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Hipster coffee is all about finding nice beans with notes, and process. There isn’t the most innovation in terms of additives unless you consider the glut of alternative milks.

Frankly, I think the independents are happy to cede the “basically milkshake” segment of the market to Sbux.

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Australian coffee snob here. I can confirm the emphasis of the specialty coffee industry (which I think you can conflate with 'hipster' coffee) is entirely on sourcing and roasting high-quality beans that have enjoyable and nuanced flavours on their own.

The innovation in the last 15 years is largely around roasting and grinding technology (consistency, control over flavour extraction) as well as inventing cool brewing apparatus for every taste and aesthetic preference.

I did not drink coffee often. But i liked the coffee smell. I tasted it from a portafilter machine, that won me over. Beside that, over those 15 years, the cafe culture has developed a lot worldwide. Those hipster people make everything beautiful, financed by coffee.

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