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

• Monday, 21 Jun – RECLAIM Sustainability! programme launched in Honduras. The five-year programme is a partnership between Solidaridad, Fairfood, TrustAfrica, and Business Watch Indonesia. The initiative promotes social and gender equity and traceability throughout Honduran coffee supply chains. Results from the pilot project at Capucas Cooperative will be submitted to the Sustainable Coffee Platform to promote more widespread use.

• Monday, 21 Jun – Farmer Brothers releases 2020 sustainability report. The US coffee and foodservice company roasted around 14.5 million kgs of fully traceable green coffee and reduced CO2 emissions by 11% during 2019-20.

• Monday, 21 Jun – farmer connect launches sales of first two coffees. The UCC Coffee and HEMA-backed blockchain system is selling both Rwanda and Colombian single origin beans. Customers can trace coffees back to farmers via QR codes using the Thank My Farmer app.

• Monday, 21 Jun – Osma cold brew maker extracts cold brew in 90 seconds. Using diaphragm pumps, water recirculation, and 10 bar of pressure, Osma claims the machine can produce cold brew with extraction levels over 20%.

• Monday, 21 Jun – Winners of 30th Ernesto Illy Quality Award announced. The award recognises the best coffee producers in Brazil. Agro Fonte Alta (South Minas), Daniella Romano Pelosini (São Paulo), and José Marques de Araújo (Matas de Minas) were the highest-scoring competitors. The 6th Ernesto Illy International Coffee Award will take place in December.

• Monday, 21 Jun – International Symposium on Cocoa Research postponed until 2022. The event was initially scheduled for September 27-29, 2021, but Covid-19 restrictions have led the ICCO to reschedule the symposium to December 5-7, 2022.

• Monday, 21 Jun – Entries for 2021 Guatemala CoE winners announced. There were 28 CoE winning lots, with 4 farms scoring over 90 points. The highest-scoring lot was a washed Gesha from El Injerto I in Huehuetenango, which scored 90.51 points – the farm’s 11th win since 2006. All winning coffees scored over 87 points. The CoE Guatemala auction will take place on July 27.

• Tuesday, 22 Jun – Era of We launches digital coffee platform. The Swedish company created the end-to-end digital service to connect coffee growers to roasters and consumers. Farmers can set their own prices on the platform and develop their own farm-based coffee brands. Löfbergs will feature as the first roaster on the platform.

• Tuesday, 22 Jun – Nespresso Professional launches Momento Coffee & Milk machine. Designed for use in workspaces, users can initiate brewing using a mobile app. The machine brews five cup sizes from 12 different milk-based recipes.

• Tuesday, 22 Jun – Entries for 2021 Costa Rica CoE winners announced. There were 30 CoE winning lots, with four farms scoring over 90 points. The highest-scoring lot was a honey processed Gesha from Pie San in Tarrazú, which scored 90.89 points. All winning coffees scored over 87 points, including 15 Geshas. The CoE Costa Rica auction will take place on July 29th.

• Tuesday, 22 Jun – USDA forecasts global 2021/22 coffee production down by 11 million bags. The Coffee: World Production, Markets, and Trade report states the drop in production is mainly attributed to weather-related issues and Brazil’s arabica trees entering the off-year of the biennial production cycle.

• Tuesday, 22 Jun – Global coffee capsules market to reach US $19.14 billion by 2025. The CAGR is anticipated to be 10%, with the growth in Sub-Saharan Africa’s working population expected to increase demand for capsules.

• Tuesday, 22 Jun – BMC Public Health publishes research on coffee consumption and chronic liver disease. Researchers from several UK universities found all types of coffee consumption (including decaf) were linked to reduced risk of chronic liver disease. Over a 10.7-year median timeframe, coffee drinkers had a 21% reduced risk of chronic liver diseases and a 49% reduced risk of chronic liver disease-related death.

• Tuesday, 22 Jun – US Supreme Court finds Nestlé and Cargill not guilty of child labour offences. The case was brought against the two companies who purchased cocoa from farms in Côte d’Ivoire, where six Malian children claimed to have been trafficked and forced to work. The court ruled 8-1 that, although the companies provided farms with equipment and resources, there was no evidence showing actions made in the US directly led to the alleged crime.

• Tuesday, 22 Jun – Coffee Technicians Guild to host new episodes of Ask The Pros Webinar Series. Eight new episodes will focus on the future of brewing equipment, skills for new tech-based businesses, and how to provide quality customer service. The new series will air from June to August, with recorded webinars available on YouTube.

• Wednesday, 23 Jun – Cropster adds “Flick Prediction” to AI features range. The technology can inform roasters when a flick (acceleration in ROR) will occur, allowing them to adjust gas and airflow accordingly.

• Wednesday, 23 Jun – Singapore Specialty Coffee (Micro-Lot) Auction 2021 announces speakers. Five speakers are confirmed, including Secretary-General of SCA Japan, Shinichi Sasaki, and founder of Cofinet in Colombia, Carlos Andres Arclia.

• Wednesday, 23 Jun – DMCC welcomes UFC world heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou to headquarters. Ngannou toured the facilities before roasting, packaging, and tasting his own coffee blend.

• Wednesday, 23 Jun – Finnish Innovation Index ranks Paulig as one of top 10 most innovative companies. The FII surveys Finnish consumers on innovation and positive perception. The survey involved 2,500 consumers rating the innovativeness of 53 companies.

• Wednesday, 23 Jun – Romania’s largest coffee chain 5 To Go opens first international stores. The brand has more than 250 locations throughout Romania with around 40% of the market share. In partnership with Donuterie, the chain has opened outlets in France, Belgium, and the UK.

