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

• Monday, 8 Feb – Sucafina launch a New Zealand office. Sucafina NZ Ltd. will be managed by Carl Sara, who has 20 years’ experience in importing. Sucafina have opened warehouses in Auckland and Christchurch, shipping nationwide (including 20kg microlots).

• Monday, 8 Feb – Caffè Nero begins selling at-home products on Amazon. The café chain’s “Classico Original Blend” will be available as ground coffee and whole bean. Capsules will also be sold in selected UK Sainsbury’s stores from March.

• Monday, 8 Feb – Second Cup Coffee Co. sold for US $11 million. The Canadian retail company was sold to Quebec-based restaurant business Foodtastic. World Coffee Portal’s report from last October claimed the value of Canada’s branded coffee shop market dropped by 22% in 2020 due to Covid-19.

• Monday, 8 Feb – Record price set for Tanzanian coffee at Alliance for Coffee Excellence auction. The first-ever ACE Ngorongoro Tanzania Private Collection Auction saw a peaberry Geisha sell for US $65/lb. The previous record price for a winning Ngorongoro lot was US $15/lb. Buyers were from the US, Canada, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Thailand.

• Monday, 8 Feb – Segafredo Zanetti France launch aluminium-free packaging. The 100% recyclable aluminium-free packaging is a world-first in the coffee industry. The company was the first in the sector to produce compostable capsules for supermarket sale.

• Monday, 8 Feb – Daily coffee consumption may reduce risk of mortality after heart attacks. Japanese research shows heart attack survivors who drank one cup of coffee a day were 22% less likely to die as a result of any cardiac incident. Further evidence found that coffee consumption minimises the occurrence of heart attacks and strokes in healthy individuals.

• Monday, 8 Feb – “Sip-to-Suit Cards about Coffee” receive more than US $36,000 in pledges on Kickstarter. US-based Art of Caffeination created the 52-deck of cards, containing a range of information on brewing methods, roast profiles, and more. Co-creator Vincent Lam received training from the San Antonio Barista Academy to verify the cards’ coffee recommendations.

• Monday, 8 Feb – Miyazaki launch Miyacoffee Single Drip in US. The Japanese company have released their single-cup pouring kettle in three colours. The 7mm spout allows for precise pouring.

• Tuesday, 9 Feb – The Seven Miles Coffee Science and Education Centre finds Australian tap water may be better than filtered water for espresso extraction. Studies with the University of New South Wales claim the country’s simple filter systems may be superior in preserving depth and complexity of flavour. Research will continue across the country throughout 2021.

• Tuesday, 9 Feb – FreshCap Mushrooms launch new Mushroom Coffee. The US company released three new products, including an organic instant coffee made from Lion’s Mane and Chaga mushrooms. The product comes in a box of 15-20 instant packets that are added to hot water.

• Tuesday, 9 Feb – Covid-19 sets back UK branded coffee shop growth by approximately seven years. The estimated loss of annual store sales was UK £2 billion, a 40% decline. The World Coffee Portal claims a “modest return to outlet growth in 2022”.

• Tuesday, 9 Feb – Italian manufacturer, Wega, launches WBar espresso machine. The unique, vertically-arranged grouphead controls have been designed for efficient workflow. The distance between grouphead and steam wand has also been increased for more comfortable access. Release is tabled for mid-2021.

• Tuesday, 9 Feb – Soul App partners with Tim Hortons China for trending “100 Moments Where Coffee Saved Your Day”. The social networking app is offering exclusive coffee coupon codes for lattes at the international chain. Both companies are popular among younger Chinese consumers.

• Tuesday, 9 Feb – UK consumer demand for Fairtrade products increases during pandemic. The Ethical Markets Report found Fairtrade purchases increased by 15% in 2020. Around 30% of UK consumers claim they will buy more Fairtrade products in the future.

• Tuesday, 9 Feb – International Coffee Organisation’s report shows arabica prices rise and robusta falls in January 2021. The ICO composite indicator concluded arabica averaged 115.73 US cents/lb, an increase of 0.9% compared to December. Robusta decreased by 1.8% to 70.71 US cents/lb.

• Tuesday, 9 Feb – Melitta suggests “Coffee & Chocolate” pairings in time for Valentine’s Day. Melitta’s Coffee Expert, Dan Pabst, provides complimentary pairing notes for coffee and chocolate. The pairings include milk chocolate with the “European roast”, alongside chocolate-covered pretzels for the “Colombian single origin”.

• Wednesday, 10 Feb – Xanadu Coffee Company opens first coffee shop in Arizona. After 12 years of roasting, Xanadu has opened its first café in Phoenix. “Co-op members” also have access to a 12kg Probat and Ikawa V2 sample roasters.

• Wednesday, 10 Feb – Mayorga Organics is constructing 10 homes in Nicaragua, funded by hurricane donation money. These funds were raised from November 7 to December 31, 2020. The coffee and superfood trader initially supported more than 700 families when Hurricanes Eta and Iota hit Central America.

• Thursday, 11 Feb – April 2021 date set for Moscow Coffee Festival. The event will take place from April 16 to 18; attendees will be able to sample coffee from Russian roasters, and take part in workshops and seminars.

• Friday, 12 Feb – World Coffee Alliance (WCA) announces confirmed speakers for Cross Talk Series 2021. WCA’s first virtual event in 2021 (following two in 2020), entitled Digitalising Access to Coffee Finance: Where is the Beef?, will take place on Feb 24 at 15:00 GMT. The virtual event will feature Mastercard and GrainChain; it will consist of two panels, featuring global leaders from the coffee industry and major brands from the finance and technology sectors.

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

• Thursday, 4 Feb – BLM Brew Co. launched in Princeton, New Jersey. Princeton’s first-ever black female police officer, Toni Mitchell, founded the ecommerce coffee company. Proceeds will provide resources and support programmes for communities of colour.

• Friday, 5 Feb – Royal Coffee Inc. opens warehouse in Canada. The US and Shanghai-based green coffee importer reveals a new warehouse in Vancouver, British Columbia. The first offerings from this location include Peruvian and Guatemalan coffees.

• Friday, 5 Feb – Chobani launches “I Dream of Creamer” contest. The US food and beverage company are offering US $75,000 for a new coffee creamer flavour. The flavour must “be made with only natural ingredients, including farm-fresh cream, real milk, and real cane sugar”.

• Friday, 5 Feb – Luckin Coffee files for bankruptcy in US. The Chinese chain’s US arm filed for bankruptcy after admitting to financial misconduct in 2019. The brand’s day-to-day operations elsewhere will remain the same, with 3,600 shops in China still active.

• Friday, 5 Feb – Swedish research finds fungus that may suppress coffee leaf rust. Studies conducted in Ethiopia found a species of “hyper parasitic fungus” that can grow “on top of” coffee leaf rust. This could reduce leaf drop, and help to minimise and maybe even reverse the negative impact of coffee leaf rust on plant growth and yield. More research is needed.

• Friday, 5 Feb – Minor Figures launch RTD product in US market. The UK-based oat beverage company debuted four canned drinks, including a seasonal single-origin latte. The RTD beverages will be available online as 12-packs, and in selected grocery stores.