How we work
CoffeePal publishes essays about relationships: how people meet, fight, repair, and sometimes part. Here is what we promise readers, and how we keep to it.
Our promises
- Free to read. Every essay is free, in full. There is no paywall and no limit on how many you read.
- No sign-up to read. You only need an account to respond to an essay or to write for us. Reading sets no cookies at all.
- No ads. No advertising, and no advertising trackers.
- Written by people, not AI. See below.
Who writes, and who checks
Writers are invited. An editor reads every piece before it's published, and nothing publishes itself. We would rather publish less than publish filler.
What you see, and why
No algorithm decides what you see. The home page and every category list essays newest first, and a person chooses what's published and which category it goes in. Nothing is ranked by clicks or by how angry it makes people, and a place in the essay lists can't be bought.
What the labels mean
Every essay says what kind of piece it is, above the first line:
- Personal essay. One person's experience. Not professional advice.
- Research explainer. Draws on published research. The sources are listed at the end. A research explainer can't be published without them.
- Reviewed by. Shown only when a licensed professional actually checked the piece, with their name, credential and the date.
- About the writer. A line on what their writing draws on — a profession, or their own experience — so you can weigh the advice before you take it.
AI
Our writers may use software to check spelling and grammar, or to find research they then read themselves. They don't use AI to write: no AI-drafted or AI-rewritten prose, and no AI-generated quotes, anecdotes, statistics or sources. We don't publish work that breaks this.
If something here reads like AI slop to you, press the AI Slop button at the end of the essay. It goes privately to our editor, who reads the piece again. There's no public count — the point is a second look, not a pile-on.
Not advice
Essays are not therapy, counselling, or medical or legal advice. If you feel unsafe, our safety page lists who to call.
How CoffeePal is paid for
Not by readers. Reading will stay free. When our directory opens, licensed therapists, relationship coaches and mediators will pay to be listed. Listings are labelled as paid, and they have no say in what we write.
New essays by email
If you subscribe, you get an email when there's a new essay and nothing else. We confirm before sending anything, every email has a one-click unsubscribe, and our emails don't track whether you open them or what you click.
Corrections
If we get something wrong, email hello@coffeepal.com. A person reads every message. When we correct an essay, we say what changed at the end of it.