In a world of fancy espresso machines, gourmet blends and cold brews, instant coffee has often been considered to be at the bottom of the proverbial coffee barrel. But the powder is getting a glow-up, thanks to better quality, social media trends and advancements in instant coffee technology.

"It's having a moment," said Joey Pittoello, general manager of the coffee roaster Just Us! in Halifax. "I think people have discovered that instant coffee can be of much better quality now."

More brewers are choosing to highlight instant coffee, from big brands such as Starbucks, to smaller roasters like Just Us!, in part because they are seeing an increased demand for it.

At Just Us!, which has been selling instant coffee for over 15 years, instant coffee sales have grown around 15 per cent in the last two years, says Pittoello, with other coffee companies such as Eight Ounce Coffee and Canadian Heritage Coffee Roasters in Calgary reporting similar increases in recent years.

According to a 2025 Agricultural Canada report, instant coffee sales totalled $330 million in Canada in 2024, up 10 per cent from the previous year.

"Instant coffee is undergoing the same transformation as a lot of coffee drinks," said Robert Carter, a food industry analyst and the president of the Coffee Association of Canada.

"There's more premiumization that's taking place. And I think that's resulting in an increase in consumption."

Social media trends are also improving instant coffee's rep. There's the Dalgona coffee trend, popularized during the pandemic, which is a whipped drink made by whisking instant coffee, sugar and hot water, then putting it over milk.

People are also using instant coffee to make lattes or iced coffees at home. Additionally, Pittoello says people use it in baking, or in seasoning when barbecuing.

"It's easy to make interesting sweet milky drinks with instant coffee. You just have to add it, right?" said Pittoello. A change in quality and technology

Instant coffee isn't anything new though. Big brands like Nescafé and Maxwell House have been selling instant coffee for decades.

"I don't think it ever really went anywhere," said Pittoello.

What has changed, though, is the quality of instant coffee. Pittoello says the robusta bean, which has a simple flavour profile compared to arabica, had commonly been used to make instant coffee.

"You're enhancing the level of low quality by turning it into instant coffee and that's really what defined instant coffee for decades," said Pittoello.

Now more specialty roasters are using better beans to make their instant coffee. Just Us! uses arabica, as does Starbucks.

But that's not the only reason you're seeing specialty coffee shops selling their own instant coffee. Josh Hockin, head of coffee at Eight Ounce Coffee in Calgary, says it's easier than ever to manufacture it, thanks to advancements in technology.

Mainstream brands like Nescafé and Maxwell House make large amounts of instant coffee through a process called spray drying, which involves brewing coffee as strong as possible, then spraying that coffee into a heated chamber, creating the instant coffee powder.

But Hockin says a better quality coffee can be made by brewing the coffee then freeze-drying it instead. Years ago, the machine to do so would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and was as big as a shipping container.

Now, he says the machines cost about $3,000 to $4,000 Cdn, and can plug into the wall.

"It's not cheap to do, but it's certainly way less expensive than it would have been in the past," said Hockin.

According to Robert Carter, it's not that people are replacing their at-home set up with instant coffee. Rather, Carter says, instant coffee is giving people another option to enjoy one of the most consumed drinks in Canada.

"We're not seeing a cannibalization taking place. We're seeing an expansion of the types of coffee products being consumed that are different than just your traditional brewed coffee.”

And people are willing to pay a premium for that, says Hockin. He says it's the equivalent of buying a cup at a coffee shop, with some packets of four selling for $11, while some varieties sell for $42 for a six-pack.

But, he says, the quality is just as good, and it's as convenient as it gets.

"It's not their everyday cup of coffee, obviously. But they are very willing, very very willing to pay that money.”

Excerpt:

The energy engineer and founder of the Shift Project think tank lays out the major climate challenges facing future governments, with six months to go before France's 2027 presidential election.

With your new book and the citizens' assembly on climate and energy issues that you launched, how do you intend to put pressure on the political sphere during the upcoming presidential campaign?

As long as we live in a democracy – for however long that lasts – we at The Shift Project assume that the political sphere reflects what happens in civil society, albeit imperfectly and with a time lag. In that context, we address our book to civil society, hoping that one day our views will become significant enough to change what happens at the higher levels.

My comment: JMJ is one of the earlier public figures to gain mainstream public acceptance of understanding the forces of collapse, first in France, then abroad. His initial focus and expertise was on energy, but has expanded into other fields, such as this article about politics.

