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

• Monday, 14 Jun – Neumann Kaffee Gruppe and Coffee Coalition for Racial Equity partner on NKG Partnership to Advance Coffee Equity. The programme will increase coffee sector employment opportunities for members of the black community in the US. Partners include Atlas Coffee Importers, InterAmerican Coffee, and Rothfos Corporation. Participants will be trained on topics including quality control, cupping, and grading.

• Monday, 14 Jun – Metropolis Coffee partners with EightySeven to redesign packaging. The redesign of the Illinois roaster’s packaging includes a new colour palette and art deco designs, with roast profiles illustrated across the product range.

• Monday, 14 Jun – Japanese coffee chain % Arabica opens first US store. The New York City location includes a “green bean corner” where customers can purchase “custom roasts” in-store. The chain is also set to open stores in Saudi Arabia and Canada.

• Monday, 14 Jun – IDH appoints Ric Rhinehart as Strategy Director for Agri-Commodities team. Rhinehart has worked in the coffee and tea industry for over 30 years – including as Executive Director of the SCAA and Founding Director of World Coffee Research. Rhinehart will mainly focus on global convening activities in the coffee industry.

• Monday, 14 Jun – Vancouver BC coffee roaster 49th Parallel launches capsules in collaboration with Joe’s Garage Coffee. The Nespresso-compatible offerings include the “Common Ground” Brazil and Colombia blend, and a Peruvian single origin entitled “Déjà vu”.

• Monday, 14 Jun – Global instant coffee market to grow by US $9.26 billion by 2025. The CAGR is predicted to be 5% from 2021 to 2025.

• Monday, 14 Jun – Costa Coffee releases seasonal drinks for summer 2021. The Golden Caramel beverage range includes Golden Caramel syrup and golden sprinkles. The Champion’s Roast+ arabica blend includes supplements of vitamins B3 and B6.

• Monday, 14 Jun – Makers & Finders Coffee opens new kiosk location in Las Vegas. The pop-up is inside the city’s new entertainment and events district, AREA15. Alongside their signature drinks, Makers & Finders will serve two new beverages: the Rainbow Latte and Glowed Up.

• Tuesday, 15 Jun – Nespresso joins Executive Committee of Partnership for Central America. The non-profit was established by US Vice President Kamala Harris to promote sustainable economic growth throughout Central America. Nespresso aims to double the number of Central American coffee farms they source from by 2025.

• Tuesday, 15 Jun – WCA Cross Talk Series to host Transforming SMEs Into Digital Coffee Enterprises Through Innovation: What is the game plan?. On 23 June, two panels will discuss the digitalisation of the coffee industry and how it can lead to sustainable development. The event will take place from 15:00 to 17:30 BST.

• Tuesday, 15 Jun – Research from Cenicafé and Bayer AG finds Colombian coffee farms house at least 88 native bee species. The study also shows over 250 species of insects (including beetles, butterflies, moths, and ants) visit coffee farms daily across the country.

• Tuesday, 15 Jun – Bazzara Academy to reopen in July. The SCA-certified Italian coffee training centre is set to reopen its courses next month, including its Q grader programme.

• Tuesday, 15 Jun – Fairtrade Foundation participates in #WaveofHope campaign. The 75 charities and organisations involved in the UK campaign are calling on country leaders attending the G7 summit and 2021 UN Climate Change Conference to increase funding for climate change mitigation and social justice.

• Tuesday, 15 Jun – USDA reports 2021/22 Honduran coffee production down by 12%. Wetter weather conditions are increasing the incidence coffee leaf rust, which has been blamed for the decrease in production, currently totalling 5.5 million bags.

• Tuesday, 15 Jun – Cecafé reports Brazilian coffee production figures down by 20.3% in May. Logistical issues and new ICO regulations on Certificates of Origin are being noted as reasons for the decrease. May’s levels are the lowest since 2018.

