This is not just a blog. Meet Red Ink Coffee

A foreword from Krzysztof Blinkiewicz — the founder and editor-in-chief of Red Ink Coffee, and the person who introduced The Better Coffee into the world.

A Decade Later, Back to What I Love

When I quit my job in the editorial department of Poland’s largest daily newspaper, I was determined to set up a publishing house and continue writing.I opened a café and a bookshop. There, I hosted literary events, invited writers, and filled the space with coffee and conversation. I also wrote posts for social media, even when few people were reading them.A decade later, I’m back to what I love: writing. And I’m continuing what I love — perhaps even more — coffee and teaching about it.

Welcome to Red Ink Coffee.

The Origin of the Name

The name of this site refers to a would-be publishing house, and a now-closed café and bookshop called Czerwony Atrament (pronounced like ʈ͡ʂɛrvɔnɨ atramɛnt, in English: Red Ink) — a small, local, socially responsible business that quietly became legendary. When it existed, specialty coffee was still a hipster novelty. For many, it was a place of breakthrough — at least in coffee or reading life.

No twee book is alike. There may be millions in libraries like this, but at Czerwony Atrament, I selected only the most valuable ones.

Lessons from the Coffee World

My journey with coffee has taught me many things. I’ve experienced both challenges and moments of pure ecstasy. I’ve tasted everything — from astringent, tart, vinegary cups to the truly outstanding, 9-plus ones in the old scale.I’ve met thousands of kind people, and had a few rivals. I’ve stumbled into coincidences, worries, frustrations, pleasures, and beautiful memories. Now, with that whole mess of experience behind me, I bring it all together: to write, to teach, and to drink coffee.For me, that’s paradise.

The Heart of the Site: Our Blog

The heart of the Red Ink Coffee website is the blog. I’m building an editorial team to publish regularly — but we’re not chasing clicks or rushing to compete with news sites.We simply hope that what we publish is useful.

Especially the educational articles — written for people working in coffee at any stage of the supply chain, and for anyone just starting out in this world. You can read us on your computer, tablet or your phone.

Why We're Different

Red Ink Coffee will stand apart from other coffee blogs by focusing on social and political issues.We have clear views, and we know not everyone will agree. You can heckle us or comment critically, but we won’t bend our ideas.We’re open to discussion on the merits, and we believe real conversation can sharpen our thinking.

Looking to the Future

We also publish futurological texts — forecasts, reflections, and analyses about where coffee might be headed, and whether some trends need to be deepened, redirected, or stopped.We’ll draw on great thinkers and scientists, highlight clashes of ideas, and comment on world events — even those that might seem unrelated to coffee.

We want to write about things that aren’t obvious or easy. But sometimes we’ll also point to things that are obvious and maybe boring — but still misunderstood, forgotten, or falsely seen as inconvenient or dangerous.

Speaking for the Overlooked

Social, political, and cultural issues will be explored.We speak up for those often overlooked: the many workers in coffee, the struggling producers, and the people who keep showing up and taking action.

That’s how the new story of Red Ink Coffee began: a blank sheet of paper, a full cup — and a head full of ideas.

Our Independence

Red Ink Coffee is built as an independent medium.That means we aren’t affiliated with any major player in coffee, media, or politics.

No external actor controls what we write — except for one: me.

And if we ever praise a competing commercial product on this site — without labeling it as “sponsored” or “self-promotion” — it means we truly recommend it. From the heart. With no other interest but social one.

Advertising, Or Not

We would love to have no advertising here. To make that possible, we ask our readers for support — even a small donation helps sustain the site and editorial work. You can also support us by engaging with what we create, that’s how this project keeps going.

At the same time, we allow ourselves to take on paid writing assignments that create a marketing effect for external companies. That doesn’t change one thing: we will never recommend a product we don’t believe in.And if one day we receive advertising offers — well, it probably won’t happen.Our apologies, marketing departments…

Education Beyond the Blog

Red Ink Coffee isn’t just a blog. It’s also an educational platform.

We’re expanding our online learning section to give you new ways to explore the coffee world — through your computer or phone. You can build skills, deepen your understanding, and move forward in your career — whether you’re on a farm, in a roastery, or behind the bar.

You’ll learn so much. You’ll discover the anatomy of a coffee berry. You’ll train your brain to remember flavor. You’ll see coffee differently.

The Better Coffee Curriculum

We also offer our own training program — The Better Coffee Curriculum.We invite trainers to help us bring it to life in different countries, languages, and learning formats.The online version is supported by materials and exercises. We also organize occasional in-person events — like study trips to plantations.

Red Ink isn’t the answer. It’s the bulb in your hand — permission to ask better questions.

The Store and Other Projects

There’s also a small store with sensory development kits and digital products.We’d like to expand it over time, but there’s no rush.

We’re working hard on the site — and on other projects, which you’ll find under The Places.We hope some of you might want to join us in bringing them to life.

A Brief Orientation

This article gives a short overview of our values and the functions of the Red Ink Coffee website. So we won’t dive deeply into The Better Coffee here — that’s what the dedicated tabs and documents are for.

Everyone has a peak they’re climbing. It’s beautiful to see someone reach new heights.We won’t shout about this everywhere, but the world needs The Better Coffee.We hope that by reading what we publish — and learning with us — you’ll come to understand why.And be ready to drink it.

A Note About Language

Lastly, one more thing. English isn’t the native language for most of our team.We follow the example of the old press and try to write with care.A professional proofreader may helps us, but one person can’t do it all.

If you see a mistake or something unclear, please email us or leave a comment.We’ll correct it. We try our best to be accurate — both linguistically and factually — and we thank you in advance for your patience and understanding

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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, or become part of The Places.

