I’ve Been Quiet — But I’m Building Something Big

Krzysztof Blinkiewicz
May 31
5 min read

Updated: Aug 14

Not many blog posts lately. That’s not because I’ve run out of things to say — quite the opposite. I have a long list of posts I still want to write. But these days, I’ve been deep inside something big, and I want to finally share it with you.

Originally written before the public release of The Better Coffee Standard — this post captures the turning point that shaped what is now live today.

I invite you to follow — live — the birth of a new, independent system for coffee.

For months — even years — I’ve been working for you full-time, unpaid, and often unsure how I’ll manage.

But I’ve kept going, because I believe I’m building a turning point in the coffee world.

Not just a curriculum. A system. A new kind of standard.

A movement for value, dignity, and self-determination in coffee.

I call it The Better Coffee.

It started with this blog — Red Ink Coffee — where some of you have already followed my reflections and ideas.

Then I focused on what I love most: education.

I began creating radically reimagined courses.

The recent changes in CQI and SCA education systems — the Q Grader transition, new territorial restrictions, and revised AST pricing — only accelerated my work in the past weeks. I knew it was time.

I prioritized preparing the full Better Coffee Curriculum.

Not what you currently see on Red Ink Coffee — a blend of the SCA program with my smart, but limited additions. Basta. That era is over.

This is something else entirely.

Ten new courses.

A new dimension of human-centered education in coffee, drawing on models from beautiful food courses in the Nordic and Basque schools, community-led projects, progressive pedagogy, modern learning science, and AI-assisted development.

Each course with its own format, its own rhythm, its own toolkit and learning arc.

Courses designed with The Better Coffee values — not on paper, but in practice.

Courses that can be taught anywhere: from farms and roasteries to Zoom rooms and kitchen tables.

Courses that don’t just inform — they transform.

And their pricing? Adaptive — from free for the excluded to competitive for the

Whales of the coffee world.

Very soon, I’ll open this system to instructors and trainers.

Wherever you are — at origin or in a city, in a lab or a living room — I invite you to join.

Huge mountain, star, snow and sunset — I use mountain views in my presentations because they remind us: the summit is within reach — if we prepare, if we climb together.

But that’s only one part of the work.

Behind the scenes, I’ve also been building:

The Places series — guidebooks for farms, fermentation stations, roasteries, and labs to become learning hubs, not extraction points. I published the first one some time ago — The Better Coffee White Paper. Whether it becomes a bestseller or not, I hope it becomes a seed: a germinating idea of solidarity between people who work with coffee.
A multi-stage ranking system — to finally move past colonial scoring and reflect something more human, transparent, and honest.
A new Better Coffee Standard — based not on authority, but on relationships. Not on status, but on clarity and trust.
All the supporting tools: mentorship pathways, licensing models, physical and digital kits, AI learning companions.
And a pitch deck — because if we want to change the future, we have to engage with the present. Capitalism still holds the keys. So yes, I’m building a bridge — toward something freer, with a human face.

I haven’t blindly rejected traditional models — the SCA, the old CQI, the cupping grid and scoring sheets — but I dobelieve we can do better.

It doesn’t hurt to know them and take advantage of their benefits, while recognizing their drawbacks.

Not cleaner branding. Better substance.

This project is a fight for freedom.

For the freedom of those who grow, roast, serve, and teach coffee — to reclaim meaning on their own terms.

For equality without permission.

For value that is created by care, not dictated by power.

For cooperative consultation and decision-making — the absence of which has become increasingly obvious.

As Edward Abramowski, a philosopher I often return to, believed:

Only solidarity is strong enough to be the foundation of freedom. Neither law, nor force, nor wealth can create it — only people, working together with dignity.

So yes — I’ve been quiet.

Because I’ve been writing, drawing, editing, failing, rebuilding, and dreaming.

I won’t say it’s finished — there’s still a lot of work ahead. This is my investment in a better tomorrow.

Some will say: “Leave it.” “Just do what everyone else is doing.” “The future will come anyway.”

Okay. I can’t. I won’t. I must continue.

It will never be “finished.” But in the coming weeks, I’ll share more: documents, toolkits, public decks — and short, focused blog posts about each part of this system.

It’s up to you whether I’m writing just for myself.

And whether this project will remain theoretical — or become a real-world movement.

The first people — I won’t count them — are already joining.

And while I build this system, I haven’t stepped away from the coffee itself.

I still roast, cup, and calibrate. I make cuppings. I offer one-on-one consulting. I lead workshops, advise on quality, and help teams reimagine how they taste and talk about coffee.

And yes — I also sell green coffee, both specialty and not.

I work with coffee as much as I can — and I’d be genuinely delighted to receive your request. Just reach out.

I stay involved not to prove anything — but to keep the work real, alive, and grounded in the daily practice of coffee.

And to try — honestly — to meet my basic needs within the specialty coffee paradigm.

If you’ve been watching from a distance, I now ask you to come closer.

Test the work. Challenge it. Sponsor a tool. Share the message.

Criticism is welcome. So is curiosity. So is collaboration.

Every purchase. Every course enrollment. Every online or in-person conversation — it all helps.

If you’re an educator, producer, roaster, barista, coffee competitor, mill owner, hidden worker, food systems analyst, designer, or activist — let’s talk.

The Better Coffee was never meant to be mine.

It was always meant to be ours.

Let’s build it.

Let’s meet there.

***

Since writing this, we’ve launched The Better Coffee Standard, prepared full course guidebooks, and opened the system for trainers. Explore the updates on our BLOG and The Standard page.