Take particular note of his fatalist view on democracy "however long that lasts".

I'll try to update with a full archive once available.

True story...

My wife (It's her niece's fourth birthday): Can you get her some classic children's books. Just ask for a recomendation if you can't find the familiar classics.

Me: I don't trust their recomendations.

The federal government has withdrawn sponsorship of a European disinformation conference that includes panels discussing the U.S. government as a foreign interference risk.

Samantha Lafleur, a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada (GAC), said the government took issue with the framing of some panels at the event organized by EU DisinfoLab, a non-profit based in Brussels.

The conference features panels about the U.S. as a source of "foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI)," a phenomenon where foreign governments or actors on their behalf manipulate information to confuse, divide or mislead the public and erode confidence in institutions.

GAC — Ottawa's diplomatic arm — Lithuania's Foreign Ministry and the European External Action Service were initially listed as supporters of the annual conference largely attended by researchers and civil society organizations.

As the gathering got underway in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Wednesday, their names were covered up on signs spotted around the conference, according to photos shared with CBC News. As of writing, the French government remains a sponsor.

In a statement to CBC News, GAC did not deny that it had concerns with describing the U.S. as a foreign interference threat.

"Following changes to the framing of several panel discussions, GAC decided to revise its participation in those sessions at the EU DisinfoLab 2026 conference," wrote Lafleur.

She did not respond to questions about particular changes GAC took issue with or whether the U.S. raised concerns.

According to the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine, the description of Wednesday's panel discussing how to push back on the U.S. as a foreign interference threat appears to have been unchanged since Sept. 9. GAC no longer chairing Arctic panel

A GAC official also pulled out of chairing a session on disinformation in the Arctic scheduled for Thursday, said presenter Ben Shultz with the American Sunlight Project.

The panel proposes to talk about Greenland and "growing evidence that the United States has, in specific Arctic contexts, operated as a FIMI actor."

Shultz shared the initial plan for the panel from months ago, which includes talking about the U.S. as a foreign interference actor.

He called three governments withdrawing a "shock" and questioned whether they were pressured.

"Thankfully every speaker has still shown up, which is awesome, and I think a testament to the resolve of the research community. But it's definitely put a bit of a damper on the atmosphere," he said in an interview.

The European External Action Service, the EU's diplomatic service, said in a statement it asked to have its logo removed from the material associated with the conference "in view of the content of the programme."

Asked if it was related to the U.S. foreign interference panel, an EU spokesperson repeated that the EEAS logo was removed because "organizers chose to frame some of the discussions in a way which does not align with the official positions held by the EU."

Neither Lithuania's Foreign Ministry nor the conference organizers responded to a request for comment.

Canada's withdrawal comes the same week the Globe and Mail reported that some people involved in campaigning for Alberta independence had met on both sides of the border with U.S. entities.

CBC News previously reported that some of those meetings took place in U.S. State Department offices in Washington, D.C., last year.

GAC's move also comes as the country is embroiled in an often bitter and personal trade dispute with U.S. President Donald Trump's administration.

Lafleur said Canada "remains firmly committed to addressing the challenge of disinformation and misinformation" and that Global Affairs Canada officials "look forward to engaging with partners and stakeholders on efforts to counter disinformation."

United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent insisted his country is "not at war" with Canada, then proceeded to mock the threat Canada could pose to his country with "submarines from the Edmonton mall."

The secretary also suggested Prime Minister Mark Carney was to blame for the current "political shouting match" between the two countries because keeping the fight alive is good for his poll numbers.

Bessent made the remarks Monday in an interview with the U.S. cable news network CNBC, where he was asked if his country is now in a trade war with Canada.

"Well, I don't think you can be in a tit for tat with someone that's 13 times larger than you are," he said.

"I mean we're not at war with Canada. How are we going to be at war with Canada? What, are they going to take their two submarines from the Edmonton mall and sic them on us?"

Inspired by this article about a jellyfish that doesn't die of old age, injury or poor conditions, it just reverts back to a juvenile state and is reborn genetically identical. If you could be reborn, as you, would you want to?

Edit: Just the physical you, genetic and presumably epigenetic, no memory.

Seeing we're sharing espresso brews...

Ethiopian light roast (by me) in a Flair signature.

