Analog First Crack Detector, Pickle Coffee and More April 1 Headlines

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Spring has sprung; buds and blooms abound in backyards, fields and forests; and the coffee industry has held up its annual tradition of April 1 gross food jokes. 

For the past four years, DCN has provided a casual roundup of April 1 promotions from coffee companies, many of which tend to involve nasty mashups of coffee and other foodstuff.

This year, when seemingly every retail chain in the United States bathed their spring menus in lavender, the April 1 menu debauchery offered a somewhat refreshing counterpoint. 

Here are some of the top April 1 stories from throughout the coffee world… 

Peace Coffee Introduces Peace Wave Microwavable Coffee Packs

Minneapolis-based roaster Peace Coffee went all out with a press release and product page highlighting its new Peace Wave microwavable coffee packs, which resemble microwavable popcorn. Here’s more from Peace:

Peace Coffee has worked closely with microwave manufacturers to add a “bean roast” setting. For those who own older microwaves, the standard roasting times will be approximately three minutes for light roast, four for medium (aka “first crack”), four and a half for Full City and five for dark roast.

Rook Coffee’s ‘I Can’t Believe It’s Fig Butter’

Sticking loosely within the buttered coffee theme, New Jersey chain Rook Coffee introduced “I Can’t Believe It’s Fig Butter” cold brew. Most of the comments, as it turns out, were 100% for it…

Peet’s Introduces Cotton Candy Swirl Frappé

California-born coffee giant Peet’s Coffee engaged in a bit of corporate marketing warfare with the launch of a Cotton Candy Swirl Frappé. You can guess who’s globe-spanning ribs they’re jabbing here…

Backyard Beans Avocado Cold Brew

Considering the hedonism reflected in today’s specialty coffee menus, we’re not totally sure if this one from Pennsylvania’s Backyard Beans is even supposed to be a joke. We’ll just leave it right here…

The Joe Coffee Bucket Bag

Venturing further into over-indulgence comes the New York Chain Joe Coffee with the Coffee Bucket Bag, a kind of coffee-centric mashup of big dumb things you might wear with big dumb things you might drink from. 

Strange Matter Pickle Cheesecake

Lansing, Michigan-based coffee outfit Strange Matter Coffee was one of a number of coffee brands to embrace the salty, sour pickle as a new springtime feature ingredient…

Ziggi’s Coffee Launches ‘Kind of a Big Dill’

Colorado-based coffee chain Ziggi’s Coffee launched its “Kind of a Big Dill” line of drinks. It came a day after the company wished everyone a bunny-themed “hoppy Easter” — so very much on brand…

Metropolis Coffee Becomes Wetropolis

In branding news, Chicago-based Metropolis Coffee announced a name change to Wetropolis Coffee. The move was presumably accompanied by a sigh of relief from the design team, which only had to flip one letter upside down… 

Carabello Becomes Cariboullo

The design crew was not quite as chipper at Newport, Kentucky-based Carabello Coffee, where an announced merger with a prominent national chain resulted in the combined name Cariboullo Coffee… 

Aillio Launches Analog First Crack Detector

Electric roasting equipment company Aillio announced its latest advancement, an analog first crack detector for coffee roasters… 

Roest Turns Green Coffee Pink

A more advanced first crack detection system came from another roaster maker, Roest, which launched the Pink Roest Sample Roaster… 

Dear Green Coffee Launches Quaker Line

Scottish roasting outfit Dear Green Coffee Roasters launched a limited-edition, handpicked by the roaster product called Finca Quaker, which the company described as “low in acidity, and lacking balance and persistence in flavour.”

Fellow Launches EKG TV

Coffee accessories maker Fellow launched a new television streaming platform called EKG TV through which users can watch shows on the Stagg EKG kettle’s built-in 1-inch display… 

Comments? Questions? News to share? Contact DCN’s editors here. 

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