Every Friday, Perfect Daily Grind rounds up the top coffee industry news from the previous week. Here are this week’s stories.

Mon, 7 Aug

• Brazilian naturals allegedly included in certified exchange stocks. Reuters reports that “lower-grade” natural arabicas from Brazil, which meet ICE grading standards, are now being included in global certified exchange stocks. However, some traders believe this will negatively affect arabica prices in other producing countries.

• Global RTD coffee market to grow by almost 8% until 2027. Research firm Technavio says growing competition in the RTD coffee market will help to drive sales over the next four years. Although rising demand is a key driver of growth, Technavio warns that regulatory compliance changes may present challenges.

• Tim Hortons launches cold brew concentrate range in US grocery stores. The concentrates are available in four flavours: Medium Blend Black, Birthday Cake, Cinnamon Swirl, and Mocha Cereal. Each bottle contains eight servings and consumers can dilute the concentrate at home.

• Second G25 Africa Coffee Summit ends in Kampala, Uganda. The summit aims to address various challenges impacting producing countries across the continent, and serves as a platform to promote coffee value addition, trade, education, and domestic consumption.

• Tanzanian Vice President appeals to African leaders to find new solutions to boost coffee production. Speaking at the second G25 African Coffee Summit in Uganda, Dr. Philip Mpango encouraged fellow leaders to take steps to resolve Africa’s declining coffee exports. He adds that Tanzania aims to distribute at least 20 million coffee seedlings per year.

• Dry conditions accelerate harvests in Brazil as coffee futures fall from one-month high. The main arabica contract for September delivery closed at US 161.35 cents/lb on Friday – down by 3.35% on mid-week figures. Traders cite a weaker Brazilian real for the decline, but some anticipate prices to rise as ICE stocks continue to fall.

• Biggby Coffee on track to open 500 stores by 2024. The coffeehouse franchise company also plans to open 1,000 stores in the US by the end of 2028.

Tue, 8 Aug

• FCB Coffee to serve Sproud at all locations. Sproud manufactures plant milks made from yellow split peas, which will be served at all ten FCB Coffee locations in South England.

• Specialty Coffee Association to host Doughnut Economics webinar on 17 August. SCA Sustainability Director Andrés Montenegro will discuss how adopting a circular economy model can benefit the global coffee industry.

• Fellow launches new BIGFACE-branded product line. The new collection includes a number of BIGFACE customised Fellow products, such as the Stagg EKG Pro kettle, Ode Brew Grinder Gen 2, Carter Slide Mug, and the Stagg [X] Dripper Set.

• Bühler and IKAWA partner to bridge knowledge gap between micro and medium-to-large roasters. The partnership will help to develop new products using IKAWA’s sample roaster technology and Bühler’s RoastMaster machines. The two companies will conduct research and testing sessions with different-sized roasting businesses to better understand the goals and challenges they face, and will use research to inform design solutions.

• New study from NYU suggests drinking coffee can boost brain power. Using brain-monitoring technology, researchers found that various stimulants including coffee, music, and perfume increased “beta band” brain wave activity, which is linked to peak cognitive performance.

• Big Island Coffee Roasters opens flagship coffee shop, roastery, and tasting room in Hilo, Hawaii. The in-house roastery includes a custom, renewable energy-powered machine which can roast 102kg of coffee per hour.

• Americana Restaurants opens first Peet’s Coffee locations in Saudi Arabia. The local franchise partner has opened two Peet’s Coffee stores in the capital Riyadh, with more locations to open this year.

• EL&N seeks new investment to open 200 stores by 2028. The boutique café chain says it’s exploring opportunities to raise funding to build on record results in 2022.

Wed, 9 Aug

• Colombia’s coffee imports decreased by 50% year-on-year in July. The National Federation of Colombian Coffee Growers says production has stabilised for two consecutive months, which has reduced import volumes. Total production reached 947,000 60kg bags in July.

• Dutch Bros appoints Christine Barone as new CEO. Barone, who has served as president of Dutch Bros since February 2023, replaces Joth Ricci – who worked at the company for more than five years.

• US appeals court rules Starbucks must rehire seven employees fired from Tennessee store. According to Reuters, Starbucks lost its appeal against a prior ruling which required it to re-hire seven staff members allegedly fired for being pro-union. The Memphis store is one of nearly 300 US Starbucks stores to unionise since late 2021.

• World Coffee Innovation Awards 2023 announces judges panel. This year’s judges include Erwin Wentzel, Director General of the European Vending & Coffee Service Association, Connie Blumhardt, founder of Roast magazine, and Rafaela Sousa, reporter at FoodBev magazine. The awards ceremony will take place at Caffè Culture on 3 and 4 October 2023.

• Producers in Karnataka, India benefit from rising coffee prices. Karnataka produces around 71% of India’s total coffee volumes, but local producers have struggled with “stagnant” prices for more than a decade. Rising coffee prices now means many are able to save money to prepare for the next season.

