Every Friday, Perfect Daily Grind rounds up the top coffee industry news from the previous week.

Here are this week’s coffee news stories.

Mon, 18 Sep

• Four competition winners crowned at PRF Colombia 2023. Four competitions took place at the industry-leading coffee event, including roasting and cold brew championships. Here are the winners:
  • Cold Brew Coffee Championship by Toddy: Jean Pierre Acero Cechetti (Fecve Lab, Venezuela)
  • Global Coffee Roasting Contest by !Fest Coffee Mission: Alejandro Macías (Lusitania Coffee Co., Colombia)
  • Campeonato de Olla by Amor Perfecto: David Alejandro Galeano Díaz (Col-Spirit, Colombia)
  • Fibtex Championship: Zurcos Historia de Café (Colombia)

• PRF Guatemala to take place on 7 & 8 March 2024. Producer & Roaster forum returns to Guatemala for the first time since 2019, promising three days of high-level talks, workshops, and cupping sessions from prominent global coffee experts. Guatemalan Coffees will be the Official Host Country Sponsor for the event, which will take place at the Anacafé venue.

• Probat honours two employees for 50 years of service to the company. Manfred Esters and Johannes Kersjes were honoured for their commitment to the company at a festive ceremony in Emmerich, Germany. As per Probat tradition, they both received engraved golden watches.

• New York Coffee Festival announces Coffee Masters NYC contenders. The twelve baristas will face off at the competition from 6 to 8 October at the Metropolitan Pavilion. They are:
  • Mitchell Celicious, The Coffee Movement
  • Sum, Coffee Project New York
  • Joshua J. Nowland, Little Wolf Coffee
  • Nophadon Kantaros, Caravan Coffee Roasters
  • Angela Wang, Self-Employed
  • Francesco Luminati Tonelli, Likuid Element
  • Casey Wilson, Boxcar Coffee Roasters
  • Meg Skop, The Coffee Movement
  • Alejandro Griffin – Diaz, JACOB ALEJANDRO
  • Kayla Baird, Dayglow / Niteglow Brooklyn
  • Reef Bessette, The Coffee Movement
  • Vladyslav Demonenko, kolo coffee

• Sucafina anticipates 10% drop in Ugandan coffee production as harvests begin. The company says farmers above the equator will produce a bumper crop, while areas below the equator are off-cycle and will produce less than last year. It adds that the quality outlook is positive.

• Gruppo Cimbali to unveil new corporate name and visual identity at HostMilano from 13 to 17 October. The coffee machine manufacturer says it will launch its new corporate vision at the event, alongside an exhibit featuring its latest LaCimbali, Faema, Slayer, and Casadio machines.

• Starbucks China promotes Molly Liu to co-CEO. Liu is also the new executive vice-president and will lead the company’s expansion plans as it competes with Luckin Coffee in China.

• Craft Hospitality LLC to host coffee festivals in DC, Austin, Nashville, and San Francisco. The San Francisco coffee festival returns from 11 to 12 November at the Fort Mason Centre for the Arts. Craft Hospitality will also host the following events:
  • Inaugural DC Coffee Festival – 30 September – Union Market complex
  • Second Austin Coffee Festival – 30 September to 1 October – Fair Market
  • Inaugural Nashville Coffee Festival – 4 November – Marathon Music Works

• Malaysian farmers hope to use coffee to support local tourism industry. According to the South China Morning Post, indigenous farmers in Sarawak have begun growing liberica coffee, hoping to enter international markets and entice more tourists to the region.

• Redbrick to host Australian Capital Territory AeroPress Championship on 6 October. The event will take place at Public Service in Canberra. The winner will take part in the Australian AeroPress Championship on 31 November in Melbourne.

Tue, 19 Sep

• NCA says US Americans choose coffee each day more than any other beverage – including water. In its latest National Coffee Data Trends report, the organisation found that 63% of Americans chose coffee in the past day, compared to 61% for bottled water and 45% for tea and tap water.

• Starbucks opens China Coffee Innovation Park in Kunshan. The 80,000m² facility features a roasting plant, a state-of-the-art integrated distribution centre (IDC), and an immersive experience centre. It represents the largest investment in any Starbucks coffee manufacturing and distribution centre outside the US.

• El Niño and the positive Indian Ocean Dipole are underway around the world. The Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology says central and eastern Pacific sea surface temperatures continue to exceed El Niño thresholds, influenced by global warming. Several coffee producing regions around the world are expected to be adversely affected.

• Danny Andrade wins 2023 Australian Coffee in Good Spirits Championship. Andrade defeated ten other coffee professionals at the finals held at Sammy Jnr. in Sydney.