• Wednesday, 16 Jun – Quality Espresso launches QMILK warmer. The six-litre stainless steel milk warmer uses a bain-marie system to achieve the required temperature – aimed for use in catering services, hotels, offices, and restaurants.

• Wednesday, 16 Jun – Partnership for Gender Equity offers exclusive preview of Gender Equitable Service Provision in Coffee and Cocoa: the State of the Industry research. On June 24, the non-profit will host a webinar exploring research on gender equity in the coffee and cacao sectors. The research was conducted in early 2021 in conjunction with Yale University’s Jackson School of Global Affairs. The event will take place at 17:00 CEST.

• Wednesday, 16 Jun – The Barista League to host new season of Battle of the Beans. Four competitors will take on 12 new challenges, including Plant-Based Buddies, airing on June 30. The series will be available on YouTube.

• Wednesday, 16 Jun – Dutch Bros Coffee applies for IPO. The number of shares and proposed price ranges are yet to be determined, but a May report by Bloomberg indicates the company could be worth US $3 billion.

• Wednesday, 16 Jun – Leon permanently closes Scandinavian stores. The food and coffee-to-go chain has closed both Norway locations – first opened in June 2018 – because of the impacts of Covid-19. Leon states it will continue to focus more on its UK and European stores.

• Wednesday, 16 Jun – Hemro Group to showcase grinder range at 2021 Coffee Fest San Antonio. The company will be exhibiting its Mahlkönig, Ditting, and HeyCafé lines of grinders on June 18 and 19. The booth will feature a mobile espresso bar setup alongside commercial and home grinders.

• Wednesday, 16 Jun – One Of A Kind Guatemalan sample kits still available for purchase. Buyers in Asia can purchase until June 21, while European & North American buyers can purchase until June 25. The auction is due to take place on July 13.

• Wednesday, 16 Jun – JDE Peet’s acquires Australian Campos Coffee. Campos Coffee is available in more than 600 stores across the country. The coffee chain was acquired for an undisclosed amount and the full transaction will be completed by July this year.

• Wednesday, 16 Jun – WCR releases two new guides on improving plant health and quality. The organisation created the Good Practice Guides for coffee nurseries with support from the USDA-funded Maximizing Opportunities in Coffee and Cacao in the Americas (MOCCA) programme. The aims of the guides are to improve plant health and genetic purity, with a third guide on improving profitability to be released soon.

• Wednesday, 16 Jun – Voting opens for SCA Poland 2021 Chapter Elections. The Poland chapter nominated two people for the National Coordinator role. Voting for SCA Poland members is open until June 23, with the results announced on June 30.

• Wednesday, 16 Jun – Luckin Coffee completes Financing Milestone under new restructuring agreement. The agreement required the company to obtain reasonable assurance of funding outside of China, as well as approval from China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

• Thursday, 17 Jun – Trabocca and Cropster partner on Roast Curve Library. The library contains 18 Cropster roast curves for a variety of origins and processing techniques, developed by 13 roasters. Visitors can download and log roast curves for free using Cropster accounts.

• Thursday, 17 Jun – The Gentlemen Baristas to open two new London locations. The Piccadilly store will feature the company’s first ever “Brew Bar” – a private hosting area for cuppings and educational sessions. The Mayfair location will include an open kitchen, as well as baked goods provided by the local Chestnut Bakery.

• Thursday, 17 Jun – Caravela Coffee releases report on economic sustainability in Guatemalan coffee production. In partnership with Enveritas, the study was carried out in Huehuetenango, San Marcos, and eastern Guatemala. The 2020/21 report says that fixed farmgate prices improve coffee quality, and that the number of women farmers grew by 4%, among other findings.

• Thursday, 17 Jun – Food 4 Farmers hires Alyson Welch as first Executive Director. Welch has more than 15 years’ experience in business development, mostly in Latin America. She will work on addressing key issues facing global rural communities (including those growing coffee), such as food insecurity and climate change.

