coffee lover with visiting New York cafés and providing critical reviews of their bathrooms, and finally, Essayist Kalika Sands explores the literary function coffee plays in the works of T. S. Eliot and Virginia Woolf.

Details: Standart Magazine – Issue 18

Standart Magazine is a quarterly published print magazine from the Slovak Republic about specialty coffee culture.