• Axil Coffee to host coffee tasting event with 2022 World Barista Champion Anthony Douglas. The session will take place at Axil’s Bourke Street café in Melbourne, Australia on 30 September. Anthony will recreate his championship-winning courses for 15 attendees, including the signature drink that features the El Diviso Sidra coffee.

• Sense It launches Roastersaurus coffee to help fund Diana Johnston’s 2023 World Coffee Roasting Championship campaign. The F1 hybrid natural Costa Rica coffee is described as “big and chewy” with notes of pineapple and mango. All profits will fund the UK Coffee Roasting Champion’s journey to the 2023 World Coffee Roasting Championships in Taiwan.

• Registration opens for 2024 NCA Annual Convention in Tennessee. The 2024 convention will focus on “fuelling the future” of coffee, featuring coffee experts and speakers from around the world. It’s scheduled to take place from 7 to 9 March 2024 in Nashville.

• Artpresso Design launches La Marzocco double-wall dosing cup. The cup enables baristas to accurately weigh and dose coffee grounds for a single shot of espresso. The double-wall design directs coffee ground flow, while the rim aligns perfectly with portafilter baskets.

• Kliro Capital Partners acquires minority stake in Solo Coffee. The UK brand, which sells espresso-style coffee concentrate, will use funding to expand into the US – and will also supply its product to actress Millie Bobby Brown’s brand Florence by Mills.

• Trung Nguyên Legend Cafe opens first US store in California. Vietnam’s most popular coffee chain has opened a store in Westminster, California, serving phin and espresso-based coffee drinks using 100% Vietnamese robusta and arabica.

Wed, 20 Sep

• D2C specialty coffee company Bean Box launches crowdfunding investment campaign. The company offers both subscriptions and a la carte coffee on its website. With new investment, it hopes to scale up and become a trusted brand and source of roasted coffee in the US.

• Boston Stoker Coffee Co celebrates 50th anniversary with special Vintage Collection. The collection includes several lots that were frozen immediately upon receiving, including a 2012 El Injerto from Guatemala and a 2019 Tesfaye Roba from Ethiopia.

• Ruralmente and Cafetear offer mental health support for Colombian coffee farmers. The two organisations provide comprehensive mental health support through innovative technologies and accessible psychosocial services. They aim to improve productivity, job satisfaction, and quality of life among farmers facing difficult working conditions and economic pressures.

• Northern Wonder partners with largest retailer in the Netherlands to distribute “coffee without coffee” products. The Dutch company manufactures a coffee alternative “without tropical ingredients” like coffee. Instead, it uses beans, legumes, blackcurrants, and other ingredients that don’t contribute to tropical deforestation.

• Conab revises Brazilian coffee production estimate to 54.36 million bags for the 2023/2024 season. The governmental agency has downgraded its earlier estimate by 380,000 60kg bags of green coffee, which still represents a 6.8% increase over the previous season.

• Mahlkönig to host exclusive coffee event in Milan on 12 October. The “pre-host” event will take place at Maka Loft and is described as an evening of community, technology, and the next era of Mahlkönig.

• Biggby Coffee appoints Erin Kaylor as new CFO. Kaylor previously worked as a finance leader for McDonald’s and retired in 2017. She’s now come out of retirement to join Biggby as it prepares to open another 140 stores.

• Finlay’s annual 1750 Magazine outlines the biggest trends in coffee and other beverages. The publication features insights into the cold brew market, elevated coffee offerings in the dessert sector, and the future of RTD coffee in the US.

• Blue Bottle Coffee announces new Blue Bottle Studio in Los Angeles, California. The first Blue Bottle Studio residency in the US will offer visitors “the pinnacle of specialty coffee” through an eight-course tasting menu featuring exceptional and rare coffees from around the world.

• Keurig Dr Pepper appoints Tim Cofer as Chief Operating Officer. Cofer, a veteran consumer packaged goods executive, will take over from chairman and CEO Bob Gamgort on 6 November. Gamgort will subsequently serve as executive chairman of the group.

Thu, 21 Sep

• Cup of Excellence to host Sensory Education Training in Seoul, South Korea from 12 to 15 October. The comprehensive training schedule aims to help coffee professionals improve their cupping skills and also prepares them for CoE jury duty. Alliance for Coffee Excellence members are eligible for a 20% discount.

• Joe Coffee replaces almond milk with NotMilk Barista at all locations. The New York specialty coffee roaster will use the chickpea and oat milk blend as a plant-based alternative at its cafés, becoming NotCo’s first US coffee house partnership to make use of the product.

