American coffee connoisseurship still on an upswing

Coffee connoisseurship has officially trickled down to the masses. Everyone drinks coffee, it seems, but truly gourmet cup of joe used to be the exclusive domain of a lucky snobby few. Over the past few decades we have witnesses a long-simmering trend that is slowly but surely making connoisseurs of us all. Starbucks, of course, gets the most credit for raising the standards of the average coffee drinker selling locally roasted, slow-drip and fair trade blends. McDonald’s jumped into the fray a few years ago, introducing dedicated McCafé stores and line of coffee drinks, including, in some regions, specialized coffee blends from Newman’s Own Organics. Now, in yet another high-profile leap onto the bandwagon, America's popular fast-food Chick-Fil-A chain is introducing “Farmer-Direct” coffee in a partnership with Thrive Farmers Coffee, a trendy move that removes the middleman to give coffee farmers direct access to the market. Fair-trade, environmentally friendly, and most importantly, strong delicious coffee is becoming ubiquitous to satisfy our desire for increasingly complex brews.