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

• Mon, 9 Aug – illycaffè announces Farm-to-Table Scholarship with The Culinary Institute of America. The programme will support those taking food business management and applied food studies degrees. Two to four scholarships will be given to eligible students.

• Mon, 9 Aug – Royal Coffee to host hybrid palate development class in September. On 23 September, Royal Coffee will hold a combined virtual and in-person tasting event on spices and floral notes. Remote attendees can order tasting kits, while fully vaccinated attendees can purchase limited in-person tickets. Registration closes on 7 September.

• Mon, 9 Aug – Chobani’s I Dream of Creamer campaign announces winning flavour. “Sizzlin’ Brown Sugar” received the highest number of votes. The new coffee creamer will be available in US stores nationwide.

• Mon, 9 Aug – Arabica prices expected to increase by 13% by end of 2021 due to Brazil frost. Reuters predicts ICE arabica prices will reach US 198.50 cents/lb by the end of the year. Brazil’s 2022/23 harvest is anticipated to decrease by around 5 million bags due to extreme weather.

• Mon, 9 Aug – Best of Panama 2021 competition announces winners. The Nuguo fermented coffee from Café Gallardo placed first in the natural Geisha category, achieving 94.75 points. The highest scoring coffee in the washed Geisha category was from Itza Priscila Sittón Vega de Amar, receiving 93.50 points. The BoP auction will be held on 22 September.

• Mon, 9 Aug – Nestlé and JDE partner for recycling collection service with Oxford City Council. As part of Nestlé and JDE’s Podback service, Oxford residents can recycle plastic and aluminium capsules using designated curbside collection bags. Once collected, recycling services will separate the coffee grounds from the packaging.

• Mon, 9 Aug – Fellow releases Shimmy Coffee Sieve. The sieve includes metal filters under 200 microns to remove microfines. The Shimmy Coffee Sieve’s design was inspired by cocktail shakers.

• Mon, 9 Aug – Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report claims average global temperatures will increase by 1.5°C within 20 years. The report states human activity is “unequivocally to blame” for climate change, and that rapid and immediate action to reduce carbon emissions is necessary to prevent further temperature increases. Less developed regions, such as coffee-growing countries, are expected to be more heavily impacted by climate change. The UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) will be held in November.

• Mon, 9 Aug – New tree species named after Puro Fairtrade coffee. Puro tree (Sciadophyllum Purocafeanum) was discovered in Ecuador in 2019. It is now the third tree species named after Puro Fairtrade coffee, following the Puro frog and Puro orchid. Puro Fairtrade coffee focuses on sourcing beans from environmentally sustainable initiatives.

• Mon, 9 Aug – Clever Bean Coffee Company launches Kickstarter for Clever Cold Brewer. The brewing device includes a finer filter and a larger brewing chamber. The Utah company also offers a subscription service of pre-ground coffee sachets.

• Tues, 10 Aug – Tiny Capital announces AeroPress investment. The Canadian holding company will support AeroPress’ product development. Alan Adler, the founder of AeroPress, will retain ownership of the company.

• Tue, 10 Aug – Swiss Water releases 2021 second quarter financial results. Revenue increased by 9% to US $28.8 million compared to the same period last year. Sales volumes of Swiss Water’s decaffeinated coffee rose by 74% in Europe, compared to the first half of 2020.

• Tue, 10 Aug – SOHO Coffee Co. develops online coffee product range. The UK company now sells three new single origin coffees and brewing products via its online shop. The coffee and food-to-go chain also offers a subscription service.

• Tue, 10 Aug – Cauldryn launches Cauldryn Coffee Pro insulated flask. The thermal flask can be set to a customisable temperature range using an app. The 10-hour battery can also boil water.

• Tue, 10 Aug – Sigep event to return in-person in January 2022. The B2B Italian coffee and dessert event will be held from 22 to 26 January in Rimini. The event will include a three-day “Digital Agenda” for one-to-one networking.

