Fourth Wave: Casual Convenience

Part 5 of a 5-part series on the history and future of coffee, by 8th and Roast

Coffee and Chill

Thanks to the internet, coffee’s fourth wave is making it easy to experience great coffee at home with coffee subscriptions. It preserves the passion for curation, community, fair trade, and education, but the vibe is way more casual. 

With fourth wave, you can relax and sip on the highest quality brews imaginable, but if you made it at home with an auto drip machine, with beans you ordered online, no one will judge you.

And like Netflix, there are more options online than ever, all on demand. Fourth wave is convenient.

In a place like 8th and Roast, gone are the days of being judged for what drink you dared to order, or (gasp!) what grinder or setup you have at home. Everyone is way more relaxed about everything. The baristas know your name and your drink, like your favorite bartender.

Fourth wave is approachable, affordable, inclusive, and casual, all while still remaining focused on fair trade and craft-quality.

For mail order, it’s the best of both worlds: the convenience of ordering online and the quality you’d expect at any great specialty coffee shop… delivered.

Full Circle…

First wave coffee was all about convenience, and second wave took things up a notch in quality and accessibility. Third wave coffee was born out of a need for more information, education, fairness, and quality, similar to the growth of vinyl appreciation, and the mainstreaming of social consciousness and fair trade. 

Now, fourth wave coffee preserves what came before and makes everything more affordable, accessible, inclusive, and casual. It’s like being able to stream the record instantly on Spotify when it’s released… but still ordering the vinyl online.

Ready to try the best of both worlds? Check out 8&R’s specialty coffee subscriptions below,, take the Roast Profile quiz to find out your roast profile, and make sure to listen to our podcast Coffee&