Bluebottle

• 2 SHOWCASE TWO ICONIC FLAVOR PROFILES OF ETHIOPIAN COFFEE
  OAKLAND, Calif., Dec. 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Blue Bottle Coffee and Abel Tesfaye aka "The Weeknd" are celebrating Ethiopia - the birthplace of coffee - with an offering of two Ethiopian single origin coffees available today for a limited time - Samra Origins Single Origin Vol.
• Released as part of Samra Origins, a brand and product line created by Blue Bottle, Tesfaye and his XO record label to celebrate Ethiopian culture and coffee excellence.
• When Tesfaye and his mother delved into the creation of the Samra Origins blend , a moment of intrigue unfolded.
• Blue Bottle sourced these two single origin coffees from family-owned Ethiopian coffee producer and long-time partner, METAD .

• 1
  NEW YORK, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In a collaboration sure to delight coffee lovers, Nespresso has joined forces with Blue Bottle Coffee to innovate the specialty coffee experience.
• 1, the first co-developed coffee the brands have crafted, is a limited-edition capsule that blends the deliciousness of Blue Bottle and Nespresso coffees.
• 1 is the brainchild of Rodriguez and Blue Bottle Coffee Head of Global Innovation and Quality, Benjamin Brewer.
• To fully enjoy, Nespresso and Blue Bottle recommend drinking this coffee on its own as a Gran Lungo (5 fl.

• The so-called Replicator initiative aims to work with defence and other tech companies to produce high volumes of affordable systems for all branches of the military.
• Military systems capable of various degrees of independent operation have become increasingly common over the past decade or so.

An idea whose time has come

• Many of these have been based on modifying commercial technology, which itself has become more capable, cheaper and more widely available.
• Military robots are an idea whose time has come.

Robots everywhere

• field attritable autonomous systems at scale of multiple thousands, in multiple domains, within the next 18 to 24 months.
• Finally, “multiple domains” means robots on land, at sea, in the air and in space.
• In short, robots everywhere for all kinds of tasks.

The robot mission

• China’s People’s Liberation Army is seen as having a significant advantage in terms of “mass”: it has more people, more tanks, more ships, more missiles and so on.
• The imagined future war of most concern is a hypothetical battle for Taiwan, which some postulate could soon begin.
• However, Replicator is also looking further ahead, and aims to institutionalise mass production of robots for the long term.

A brave new world?

• Optimists argue robots can be carefully programmed to follow rules, and in the heat and confusion of combat they may even obey better than humans.
• Pessimists counter by noting not all situations can be foreseen, and robots may well misunderstand and attack when they should not.
• Among earlier autonomous military systems, the Phalanx close-in point defence gun and the Patriot surface-to-air missile have both misperformed.

A global change

• China is an obvious candidate, with great strength in both artificial intelligence and combat drone production.
• However, because much of the technology behind autonomous military drones has been developed for civilian purposes, it is widely available and relatively cheap.
• Autonomous military systems are not just for the great powers, but could also soon be fielded by many middle and smaller powers.

• "Ethiopian culture is an important part of my identity and I'm proud to work alongside the Blue Bottle Coffee team to shine a light on Ethiopian traditions, values, and of course, coffee," said Tesfaye.
• Through Samra Origins, Blue Bottle and The Weeknd are curating and crafting coffees that encapsulate Ethiopian coffee excellence.
• "Ethiopian coffee is truly in a class of its own and the country holds a special place within our Blue Bottle community," explained Karl Strovink, CEO of Blue Bottle Coffee.
• The Samra Origins partnership signals a mutual commitment between Blue Bottle Coffee and The Weeknd to maintain traditions and unify communities.