• Tue, 10 Aug – Sucafina reports pallet costs have increased by over 100% since January 2021. Increases in wood prices in Antwerp have led to rising prices for coffee pallets. Sucafina also states similar price increases may occur in Dubai.

• Tue, 10 Aug – London chain AMT Coffee plans rebrand under Change Please. AMT operates 50 outlets in service stations and hospitals throughout the UK. The company’s new partnership with social enterprise Change Please aims to double the number of locations by 2024.

• Tue, 10 Aug – Gong cha to open Covent Garden location. The Taiwan bubble tea company operates over 1,500 stores in 21 countries. The new London location will include 40 different options for customising drinks.

• Wed, 11 Aug – COE El Salvador 2021 auction results announced. Buyers included those from the US, Japan, China, Thailand, and Saudi Arabia. The highest scoring coffee (a semi-washed Pacamara) was purchased for US $70/lb by Big Face Coffee – led by NBA player Jimmy Butler.

• Wed, 11 Aug – Euromonitor International report finds sales of soy milk are declining. The growth of almond, oat, coconut, and pea milks have led to a drop in soy milk sales. Euromonitor also predicts lab-grown dairy milk may become more popular in the next five years.

• Wed, 11 Aug – Cecafé announces Brazil’s July 2021 exports decreased by almost 13%. Shipments fell to over 2.8 million bags, which is a 12.8% decrease on the July 2020 figures. Cecafé says that increasing freight prices and a lack of container space are to blame.

• Wed, 11 Aug – Dunkin’ releases new autumn menu items. The Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew and Pumpkin Spice Signature Latte will be available on 18 August. The brand is also launching a “100% Guatemalan Coffee” as part of its single-origin Limited Batch Series.

• Wed, 11 Aug – Caravela Coffee achieves carbon neutral operations. The company has become the world’s first green coffee trader to achieve the Carbon Neutral Silver Standard certification. The certification was granted by One Carbon World, a partner of the UN’s Climate Neutral Now initiative. By 2025, the company aims to certify every kilogram of coffee produced as carbon neutral.

• Wed, 11 Aug – Cropster Hub rebrands as “V-Hub” after Vollers Group purchase. The commodity logistics group purchased Cropster to develop its functionalities and enhance logistics and delivery services.

• Thu, 12 Aug – REBBL launches “STACKED COFFEE” RTD line. The oat milk coffee product range comes in Café Mocha, Vanilla Latte, Hazelnut Latte, and Straight Black flavours. The RTD products also include reishi and lion’s mane mushroom extracts.

• Thu, 12 Aug – Brazilian government to provide R$1.2 billion (US $225 million) emergency credit line. Smallholder farmers will be able to access funds using agricultural insurance. Procafé will conduct a survey to assess the level of support required. Earlier estimates report 21.2% of 800,000 hectares of arabica may have been damaged.

• Thu, 12 Aug – Tony’s Coffee releases single-use Coffee Brew Bags. The nitrogen-flushed coffee bags have a steep time of 4 to 6 minutes. The packaging is also compostable.

• Thu, 12 Aug – Café Grumpy launches US subscription service. The Brooklyn roaster will now provide weekly, fortnightly, or monthly coffee and cold brew subscriptions – with nationwide delivery.

• Thu, 12 Aug – ICO report finds July 2021 coffee prices hit highest levels since November 2014 after Brazil frost. Between 20 and 26 July, daily arabica prices increased by 25.4%, from US 165.65 cents/lb to US 207.8 cents/lb. The average price for Brazilian naturals increased by 8.4% to US 160.62 cents/lb – the highest monthly average since January 2015.

• Fri, 13 Aug – Oatly to open third US production facility in 2023. The proposed 280,000 sq ft facility in Fort Worth, Texas will produce around 150 million litres of oat milk. The company plans to open nine global factories by 2023.

