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

• Monday, 1 Mar – Sintercafé announces that it will host a virtual International Coffee Week in 2021. Covid-19 restrictions mean the Costa Rican non-profit will host an online event this year after doing the same in November 2020. An in-person event will be held in Costa Rica in November 2022.

• Monday, 1 Mar – First 2021 Re:co online event announced for May 12 & 13. Registration is now open for Re:co Americas, with another online event slated for June. May’s event programme features speakers, live discussions, and networking opportunities.

• Monday, 1 Mar – Parigi Books publishes new book on Italian espresso. Wendy Pojmann’s Espresso: The Art and Soul of Italy explores the history and significance of espresso in Italian coffee culture. Pojmann is a Professor of History at Sienna College in New York.

• Monday, 1 Mar – Melitta celebrates inventor Melitta Bentz during Women’s History Month. The German entrepreneur invented the first pour over brewer prototype in 1908. To honour their founder, Melitta are offering a 30% discount between March 8 to 12.

• Monday, 1 Mar – Gesha Café charges A$198 for a cup of Panamanian Geisha. The Melbourne coffee shop is selling the most expensive cup of coffee in the city. The Geisha is described as “smooth, aromatic and with fruit and butterscotch characteristics”.

• Monday, 1 Mar – Starbucks US launches spring menu range. Plant-based options are the focus of the seasonal menu, including the “Iced Brown Sugar Oatmilk Shaken Espresso” and the “Iced Chocolate Almondmilk Shaken Espresso”. Starbucks now stocks Oatly at most US locations.

• Monday, 1 Mar – Equator Coffees announces two female-produced coffees for Women’s History Month. The roaster, based in San Francisco, will feature Sumatra Queen Keitarra and Equator El Batan from Ecuador. The roaster will also continue their support of the Brown Girl Surf project – increasing access to surfing for women of colour.

• Tuesday, 2 Mar – Barista Group partner with Tone to create the first standalone boilerless brewer. The Tone Touch 03 can reach temperatures of 94°C within two seconds of activation. The machine has two modes, which allow the user to pre-programme and customise brewing variables, including adjustments to flow rate.

• Tuesday, 2 Mar – Veneziano launches the second line of its Pinnacle coffee series. The limited-edition range includes individual bags and a Taster’s Pack with four different coffees. All coffees are available for purchase now until stocks run out.

• Tuesday, 2 Mar – Barista League announce the High Density 2021 virtual event for March 9. This year’s programme includes talks on roasting, green coffee sourcing, brewing, and inclusivity in the coffee industry. Registration is free.

• Tuesday, 2 Mar – Eversys launches the Enigma ST espresso machine. The fully-automated Super Traditional range from the Swiss machine manufacturer includes a new display screen that is 27% larger than previous models.

• Tuesday, 2 Mar – Demetria unveils AI-powered analysis of coffee quality using near-infrared sensors. The startup received US $3 million in funding for a world-first fully traceable “data cloud”. Demetria sensors can analyse green beans to identify biochemical markers, and match each bean profile according to coffee flavour wheels.

• Tuesday, 2 Mar – SCA Research announces its third Covid-19 Community Survey. The poll is available in five languages, and is centred on how coffee businesses continue to adapt to Covid-19. The survey is aimed at businesses across the supply chain.

• Tuesday, 2 Mar – Second La Cosecha Guatemala event announced. The virtual event will promote the Guatemalan coffee harvest with the aim of driving sustainable tourism and consumption, as well as raising awareness about Guatemalan coffee production. Sponsors of the event include Anacafé, Guatemala’s national coffee association.

• Tuesday, 2 Mar – Furloughed UK pilot establishes “Naked Roaster” during lockdown. Glaswegian Gordon Melling operates a roastery from his home, as Covid-19 restrictions have hit the UK aviation sector. Melling owned a coffee shop in Glasgow a decade ago, before completing his flight training in 2011.

• Tuesday, 2 Mar – Alto Cold Brew releases cupping kit. The Californian coffee company has launched a cupping guide, toolkit, and evaluation sheets for sensory properties. The cupping kit is designed to standardise cold brew quality control for cafés and roasters.

• Tuesday, 2 Mar – Costa Coffee UK reveals spring menu items. This season’s range will include the “Toffee Spiced Cold Brew” alongside new limited-edition ruby chocolate drinks, including the “Ruby Frostino” and “Ruby Hot Chocolate”. The menu was launched on Thursday March 4.

• Tuesday, 2 Mar – Starbucks celebrates its 50th anniversary with the aptly-named Anniversary Blend. The limited edition Indonesian blend comes in unique packaging, and will be sold brewed and as whole bean in selected US Starbucks stores from March 8 to 14.

• Wednesday, 3 Mar – UK chancellor announces 5% VAT rate will continue for UK hospitality businesses. The reduced rate for hospitality venues – including coffee shops – has been extended until the end of September. Startup grants totalling £5 million have also been announced, which will support high street businesses to reopen after Covid-19.