• Best of Yemen 2023 auction breaks record with highest bid of US $444/lb for natural processed Yemenia variety. The coffee, which was grown by Muhammad Zidan, scored 90.20 points. A total 37lbs were purchased by Tennessee’s Mad Priest Coffee Roasters. Overall, the auction sold a total 4,827lbs of coffee for US $296,000.

• Kaldi Company receives regulatory approval for new digital currency. The company plans to launch KaldiCoin as part of its KaldiMarket – a cryptocurrency platform which aims to create new opportunities and improve profitability for smallholder coffee farmers. The currency is underpinned by the USD value of green coffee.

Thu, 10 Aug

• Honey processed lot from Nan region receives 91.13 points at 2023 Cup of Excellence Thailand. The lot (which is 70% Java and also includes Catimor, Typica, and Yellow Bourbon) was grown by Wichai Kamnerdmongkon at Coffee De Hmong Biofarm. The auction will take place on 15 August.

• Speciality Coffee & Tea Asia to launch Roasters Village at 2023 event. The Roasters Village is largely focused towards micro roasters, and helps them to connect with potential buyers in the hospitality industry. The 2023 Specialty Coffee & Tea Asia event will take place from 26 to 28 September at the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.

• Winners of Coffee Co Fest cold brew competition to take part in championships at PRF Colombia. Steven Palechor and Yeíson Buitrago placed first and second, respectively, at the competition, which was created by former PRF volunteer David Panesso. Both Palechor and Buitrago will receive a free ticket to take part in the Cold Brew Championship at PRF Colombia on 14 & 15 September 2023.

• Cxffeeblack to host fundraiser dinner to support its Black Barista Exchange. The three-course dinner – which includes traditional Ethiopian and African American cuisine – will be held at the TONE Gallery Headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee on 25 August. The event will also include a panel discussion featuring several prominent industry professionals.

• Singa Crew wins 2023 ASEAN Barista Team Championship. The team, which included coffee professionals from Singapore, won part of a total cash pool of US $11,000. The fourth edition of the competition will take place in Bangkok, Thailand in March 2024.

• Covoya Coffee announces Sip Happens exclusive cupping series. The cuppings will include several pre-shipment samples from various partner producers. The first session will take place at the Independent Coffee Lab in London on 16 August.

Fri, 11 Aug

• Second regional Venezuelan AeroPress Championship to take place on 12 August. The competition will be held in Caracas, while the first regional event took place in Carabobo on 5 and 6 August. More regional Venezuelan AeroPress Championships will take place in Miranda on 25 August, Lara and Aragua on 2 September, and Oriente on 9 September. Dates for the national competition will be announced soon.

• Five Elephant to host this year’s German AeroPress Championship on 9 September in Berlin. The winner will represent Germany at the 2023 World AeroPress Championship in Melbourne, Australia from 1 to 3 December.

• Expo Café Uruguay 2023 to take place on 12 August in Montevideo. The second edition of the event will include an exhibition, workshops and lectures, as well as the 2023 Uruguayan Latte Art and AeroPress Championships.

• Swiss Coffee Festival 2023 set to take place in Zurich from 6 to 8 October. The event will include networking opportunities, numerous exhibitions, and the 2023 Swiss Coffee Championships. Registration is now open for exhibitors and visitors.

• This year’s International Coffee Organisation World Conference to take place in Bengaluru, India from 25 to 28 September. In partnership with the Coffee Board of India, the fifth World Coffee Conference will bring together thousands of supply chain actors and stakeholders. The event will also coincide with the fifth CEO and Global Leaders Forum and the 136th International Coffee Council session.

• Manchester Coffee Festival to return on 18 & 19 November 2023. The annual event will feature an exhibition, extenstive talks and panels programme, workshops, and several competitions – including the 2023 UK Cup Tasters Championship and the new Extracted Development contest.

Here are a few coffee news stories from previous weeks that you might find interesting. Take a look.

• Tue, 1 Aug – International Trade Centre launches processing handbook for West African coffee producers. The manual outlines best practices for harvesting, processing, and post-harvest methods, as well as guidance on how to develop coffee products for local markets.

• Fri, 4 Aug – Report outlines how El Niño could affect emerging market economies. According to Reuters, India and Egypt are some of the most vulnerable market economies. Overall, countries with “relatively weak economic fundamentals” are at risk, with agricultural exports like coffee likely to suffer as a result.

• Fri, 4 Aug – Robusta shortages encourage Brazilian traders to export more coffee to Europe. Bloomberg reports that Brazilian traders are “rushing” to ship more coffee to Europe to capitalise on the global robusta shortage, which has dramatically increased robusta prices on the London Coffee Exchange.

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Want to keep up with current affairs in the coffee industry? Check out last week’s stories and make sure to read the latest Coffee Intelligence News & Opinion piece on how automation impacts the specialty coffee sector.