• Veneziano Coffee Roasters launches dairy-free RTD cold brew range. The canned Neapolitan Latte and Chai Latte join the Straight Up Cold Brew and Oat Milk Latte to complete the company’s RTD lineup.

• La Marzocco launches Pico home espresso grinder. The grinder features a brushless induction motor, sound-dampening design, programmable dose selection, and an accurate adjustment collar.

• Digital Coffee Future to host Coffee Prices and Technology Summit on 25 & 26 October. The online summit will focus on a “Trends, Margins, and Pay Gap” theme, featuring discussions between participants from all sectors of the coffee value chain.

• Coffee prices and volumes fall sharply at Nairobi Coffee Exchange as government introduces Coffee Bill 2023. According to Business Africa Daily, traders and buyers anticipate worker layoffs at coffee processing stations, while confusion persists over the issuance of state trading permits in line with new coffee regulations.

• Robusta reaches record prices in Vietnam as stocks dwindle ahead of harvest season. The local robusta price reached US $2.79/kg, representing a 76% increase since the beginning of the year. Traders expect prices to fall over then next two months ahead of the 2023/2024 harvest season.

• This year’s Specialty Coffee & Tea Asia event to host Roaster’s Village. Micro roasters can book booths for the event, which will take place at the Sands Expo & Convention Centre in Singapore from 26 to 28 September.

Fri, 22 Sep

• Romanian AeroPress Championships scheduled for 1 October. The competition, hosted by Artisan Coffee Gear, will take place at the Slow Coffee Festival in Bucharest on 1 October. The winner will go on to represent Romania at the World AeroPress Championship in Melbourne, Australia on 1 December.

• Café Business Expo 2023 scheduled for 10 to 11 October in London, England. The annual expo will be held at ExCel, featuring 100 different speakers, a product innovation showcase, and an industry awards ceremony.

• SCA Japan to celebrate 20th anniversary at World Specialty Coffee Conference and Exhibition 2023. The event, which will feature insights from the Alliance for Coffee Excellence and Cup of Excellence, will take place at Tokyo Big Sight from 27 to 30 September.

• Weber Workshops to launch KEY Mk ii grinder at 2023 SCAJ World Specialty Coffee Conference and Exhibition. The new model includes an improved bean loading and anti-popcorning mechanisms, as well as a 50% increase in torque compared to its predecessor model.

• Qatar Museums announces Stories of Coffee in Qatar and Indonesia exhibition. The exhibition, set to be unveiled in October, will take visitors through the global history of coffee while exploring the coffee cultures of both Qatar and Indonesia. It forms part of the Qatar-Indonesia 2023 Year of Culture.

• Athens Coffee Festival gets underway at the Technopolis. The three-day event features seminars, Coffee Masterclasses, exhibitions, and the Panhellenic Coffee Championships.

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

• Fri, 8 Sep – TONE appoints Adib Maksoud as sales manager for MEA region. Maksoud has worked in the coffee industry for more than 23 years, beginning as a barista. He will help the company further develop its operations in the region.

• Tue, 12 Sep – Favy names Santa Cruz, California as the best coffee city in America. The company assessed 267 American cities with more than 50,000 residents across five categories: cappuccino affordability, walkability, coffee shops, independent coffee shops, and “Coffee Fanatic Factors”. There are four California cities in the top 25 and a total of nine West Coast coffee hubs.

• Wed, 13 Sep – Meridia partners with ICE to launch ICE Commodity Traceability service. The platform is designed to facilitate “frictionless” trade of cocoa and coffee by supporting compliance with EU deforestation regulations.

• Thu, 14 Sep – Nestlé ranks first in sustainability in 2023 Coffee Brew Index. The company says the Coffee Barometer report recognises its “cohesive and comprehensive” coffee sustainability strategy and dedicated investments.

• Fri, 15 Sep – The Café Specialty Grind and Brew Coffee Maker is now SCA certified. The machine is the latest to be recognised as an SCA Certified Home Brewer. It meets various criteria and quality standards, including the SCA Golden Cup Standard.

• Sat, 16 Sep – Kenyan politician says new Coffee Bill 2023 will stem coffee thefts and save farmers from debts. Members of parliament ares set to discuss and pass the bill, which seeks to streamline the country’s coffee sector and secure better earnings for farmers.

• Sun, 17 Sep – SCA Sweden hosts world’s first fully-plant based Latte Art Championship in Stockholm. The event, won by Alexander Ntatsos, was sponsored by Sproud, which supplied all plant-based milks.

Photo credits: Producer Roaster Forum

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