***

Call to action

Thanks for reading. If this post resonated with you, share it — and help us reach others who care.

Want to dive deeper into coffee, power, flavor, or systems?

Follow the Red Ink Coffee blog, join The Better Coffee course, explore our e-learning, implement the Standard, support Pay-It-Forward, or become part of The Places.

Red Ink Coffee — Read. Think. Act.

Not many blog posts lately. That’s not because I’ve run out of things to say — quite the opposite. I have a long list of posts I still want to write. But these days, I’ve been deep inside something big, and I want to finally share it with you.

Originally written before the public release of The Better Coffee Standard — this post captures the turning point that shaped what is now live today.

I invite you to follow — live — the birth of a new, independent system for coffee.

For months — even years — I’ve been working for you full-time, unpaid, and often unsure how I’ll manage.

But I’ve kept going, because I believe I’m building a turning point in the coffee world.

Not just a curriculum. A system. A new kind of standard.

A movement for value, dignity, and self-determination in coffee.

I call it The Better Coffee.

It started with this blog — Red Ink Coffee — where some of you have already followed my reflections and ideas.

Then I focused on what I love most: education.

I began creating radically reimagined courses.

The recent changes in CQI and SCA education systems — the Q Grader transition, new territorial restrictions, and revised AST pricing — only accelerated my work in the past weeks. I knew it was time.

I prioritized preparing the full Better Coffee Curriculum.

Not what you currently see on Red Ink Coffee — a blend of the SCA program with my smart, but limited additions. Basta. That era is over.

This is something else entirely.

Ten new courses.

A new dimension of human-centered education in coffee, drawing on models from beautiful food courses in the Nordic and Basque schools, community-led projects, progressive pedagogy, modern learning science, and AI-assisted development.

Each course with its own format, its own rhythm, its own toolkit and learning arc.

Courses designed with The Better Coffee values — not on paper, but in practice.

Courses that can be taught anywhere: from farms and roasteries to Zoom rooms and kitchen tables.

Courses that don’t just inform — they transform.

And their pricing? Adaptive — from free for the excluded to competitive for the

Whales of the coffee world.

Very soon, I’ll open this system to instructors and trainers.

Wherever you are — at origin or in a city, in a lab or a living room — I invite you to join.

But that’s only one part of the work.

Behind the scenes, I’ve also been building:

A multi-stage ranking system — to finally move past colonial scoring and reflect something more human, transparent, and honest.

A new Better Coffee Standard — based not on authority, but on relationships. Not on status, but on clarity and trust.

All the supporting tools: mentorship pathways, licensing models, physical and digital kits, AI learning companions.

And a pitch deck — because if we want to change the future, we have to engage with the present. Capitalism still holds the keys. So yes, I’m building a bridge — toward something freer, with a human face.

I haven’t blindly rejected traditional models — the SCA, the old CQI, the cupping grid and scoring sheets — but I dobelieve we can do better.

It doesn’t hurt to know them and take advantage of their benefits, while recognizing their drawbacks.

Not cleaner branding. Better substance.

This project is a fight for freedom.

For the freedom of those who grow, roast, serve, and teach coffee — to reclaim meaning on their own terms.

For equality without permission.

For value that is created by care, not dictated by power.

For cooperative consultation and decision-making — the absence of which has become increasingly obvious.

As Edward Abramowski, a philosopher I often return to, believed:

So yes — I’ve been quiet.

Because I’ve been writing, drawing, editing, failing, rebuilding, and dreaming.

I won’t say it’s finished — there’s still a lot of work ahead. This is my investment in a better tomorrow.

Some will say: “Leave it.” “Just do what everyone else is doing.” “The future will come anyway.”

Okay. I can’t. I won’t. I must continue.

It will never be “finished.” But in the coming weeks, I’ll share more: documents, toolkits, public decks — and short, focused blog posts about each part of this system.

It’s up to you whether I’m writing just for myself.

And whether this project will remain theoretical — or become a real-world movement.

The first people — I won’t count them — are already joining.

And while I build this system, I haven’t stepped away from the coffee itself.

I still roast, cup, and calibrate. I make cuppings. I offer one-on-one consulting. I lead workshops, advise on quality, and help teams reimagine how they taste and talk about coffee.

And yes — I also sell green coffee, both specialty and not.

I work with coffee as much as I can — and I’d be genuinely delighted to receive your request. Just reach out.

I stay involved not to prove anything — but to keep the work real, alive, and grounded in the daily practice of coffee.

And to try — honestly — to meet my basic needs within the specialty coffee paradigm.

If you’ve been watching from a distance, I now ask you to come closer.

Test the work. Challenge it. Sponsor a tool. Share the message.

Criticism is welcome. So is curiosity. So is collaboration.

Every purchase. Every course enrollment. Every online or in-person conversation — it all helps.

If you’re an educator, producer, roaster, barista, coffee competitor, mill owner, hidden worker, food systems analyst, designer, or activist — let’s talk.

The Better Coffee was never meant to be mine.

It was always meant to be ours.

Let’s build it.

Let’s meet there.

***

Since writing this, we’ve launched The Better Coffee Standard, prepared full course guidebooks, and opened the system for trainers. Explore the updates on our BLOG and The Standard page.

***

Call to action

Thanks for reading. If this post resonated with you, share it — and help us reach others who care.

Want to dive deeper into coffee, power, flavor, or systems?

Follow the Red Ink Coffee blog, join The Better Coffee course, explore our e-learning, implement the Standard, support Pay-It-Forward, or become part of The Places.

Red Ink Coffee — Read. Think. Act.

Comments