Standart Magazine

What is Standart magazine?

Standart approaches coffee as a way of understanding the wider world. Its subject is not just what happens inside a grinder or espresso machine, but what coffee reveals about work, taste, identity, hospitality and everyday life.

The publisher describes coverage stretching across historical, sociological, scientific and cultural subjects. That breadth is the useful distinction: an article can begin with something familiar, such as a café visit, and lead into a question about how people live or what they value.

For a beginner, the simplest description is a coffee culture magazine with room for substantial reading. You do not need to work in coffee to find an entry point, although some subjects will appeal particularly to readers already interested in speciality coffee.

Within coffee blogs and publications, think of Standart as something to sit down with rather than a source to refresh for updates. Its quarterly rhythm and editorial approach make more sense when judged as a collection of stories, not as a running news service.

Its history: founding in 2014, publishing from 2015

Standart was founded by Michal Molčan, with its beginnings in Slovakia. Two dates appear in accounts of its history, and they describe different stages rather than necessarily contradicting one another.

Standart’s own company profile gives 2014 as its founding year. Its Japanese publisher’s introduction dates the magazine’s launch to 2015, while Molčan’s professional profile likewise distinguishes his involvement from 2014 from the publication’s debut in 2015.

The clearest wording is therefore: founded in 2014, first published in 2015. Calling it a magazine first published in 2014 would blur that distinction.

An early interview with Molčan offers some context for the idea. He described conceiving the magazine during a journey from Milan to Slovakia, after recognising a gap for a publication combining coffee culture with the kind of print reading he enjoyed.

The same interview described an initial Czech-Slovak edition and plans for an English version. Its ambitions were international early on, but its roots were in the developing coffee culture around its founders.

A short timeline

• 2014: Standart’s founding year, according to its own company profile.
• 2015: The magazine begins publication, according to Standart Japan’s account.
• Issue 19: A substantial redesign brings a renewed approach to layout, typesetting, photography and illustration.
• November 2026: The English-language membership offer includes both print and digital access options.

The redesign is a useful milestone because it shows that appearance was not treated as packaging added after the writing. The publisher’s account credits founder Michal Molcan, creative director Kirill Savateev, and Aida Novoa and Carlos Egan of Patten Studio with the work.

Format, design and the print-only question

Standart publishes quarterly in English and Japanese. Its print identity rests on long-form writing, original photography and design intended to make an issue worth keeping.

Typography, meaning the choice and arrangement of type, is part of that identity. The issue 19 redesign announcement specifically discussed changes to typesetting and page layout, alongside more ambitious visual work.

For the reader, the appeal is the relationship between these elements. A photograph can establish a setting; an illustration can introduce a less literal interpretation; an essay has room to develop an argument. That is a different proposition from a page designed mainly to deliver a quick answer.

Our assessment is that this makes Standart especially suitable for people who enjoy magazines as physical objects as well as sources of information. If your preferred reading is tightly indexed, searchable and task-led, the print format may be less convenient.

Is it still print-only?

It is no longer accurate to describe the current English-language Standart offer as entirely print-only.

Older publisher material explicitly used that description. However, the membership pages checked in November 2026 advertise online content, a community app and a digital-only membership alongside print membership.

That does not establish that every issue is available as an exact digital replica. Online articles, an archive and a page-for-page reproduction are different products. Check what is accessible rather than assuming that “digital access” means a downloadable version of every printed issue.

There is also a distinction between editions: Standart Japan’s about page still describes its publication as print-only. Readers should follow the terms for the language edition they actually intend to receive.

Contributors and the subjects they explore

Standart’s contributor mix is easier to understand through concrete examples than through a list of prominent names.

The publisher’s description of issue 18 identifies Noa Berger as the writer of a long-form examination of criticism in speciality coffee. It also names coffee professionals Michelle Johnson, Scott Rao and James Hoffmann as people consulted within that treatment.

That distinction matters. Someone interviewed for an article is not necessarily its author, and an endorsement displayed on a subscription page is not evidence that the person writes regularly for the magazine.

Issue 18 also connects coffee with literary criticism, including the use of coffee in writing by Virginia Woolf and T. S. Eliot. Its range illustrates how Standart can move beyond preparation technique without abandoning coffee as its organising subject.

A later example, issue 43, combines an interview with Formula One driver Valtteri Bottas, a Los Angeles city profile, a Malawi origin feature and writing by Tanya Nanetti about matcha. Coffee provides a connection between subjects rather than a boundary that excludes everything else.

For a prospective reader, this is more revealing than a general promise of expert contributors. Ask whether those combinations sound interesting. If they do, Standart’s editorial approach may suit you; if you want every article to improve a specific brewing skill, examine an issue’s contents first.

Tone: curious, literary and sometimes playful

Based on the publisher’s issue descriptions and editorial introduction, Standart’s tone is best characterised as curious and culturally engaged. It takes coffee seriously without restricting itself to technical explanation.

Its willingness to place criticism, literature, travel and everyday café experiences together gives it a looser, more exploratory feel than a training manual. Issue 18’s inclusion of café bathroom criticism is a particularly clear example of its playful side.

There is a trade-off. An essay about how coffee is discussed may be absorbing without telling you how to correct a sour espresso. That is not a defect in either kind of writing, but it is a reason to match the publication to your purpose.

For a broader view of editorial styles, use our guide to coffee magazines. Standart is best assessed on the strength and appeal of its stories, not on whether it answers every practical coffee question.

How to subscribe to Standart

Subscribe through Standart’s official website and check the membership description before completing your order. The English-language offer checked in November 2026 uses these names:

Use this short checklist:

1. Choose the language edition. Check that you are ordering the edition you can comfortably read.
2. Confirm the starting issue. Look at the order summary rather than relying on an older promotional page.
3. Check the contents of the membership. Distinguish printed issues, online reading, app access and coffee samples.
4. Read the renewal terms. The current membership listings describe annual billing and account-based cancellation.
5. Save the confirmation. Keep the membership details and renewal information together.

Be particularly attentive to trial offers. The membership FAQ checked for this article says its trial converts into a full membership after six weeks unless cancelled beforehand. A trial is therefore not simply an isolated magazine order.

For UK delivery, enter your actual address and check the checkout information. The publisher advertises worldwide delivery, but that should not be treated as a guarantee of arrival on a particular day.

What value does it offer?

Our assessment uses four criteria: editorial breadth, usefulness for your reading purpose, appeal of the format and whether you will actually return to it.

Editorial breadth is its strongest reason to read. The documented issue contents connect coffee with subjects that a brewing guide would not normally explore. That can help an interested reader ask better questions about coffee culture, even when there is no immediate practical task attached.

The physical format is a preference, not a universal advantage. A print issue can become something you revisit or share. Equally, it takes space and is less convenient for finding a particular detail than a searchable reference.

The coffee sample adds a tasting opportunity. Print membership advertises a sample with each issue. Treat that as a companion to the reading, not as a promise that a particular roaster or coffee will always be supplied.

Its limits are worth recognising. A quarterly culture magazine should not be your sole source for fast-changing information or a substitute for a structured course. If you want sustained instruction on one subject, coffee books may be the more useful starting point.

For a workplace, our recommendation would be to consider Standart as shared interest reading, not as equipment guidance or staff training. Choose it because colleagues want thoughtful coffee stories, rather than because the office owns a coffee machine.

The deciding question is straightforward: would you read it if the sample were not included? If the writing and visual approach already appeal, the membership has a clear purpose.