Truly these are strange days, and only getting stranger. In addition to our regularly updating Coffee & Coronavirus live blog, we here at Sprudge will be bringing you a series of common sense ways you can support the coffee industry and continue enjoying delicious coffee as part of your daily life here in March 2020. There’s lots of ways to do this, and all of them involve supporting every step of the coffee chain, from the producers and importers to the entrepreneurs and professional baristas who make up our remarkable global coffee culture.
Here’s a smart, sound way you can help right now: consider purchasing a nice coffee gift certificate.
Consider the gift certificate: it’s a small transaction with big meaning behind it. Many of your favorite coffee shops and coffee roasters offer gift certificates through their websites, or are available for purchase in-store. Coffee gift certificates can easily be shared with friends and family; they can be stored away for future birthday gifting or the holiday of your choosing, or in some cases they can be used right now for web purchases; and they can be applied to any facet of coffee enjoyment you might choose, from fresh coffee to merch to even larger purchases, like home brewing equipment.
Common sense still applies here, of course. If this is your last $100 and you have yet to buy a giant bag of rice, this post isn’t for you. But if you’re stocked up and at home experiencing great waves of anxiety, wondering how you can directly support the businesses and individuals in your beloved, slightly odd, ever-delicious coffee subculture, the purchase of a gift certificate could go a long way right now for everyone.
Keep drinking coffee. Keep checking in on your friends and family. Thank you for reading Sprudge.
Jordan Michelman (@suitcasewine) is a co-founder and editor at Sprudge Media Network.