• Wednesday, 3 Mar – Tiny Footprint Coffee launches Fair Trade-certified Women Producers Sampler. The Minnesota-based roaster is selling “carbon-negative” coffee grown by female farmers. Sales will help fund gender equity programmes in coffee-producing communities.

• Wednesday, 3 Mar – CARE receives US $5 million grant from US Department of Labour. The Georgian non-profit will use the funds for a project that seeks to eliminate child labour and improve gender equity in Ethiopian coffee-growing communities. Women and girls are reported to carry out 70% of coffee production which is much higher than other agricultural sectors in the country.

• Wednesday, 3 Mar – Ally Coffee partners with Vollers UK for green coffee storage. The new storage facility is located near Bury St Edmunds, UK. Its first offerings will include coffees from Brazil and Colombia, with Costa Rican and Ethiopian coffees to follow in the next few months.

• Thursday, 4 Mar – International Women’s Coffee Alliance announces two virtual events for International Women’s Day. On March 8, IWCA Board Member Mansi Chokshi is hosting an Instagram Live conversation with Caffè Vergnano. After this, the Celebration & Panel event will be hosted by the Women in Coffee Project at 2pm PST. 

• Thursday, 4 Mar – FNC reports 11% production growth in February 2021. So far in 2021, 2.2 million bags have been produced – a 7% increase on February 2020’s figures. Colombian production levels in February have not been this high since 1993.

• Thursday, 4 Mar – HAVA Mug raises more than US $14,000 on Kickstarter in just nine hours. The self-heating mug connects to a mobile app that can heat or maintain the temperature of the liquid within (up to 150°F/65°C). The 10oz (295ml) mug can keep beverages hot for up to two hours.

• Thursday, 4 Mar – Vuna Coffee Rituals announces Kickstarter campaign starting April 15. Launched by Vuna Origin Consulting, the project will seek to fund single-serve coffee bags featuring four different blend options. All coffees will be sustainably sourced, and their packaging is biodegradable.

• Friday, 5 Mar – Virtual Producer Roaster Forum 2021 tickets continue to sell. Attendees from the US, UK, Rwanda, Colombia, Brazil, and beyond have all purchased tickets in recent days. Tickets are selling quickly; buy yours here before they’re gone. The virtual event will take place on April 5 & 6.

• Friday, 5 March – Mayorga Organics set to complete rebuilding of 8 homes in Nicaragua. After providing immediate aid in November 2020, the US-based coffee roaster and superfood supplier began rebuilding homes destroyed by hurricanes Iota and Eta.

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

• Tuesday, 16 Feb – University of Granada study shows consuming coffee before exercise can help burn fat. The researchers tested 15 males with controls and a number of “strong” coffees. Findings concluded that coffee consumption 30 minutes before physical activity was best for burning fat.

• Monday, 22 Feb – Outdoor seating will reopen for UK hospitality businesses from April 12. Venues with outdoor seating areas – including coffee shops – will be able to open in the UK from mid-April. The British hospitality sector continues to call for further financial support from the UK government.

• Thursday, 25 Feb – Intelligent Blends expands its R&D facilities. The single-serve and functional beverage company have increased their capacity to meet an increasing demand for at-home consumption and functional beverages.

• Thursday, 25 Feb – Nestlé report finds that 80% of consumers prefer self-service machines over than coffee shops. The report, entitled Mind the Gap: Driving frictionless coffee-to-go experiences, also stated that 90% of “convenience-orientated” customers buy coffee to-go. Some 62% of respondents said they were more likely to buy coffee if they could use a reusable cup.

• Thursday, 25 Feb – WMF to present Professional Coffee Machine range at Internorga 2021. The German manufacturer will be showcasing the WMF 1300 S automatic machine at the 2021 International Digital Food Services Expo. A panel of WMF professionals will also be answering questions on digital trends in the coffee industry.

• Friday, 26 Feb – Royal Coffee releases report on significant green coffee shipping delays. The importer stated that in some cases, delivery delays could reach more than eight weeks. These in turn can negatively affect coffee quality.

• Friday, 26 Feb – The Andes Coffee Growers Cooperative has been found to have a debt of over 160 billion Colombian pesos. Most of the money was lost on investments in the New York Stock Exchange. Farmers in Antioquia who received loans from the co-op have been affected by the news.

• Saturday, 27 Feb – February 2021 ends with coffee prices at the highest recorded level since 2017. Weather problems have affected harvests in Vietnam and Brazil, leading to estimates that the global coffee surplus will fall.

• Sunday, 28 Feb – Poor weather conditions in India predicted to cause 2020/21 harvest to fall by up to 30%. Unpredicted heavy rainfall and hailstorms have caused both arabica and robusta cherries to prematurely fall, which will affect yields in the weeks to come.