2nd pic is the whole setup. Dead simple and reliable and could probably post it on BIFL.

I decided to try a small bag of mostly robusta coffee after a pleasant surprise at a Vietnamese restaurant.

It was, and is fantastic. It is a major flavour departure from Arabica so for those of you set in your ways, it might not be for you. The flavour is hard to describe, but the taste and aroma are very strong and immediately recognizable. The smell is very sweet and earthy. The flavour is like ... spiced stonefruit.

The restaurant served it with sweetened condensed milk and it was amazing. At home I drink it black.

If you're in for something different, worth a try.

France will experience many more heatwaves and some will be even more severe than the last one, which was historic. To cope, we need to get organized collectively – without giving up the fight to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, Le Monde's climate expert writes.

1/Take a serious look back at the recent episode

At this stage, given the exhaustion and bitterness we are experiencing, the first thing to do is take a look back at what happened. What we've just gone through is physically and psychologically tough, and it's important to document it right away. That's the advice of Alexandre Florentin, former Paris adviser and adaptation specialist, who led a mission titled "Paris at 50 Degrees."

His idea: gather with your family, neighbors, colleagues, or classmates and methodically debrief, following the "Four Fs" method: feelings (what I felt), facts (what happened), findings (what I learned) and future (what we can do going forward). The goal of this method is to remember precisely what took place, as everything will conspire to make us forget the intensity of the heatwave. And write everything down, so it can be useful next time!

The French Red Cross also encourages everyone to prepare a "Catakit," an emergency bag ready for climate disasters. It includes a flashlight, a radio, canned food, an emergency blanket and more. Find the complete list here.

Six months ago, Prime Minister Mark Carney laid out a new and pragmatic path for middle powers in the face of an increasingly hostile U.S. and a rising China. In a new season of his podcast "Gloves Off" journalist Stephen Marche considers the opportunities for Canada given the new geopolitical reality.

https://shows.acast.com/gloves-off

Edit: every Canadian should listen to this podcast. Finally an unvarnished truth.

Just the title. Heavens? Hells? Purgatory? Nothing? Become one with the universe? Reincarnation?

Bonus question: If you could design the system of your choice, what would you want?

The issue is lack of choice, not desire, says head of the United Nations Population Fund.

Why aren't people having more kids? What we should actually be asking, according to a new global report, is why so many people feel like they can't.

It's often assumed that low fertility rates are due to people simply not wanting to have children, or more than one or two, but a report released Tuesday from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) says that's not the whole picture.

"Vast numbers of people are unable to create the families they want," said Dr. Natalia Kanem, UNFPA's executive director, in a news release.

That lack of choice "is the real fertility crisis," she said, "and the answer lies in responding to what people say they need: paid family leave, affordable fertility care and supportive partners."

The UNFPA report included polling by YouGov. About one in five of the reproductive-aged adults surveyed in 14 different countries said they won't be able to have the number of children they would like, with most saying they would likely have fewer than they wanted, or none at all.

The most common barriers were economic, with 39 per cent reporting that financial limitations affected or would affect their ability to realize their desired family size.

Other significant barriers included a lack of partner support, low-quality sexual and reproductive health care, a lack of access to services like affordable childcare, and pessimism about the future.

The polling surveyed 14,256 adults aged 18 to 88 from 14 countries including the U.S., South Korea, Italy and India between Nov. 15 and Dec. 5, 2024. It didn't mention a margin of error but said most data was nationally representative.

While Canada wasn't surveyed, the authors note the sample of countries represents a third of the global population with a mix of incomes and fertility rates.

Canadians face barriers, too

Previous Statistics Canada data shows a similar trend, with people aged 15 to 49 reporting in 2022 that comparable issues, like affordability, could influence their fertility intentions.

And 37 per cent of those polled said they did not believe they could afford to have a child in the next three years.

"Many Canadians face structural constraints that prevent them from realizing their fertility aspirations," said Rania Tfaily, an associate professor at Carleton University who studies social demography.

The topic recently came up during the federal election campaign when Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre mentioned that too many young people can't afford to buy homes before their "biological clocks" have run out.

But while his wording struck a nerve, his supporters said he highlighted a real concern. In 2022, 32 per cent of Canadians aged 20 to 29 didn't believe they would have access to suitable housing to start a family in the next three years, according to Statistics Canada. WATCH | Why aren't Canadians having more kids?:

Canada recorded its lowest-ever fertility rate for the second year in a row in 2023, according to Statistics Canada data, at 1.26 children born per woman. It joined the ranks of "lowest-low-fertility countries," including South Korea, Spain and Japan.