Red Ink Coffee — Read. Think. Act.

Post Scriptum

We are publishing this speech because it captures the spirit of Red Ink Coffee and The Better Coffee. Žižek was also the first to use the term “red ink” not just as a metaphor or a joke, but as a symbol of absence — something you can’t buy today, but something we need in order to speak the truth about how bad things are.

The full transcript of Slavoj Žižek’s speech delivered during Occupy Wall Street in October 2011.

— TRANSCRIPT —

They are saying we are all losers, but the true losers are down there on Wall Street. They were bailed out by billions of our money. We are called socialists, but here there is always socialism for the rich. They say we don’t respect private property, but in the 2008 financial crash-down more hard-earned private property was destroyed than if all of us here were to be destroying it night and day for weeks. They tell you we are dreamers. The true dreamers are those who think things can go on indefinitely the way they are. We are not dreamers. We are the awakening from a dream that is turning into a nightmare.

We are not destroying anything. We are only witnessing how the system is destroying itself. We all know the classic scene from cartoons. The cat reaches a precipice but it goes on walking, ignoring the fact that there is nothing beneath this ground. Only when it looks down and notices it, it falls down. This is what we are doing here. We are telling the guys there on Wall Street, “Hey, look down!”

In mid-April 2011, the Chinese government prohibited on TV, films, and novels all stories that contain alternate reality or time travel. This is a good sign for China. These people still dream about alternatives, so you have to prohibit this dreaming. Here, we don’t need a prohibition because the ruling system has even oppressed our capacity to dream. Look at the movies that we see all the time. It’s easy to imagine the end of the world. An asteroid destroying all life and so on. But you cannot imagine the end of capitalism.

So what are we doing here? Let me tell you a wonderful, old joke from Communist times. A guy was sent from East Germany to work in Siberia. He knew his mail would be read by censors, so he told his friends: “Let’s establish a code. If a letter you get from me is written in blue ink, it is true what I say. If it is written in red ink, it is false.” After a month, his friends get the first letter. Everything is in blue. It says, this letter: “Everything is wonderful here. Stores are full of good food. Movie theatres show good films from the west. Apartments are large and luxurious. The only thing you cannot buy is red ink.” This is how we live. We have all the freedoms we want. But what we are missing is red ink: the language to articulate our non-freedom. The way we are taught to speak about freedom— war on terror and so on—falsifies freedom. And this is what you are doing here. You are giving all of us red ink.

There is a danger. Don’t fall in love with yourselves. We have a nice time here. But remember, carnivals come cheap. What matters is the day after, when we will have to return to normal lives. Will there be any changes then? I don’t want you to remember these days, you know, like “Oh. we were young and it was beautiful.” Remember that our basic message is “We are allowed to think about alternatives.” If the taboo is broken, we do not live in the best possible world. But there is a long road ahead. There are truly difficult questions that confront us. We know what we do not want. But what do we want? What social organization can replace capitalism? What type of new leaders do we want?

Remember. The problem is not corruption or greed. The problem is the system. It forces you to be corrupt. Beware not only of the enemies, but also of false friends who are already working to dilute this process. In the same way you get coffee without caffeine, beer without alcohol, ice cream without fat, they will try to make this into a harmless, moral protest. A decaffienated protest. But the reason we are here is that we have had enough of a world where, to recycle Coke cans, to give a couple of dollars for charity, or to buy a Starbucks cappuccino where 1% goes to third world starving children is enough to make us feel good. After outsourcing work and torture, after marriage agencies are now outsourcing our love life, we can see that for a long time, we allow our political engagement also to be outsourced. We want it back.

We are not Communists if Communism means a system which collapsed in 1990. Remember that today those Communists are the most efficient, ruthless Capitalists. In China today, we have Capitalism which is even more dynamic than your American Capitalism, but doesn’t need democracy. Which means when you criticize Capitalism, don’t allow yourself to be blackmailed that you are against democracy. The marriage between democracy and Capitalism is over. The change is possible.

What do we perceive today as possible? Just follow the media. On the one hand, in technology and sexuality, everything seems to be possible. You can travel to the moon, you can become immortal by biogenetics, you can have sex with animals or whatever, but look at the field of society and economy. There, almost everything is considered impossible. You want to raise taxes by little bit for the rich. They tell you it’s impossible. We lose competitivity. You want more money for health care, they tell you, “Impossible, this means totalitarian state.” There’s something wrong in the world, where you are promised to be immortal but cannot spend a little bit more for healthcare. Maybe we need to set our priorities straight here. We don’t want higher standard of living. We want a better standard of living. The only sense in which we are Communists is that we care for the commons. The commons of nature. The commons of privatized by intellectual property. The commons of biogenetics. For this, and only for this, we should fight.

Communism failed absolutely, but the problems of the commons are here. They are telling you we are not American here. But the conservatives fundamentalists who claim they really are American have to be reminded of something: What is Christianity? It’s the holy spirit. What is the holy spirit? It’s an egalitarian community of believers who are linked by love for each other, and who only have their own freedom and responsibility to do it. In this sense, the holy spirit is here now. And down there on Wall Street, there are pagans who are worshipping blasphemous idols. So all we need is patience. The only thing I’m afraid of is that we will someday just go home and then we will meet once a year, drinking beer, and nostaligically remembering “What a nice time we had here.” Promise yourselves that this will not be the case. We know that people often desire something but do not really want it. Don’t be afraid to really want what you desire. Thank you very much.

– END OF TRANSCRIPT – START YOUR PATHWAY TO A NEW PARADIGM –