• Thursday, 17 Jun – BrewDog and Tony’s Chocolonely create IPA. The two certified B Corps collaborated on the limited edition Tony’s Hopolonely Raspberry Milkshake IPA. The beer was inspired by Tony’s white chocolate, raspberry, and popping candy chocolate bar.

• Friday, 18 Jun – TechnoServe study finds tree stumping increases coffee productivity in Ethiopia. Low productivity levels in Ethiopia are largely due to ageing coffee trees. TechnoServe provided tools and training to producers as an incentive to stump trees. The report indicates that annual yields from trees are on average three times higher after growing back.

• Friday, 18 Jun – IWCA signs memorandum of understanding with ACE, CoE. The agreement will focus on creating more sustainable coffee-growing communities through the financial support of women. The first phase of the partnership involves increasing CoE auction premiums for IWCA chapter members.

• Friday, 18 Jun – Starbucks announces three leadership promotions. John Culver – who first joined in 2002 – has been promoted to Chief Operations Officer. Michael Conway joined in 2013 and will lead as President of International and Channel Development. Michelle Burns joined in 1995 and will be Executive VP of Global Coffee, Tea, and Cocoa.

• Friday, 18 Jun – Singapore Specialty (Micro-Lot) Auction 2021 announces official roaster, brewer, and grinder sponsors. Singapore company Innoroma will provide sample roasters, while BUNN will source coffee brewing equipment. Gruppo Cimbali will offer its grinding equipment at the auction.

• Friday, 18 Jun – First Café Show Paris scheduled for May 2022. The in-person event will take place at the Paris Expo-Porte de Versailles in Paris, France from May 19 to 22. Over 200 exhibitors and 20,000 visitors are expected to attend the exhibition.

• Friday, 18 Jun – MICE 2021 to host Australia’s Richest Barista. The knockout competition will take place over three days, with competitors taking part in 10-minute beverage preparation rounds. First place will receive AU $35,000, while second place and third place will receive AU $10,000 and AU $5,000 respectively.

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

• Wednesday, 9 Jun – American Academy of Ophthalmology releases report on caffeine consumption and glaucoma. The research indicates those with high genetic predispositions to the eye disease should limit their daily caffeine intake. The findings concluded higher levels of caffeine consumption do not cause glaucoma.

• Wednesday, 9 Jun – Global sparkling coffee market expected to reach US $1.4 billion by 2028. With high consumption rates across North America and Europe, a 13% CAGR is anticipated between 2021 and 2028. North America held the largest share of the 2020 market with over 45%.

• Wednesday, 9 Jun – Côte d’Ivoire Divo biomass power plant to run using cacao waste. Once construction is complete, it will be the largest biomass plant in West Africa, aiming to power the homes of 1.7 million people.

• Thursday, 10 Jun – New coffee-focused feature Roaster Row to take place at 2021 NAMA Show and Coffee Tea & Water. The convenience service-focused exhibition will allow roasters to enter office coffee services markets. The event is set to take place from August 18 to 20.

• Thursday, 10 Jun – Brazil receives world-first GI certification for sustainable robusta production. The Amazon rainforest region of Matas de Rondônia received the certification through support from Global Coffee Platform. Espírito Santo state also received its first GI certification for conilon coffee.

• Thursday, 10 Jun – Oatly sues Glebe Farm Foods over PureOaty brand. Oatly contacted the Cambridgeshire company in 2020, claiming the PureOaty branding was an infringement of Oatly’s trademark. Oatly filed a High Court injunction to prevent sales of PureOaty.

• Friday, 11 Jun – Naturepac supplied recyclable coffee cups to G7 summit. The Cambridge company’s EarthCoat cups were selected by the G7’s hospitality supplier. The cups can be recycled in UK paper recycling bins.

• Friday, 11 Jun – Protests in Colombia push domestic coffee prices to record highs. A report written by Jennifer Poole from coffee supplier Those Coffee People states internal prices rose by 8% after eight days of civil unrest. Prices may increase into June and July if road blockages continue.

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