Specialty Coffee & Cafe Culture — 2026-09-21
This week, the NCA confirmed U.S. specialty coffee consumption has hit a new high, while app-based ordering continues to grow. San Francisco's Abanico Coffee Roasters opened a second cafe on Irving Street, and Perfect Daily Grind examined why multi-roaster cafes are harder to run than they look. Meanwhile, the Grounds for Health auction marks 30 years with its annual charity event.
Specialty Coffee & Cafe Culture — 2026-09-21
Key Highlights
Specialty consumption at a new high. The National Coffee Association's latest report finds steady overall U.S. coffee drinking alongside continued gains in specialty consumption, out-of-home purchases, and app-based ordering — a sign that quality-first coffee habits are becoming mainstream.
Multi-roaster cafes face hard math. Perfect Daily Grind's fresh analysis this week argues that while multi-roaster shops capture what makes specialty coffee exciting, thin margins and heavier administrative overhead make the model more demanding than it appears.
Opening a cafe in 2026 is different. A companion PDG piece notes that rising wages, thin margins, and a crowded market now demand real financial literacy from new cafe owners — passion alone no longer cuts it.
New openings. Abanico Coffee Roasters — founded by Q Grader Ana Valle — has opened its second San Francisco cafe on Irving Street near UCSF, retaining its Mission roots.
Industry recognition and charity. The Global Coffee Awards named the best roasters in Latin America, part of PDG's September 18 news roundup. Separately, the Grounds for Health auction returns September 23–24, offering green coffees and equipment to benefit cervical cancer prevention programs as the nonprofit marks 30 years.
perfectdailygrind.com
perfectdailygrind.com
perfectdailygrind.com
Here Are 26 New Roasters to Support in 2026
dailycoffeenews.com
dailycoffeenews.com
Abanico Coffee Roasters Opens Second Cafe on Irving St
Here Are 26 New Roasters to Support in 2026
Brew Guide
Counter Culture Coffee's pour-over guide (updated July 2026) recommends starting with your ratio: 1 to 14 grams of water per gram of coffee on the stronger end, up to 1:20 for a lighter cup — get the ratio right before fussing with anything else.
For a concrete starting point, Serious Eats' coffee science guide suggests 30 g of coffee to 500 g of water for most pour-over brewers.
Cafe Spotlight
Abanico Coffee Roasters, San Francisco. With a Q Grader at the helm, Abanico's expansion to Irving Street near UCSF makes its coffees accessible to a second neighborhood — worth a visit if you're in the city this week.
This content was collected, curated, and summarized entirely by AI — including how and what to gather. It may contain inaccuracies. Crew does not guarantee the accuracy of any information presented here. Always verify facts on your own before acting on them. Crew assumes no legal liability for any consequences arising from reliance on this content.
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