• Fri, 13 Aug – Genuine Origin and Coffee Coalition for Racial Equity to host booth at Specialty Expo. Green coffee traders Genuine Origin will sponsor the booth, while the non-profit CCRE will select six black-owned businesses to exhibit at the expo’s Roaster Village.

• Fri, 13 Aug – Bellwether Coffee releases 2020 sustainability report. The roasting solutions company states revenue grew over 100% as installations of its roasters doubled compared to 2019. Bellwether was able to reduce CO2 emissions by 896,096 lbs (406,462 kg) throughout the year, and sustainably sourced over 390,000 lbs (176,901 kg) of coffee.

• Fri, 13 Aug – Olam International announces first half-year 2021 financial results. Revenue increased 33.7% to US $22.8 billion, while PATMI rose 116% to US $436.6 million. Olam Food Ingredients intends to seek a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange, and a following listing in Singapore, by mid-2022.

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

• Wed, 4 Aug – Starbucks Korea partners with MINI Korea for new campaign. New beverages include Zest Green Blended, Ruby Red Chilling Ice Tea, and Rooftop Grey Latte. The partnership will include MINI+Starbucks brewing cars – serving coffee and other beverages from the Starbucks Korea menu.

• Thu, 5 Aug – JDE Peet’s publishes 2021 first half financial results. Sales increased by 4.2% compared to the same period in 2020, fuelled by the at-home market. Peet’s also launched its first range of flavoured K-Cup capsules, including Caramel Brûlée, Vanilla Cinnamon, and Hazelnut Mocha.

• Thu, 5 Aug – Panera Bread, Caribou Coffee, and Einstein Bros Bagels form Panera Brands. CEO of Panera Bread, Niren Chaudhary, has been appointed as the Group CEO of Panera Brands. The three companies combined operate some 4,000 locations across 10 countries.

• Thu, 5 Aug – Café Santo Domingo expands distribution in US. Dominican company Industrias Banilejas and US company Goya Foods signed an agreement for the distribution of Café Santo Domingo products in the northeastern US. Café Santo Domingo is considered to be one of the Dominican Republic’s largest coffee distributors.

• Fri, 6 Aug – Ecommerce brand Meritage Coffee debuts on US market. The organic coffee company is selling four blends: Founder’s Reserve, New York Blend, Breakfast Blend, and Espresso Roast. Meritage also offers a subscription service.

• Fri, 6 Aug – TORR Industries launches three new cold brew systems. The Brew50, TwinBrew, and Quadbrew are designed to accommodate small, medium, and large-sized coffee businesses, respectively. TORR claims the machines can extract batches of cold brew in under 2 hours.

• Fri, 6 Aug – Coffee startup Morning closes series A funding round. The Singapore capsule machine company received US $1.27 million in its funding round from technology firm Razer. Investments will be used to fulfil back orders and international market expansion.

• Fri, 6 Aug – Global coffee creamer market to increase by US $2.51 billion by 2025. Demand for plant-based creamers is expected to be significant. The North American market will contribute to 32% of market growth during the period.

• Fri, 6 Aug – Fairtrade Fortnight begins to promote Fairtrade products. The annual campaign runs from 6 to 19 August, and encourages retailers to raise consumer awareness of the Fairtrade brand. Gender equity, environmentally sustainable practices, and ending child slavery are focuses of the campaign, including in coffee supply chains.

• Fri, 6 Aug – Farmer Brothers appoints Waheed Zaman to its board of directors. Zaman has previously served as Senior Vice President and Chief Corporate Strategy & Administrative Officer at the Hershey Company. He will now serve on Farmer Brothers board’s audit committee.

• Sun, 8 Aug – Starbucks launches two new Pumpkin Spice retail products. The Pumpkin Spice Non-Dairy Creamer is made with almond milk, oat milk, coconut oil, and pea protein. The Pumpkin Spice Cold Brew Concentrate includes arabica coffee with pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg flavours. Both products will be available in US supermarkets.

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Photo credits: Fernando Pocasangre