Of course, it's not just a lack of choice driving the rate down — having fewer children is also seen as more desirable today, notes Lisa Strohschein, a sociology professor at the University of Alberta.

Statistics Canada data, for instance, consistently reported between 1990 and 2006 that Canadian women intended to have just over two children, on average, Strohschein said. But the most recent estimates from 2022 now suggest the desired number of children overall is 1.5, and that gets even lower with the younger people surveyed.

"At the same time, it is the case that women tend to have fewer children than they actually want — even as they want fewer children overall," she said.

The UNFPA report emphasizes that reproductive rights go both ways, and so does the global fertility crisis.

"It is a crisis in reproductive agency — in the ability of individuals to make their own free, informed and unfettered choices about everything from having sex to using contraception to starting a family," says the report.

One in three respondents in the YouGov poll said they or their partner had experienced an unintended pregnancy, for instance, and nearly one in five said they felt pressured to have children when they didn't want to.

This can have unintended consequences on the fertility rate, the report noted, especially when policymakers attempt to control reproductive autonomy. For instance, "bans on abortion can lead to individuals voluntarily or involuntarily forgoing reproduction," the report explained.

Texas effectively banned abortion after Roe v. Wade was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. CBC’s Ellen Mauro travelled to the state to see how people are navigating the restrictions and preparing for them to get worse.

A recent study looking at U.S. medical claims found that tubal sterilization and vasectomies increased in the U.S. after among participants ages 19 to 26 after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

If we want people to achieve their desired family size, we need to move away from treating fertility as a means of controlling women's bodies, Strohschein said. Incentives don't work, but what does?

Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump says he wants a baby boom, and has mulled incentives to try to convince more people to have children, including so-called baby bonuses.

This week, he announced his plan to create tax-deferred investment accounts for babies born in the U.S. over the next four years, starting them each with $1,000, reported The Associated Press.

Yet, as the UNFPA report notes, most incentives like this don't work, and can sometimes have the opposite effect. That's because they "are not creating the full range of enabling conditions that people say they need to have families," it states.

More women are the breadwinners in Canadian families — but less so if they have kids

South Korea's fertility rate rises for the first time in 9 years

So what would help people have more children — assuming that's what they want?

"Guaranteed affordable and high-quality childcare for all," said Carleton University's Tfaily, as well as economic policies that could reduce people's financial stress, like better worker benefits and more stable jobs.

Strohschein had similar suggestions, like making it easier for mothers to return to work after having a baby, as well as affordable childcare.

However, "we still have not been all that successful in Canada with either of these two policy levers," she said.

"It will be interesting to see whether our national childcare program can change this in the years to come."

Prime Minister Carney says Canada and the U.S. working together, as pals, can help make America great. While the U.S. Commerce Secretary simply says we "suck." So, is Canada taking the high road to hell? Trade lawyer Barry Appleton explains why behaving like we're still great friends with our southern neighbours could lead us into a world of economic pain.

15lbs of green ethiopian arabica (Harrar) just landed on my doorstep. It's roasting time!

The RCMP's commissioner says he expresses sincere regret for an extensive spying program that targeted hundreds of Indigenous people.

It's the first time Mike Duheme acknowledged reporting by CBC Indigenous concerning RCMP surveillance activities dating back to the late 1960s against Indigenous leaders and organizations.

"We recognize the serious concerns that this history continues to raise for Indigenous Peoples, families and communities across Canada," Duheme wrote in a statement published Wednesday.

"I express sincere regret, and while we cannot change the past, we can and must acknowledge that these actions and their impact continue to be felt today."

The RCMP's commissioner says he expresses sincere regret for an extensive spying program that targeted hundreds of Indigenous people.

It's the first time Mike Duheme acknowledged reporting by CBC Indigenous concerning RCMP surveillance activities dating back to the late 1960s against Indigenous leaders and organizations.

"We recognize the serious concerns that this history continues to raise for Indigenous Peoples, families and communities across Canada," Duheme wrote in a statement published Wednesday.

"I express sincere regret, and while we cannot change the past, we can and must acknowledge that these actions and their impact continue to be felt today."