• Wednesday, 23 Jun – Cometeer releases new Panama Stellar capsule range. The pods are produced in collaboration with Panamanian farm Finca Sophia and San Francisco roasters Equator Coffees. The Stellar Series is priced at US $99 for 20 capsules, including four different coffees.

• Wednesday, 23 Jun – Trabocca, Fairfood, and Simon Lévelt partner on “living income benchmark” coffee project. The five-year initiative will involve tracing Trabocca’s supply chain back to origin to detect and analyse price gaps. Fairfood will offer solutions to ensure farmers receive more equitable payments, and Simon Lévelt will sell the coffee once available to market.

• Wednesday, 23 Jun – Heliyon journal publishes study on coffee ecolabelling. Researchers say people are generally willing to spend US $1.36 more per pound on ethical and eco-friendly coffee – including those labelled as Organic and Fairtrade.

• Thursday, 24 Jun – Peruvian Chamber of Coffee & Cocoa to host 23rd annual National Coffee and Cocoa Convention. The event will be held online this year from June 29 to July 2.

• Thursday, 24 Jun – SCA announces Green Coffee Summit. The virtual event and resource library will explore a range of topics in English and Spanish, focusing on green coffee buyers and sellers. The event will take place from August 25-26.

• Thursday, 24 Jun – Krispy Kreme estimates US $3.9 billion IPO value. The bakery and coffee chain aims to raise between US $560-640 million through the IPO. The company states it would use proceeds to repay debts, repurchase common stocks, and fulfil tax obligations.

• Thursday, 24 Jun – Probat administers over 400 Covid-19 vaccinations to employees. The company set up a vaccination area at its Rhein headquarters. Surplus vaccines were administered to non-employees.

• Thursday, 24 Jun – Mercon partners with Conservation International for climate-friendly initiative. The joint programme will focus on reducing carbon emissions and carbon storage systems. The project begins with assessing Mercon’s LIFT programme that provides agricultural, environmental, and social practices for coffee farmers. The assessment allows Mercon to estimate carbon storage and GHG emissions from the LIFT programme.

• Friday, 25 Jun – Fairtrade International and International Research Institute for Climate and Society host Empty Cups: Climate Change and a Future without Coffee. Held today at 14:00 CEST, the online event includes researchers, climate experts, and Kenyan coffee farmers discussing the impacts of climate change on the coffee industry.

• Friday, 25 Jun – Costa Coffee appoints creative agency Imagination to support international strategic design. Costa has requested the agency account for the impact of Covid-19 on the coffee shop industry, including creating localised brand storytelling assets.

• Friday, 25 Jun – Dunkin’ launches new summer beverage range. Sunrise Batch Iced Coffee, Smoked Vanilla Cold Brew with Sweet Cold Foam, and Smoked Vanilla Iced Latte are available at US locations. ElectroBrew will be available at selected US stores, made using cold brew and coconut water. Dunkin’ will also debuting two flavours of kombucha for the first time: Fuji Apple Berry and Blueberry Lemon.

• Friday, 25 Jun – K+ Coffee launches in UK. The company’s Drip Coffee Bags are marketed towards Gen Z and Millennial consumers. The single-serve coffee bags are available in seven flavours, including Blue Mountain blend.

• Friday, 25 Jun – Melitta Europe, 4C, and DEG celebrate 1-year anniversary of Magdalena project. The three-year programme aims to improve sustainable agriculture management and increase youth participation in coffee growing in Colombia.

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

• Tuesday, 15 Jun – Kaffeeverband finds German at-home coffee consumption increased by 11% during Covid-19. Despite out-of-home consumption decreasing, the German coffee market grew by 1.5% during 2020.

• Tuesday, 15 Jun – Butterfly Cup survey finds 73% of UK consumers believe single-use plastic lids should be banned. Around 63% of those surveyed claimed they would pay more for an environmentally-friendly alternative, as 87% claimed plastic lids were a significant source of litter.

• Thursday, 17 Jun – Port of Mokha releases recyclable single-serve pourover pouches. Each pouch brews 8oz. (236ml) of coffee. Pouches can be purchased in boxes of 5 for US $24.

• Thursday, 17 Jun – Starbucks Brazil enhances Rewards loyalty programme. The programme was first launched in 2014. Starbucks Brazil Rewards members now earn one Star for every R$2.50 (US $0.5) spent in-store or through the Starbucks Brazil app.

• Friday, 18 Jun – Sales of Coffee Coin to begin on July 1. The cryptocurrency was created by Minasul co-op in Brazil. Each Coffee Coin equates to 1kg of commodity-grade green coffee, with value continuously updated to reflect market prices.

• Friday, 18 Jun – CEPEA reports heavier rainfall disrupted harvests in parts of Brazil. Despite higher levels of rainfall in arabica-producing regions, the centre stated coffee quality was not diminished.

• Friday, 18 Jun – Güdpod releases fully compostable coffee and tea capsules. The plant-based pods can be industrially composted within 90 days, with a shelf-life of 24 months.

• Friday, 18 Jun – Female-owned Hawaiian Organic Coffee reduces roasting carbon emissions by 79%. The roasting technique uses air cyclone and vacuum technology to reduce smoke emissions. For every purchase from Hawaiian Organic Coffee, the company donates portions of sales to Coffee For a Cause.

Sign up to our weekly coffee news recap to get a summary of all the biggest stories in the sector, delivered straight to your inbox every Monday.