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

• Mon, 16 Aug – Indian coffee trader Tata Coffee agrees to buy from indigenous communities. Tata Coffee will buy coffee from communities in the Koraput province. These coffees will be sold nationally and internationally.

• Mon, 16 Aug – Pret A Manger to open more stores outside major UK cities. The food and coffee-to-go chain plans to open 200 stores over the next two to three years to expand its customer base.

• Mon, 16 Aug – India’s coffee exports increase by 12% in 2021. The growth is largely attributed to robusta production, which accounts for 70% of the country’s exports. The Coffee Board of India announced its intention to export US $1 billion coffee this year.

• Mon, 16 Aug – Vac Coffee launches origin roasted subscription service. “Quintal” is a monthly subscription service focusing on coffees grown and roasted in Central America. The latest release is an experimental processed Caturra from Risaralda, Colombia. Subscriptions start at US $20 for a 10oz (280g) bag.

• Mon, 16 Aug – Kitu Life doubles US $500 million evaluation in funding round. The health-focused beverage company produces RTD “Super Coffee”, with investors including American singer Jennifer Lopez and Major League Basketball star Alex Rodriguez. Funding will be used to expand distribution channels, and investment in national advertising and brand development.

• Mon, 16 Aug – Café Imports, Ikawa, and Glitter Cat partner on sample roaster giveaway. To increase accessibility to marginalised communities in the coffee industry, Ikawa will give away a Pro100 sample roaster to one lucky winner. Applicants must fill out a questionnaire on their personal circumstances and how the roaster would benefit their coffee career.

• Mon, 16 Aug – Owner of Steampunk Coffee Roasters named Scotland’s first sustainability “Food Hero”. Catherine Franks is the first recipient of the Food Hero Scot award, a scheme that aims to incorporate more sustainable business practices in Scotland’s post-Covid economic recovery. She receives a business support package valued at more than £25,000 (US $34,669).

• Mon, 16 Aug – Goddard Gallery launches Goddard Coffees brand. The UK boutique art and photograph gallery will roast coffees in California and Scotland. The coffees will be marketed to hotels, restaurants, cafés, and cruise ships.

• Mon, 16 Aug – Tigerstyle Coffee launches functional beverage coffee. The company claims it has launched the world’s first instant coffee infused with Chinese “ancient super-herbs” – including astragalus root and silk tree bark.

• Mon, 16 Aug – London Coffee Festival launches reusable cup scheme. In partnership with KeepCup, the “Sustainable Coffee Flight” will provide attendees who bring reusable cups with access to exclusive lots from exhibiting roasters using a coffee “passport”. London Coffee Festival takes place on 23-26 September 2021.

• Mon, 16 Aug – It’s Bean Too Hot documentary focuses on effects of climate change on smallholder farmers. The 30-minute documentary focuses on climate-neutral coffee farms and sustainable farming practices. Czech filmmaker Hedvika Michnová will premiere the documentary on 7 September via YouTube. A meet-and-greet event will take place after the premiere.

• Tue, 17 Aug – ST ALi appoints Stumptown founder as new Global Creative Director. Duane Sorenson founded the US roaster in 1999. Sorenson will work across all areas of ST ALi’s operations, including green bean sourcing and product development.

• Tue, 17 Aug – Coca-Cola to begin distributing Caffè Vergnano products by 2022. Sales of Costa Coffee products contributed significantly to Coca-Cola’s 2021 net revenue. Coca-Cola recently stated it hopes sales of Caffè Vergnano branded products will also increase profits.

• Tue, 17 Aug – Australian farm Kahawa Estate Coffee goes on the market. Jos and Wendy Webber have owned the farm since 2003. The farm produces around 60 tonnes of harvested cherries every year.

• Tue, 17 Aug – US green bean inventory reaches highest levels since October 2020. Green Coffee Association announced that July 2021 inventories increased by almost 300,000 bags to around six million. However, these remain similar to the lowest levels recorded in June 2015.

• Tue, 17 Aug – Indian coffee retailer Rage Coffee raises US $5 million in funding round. The vitamin-infused instant coffee brand is sold predominantly online. Funding will be used for product development, expanding both online and offline presences, and scaling production.

• Tue, 17 Aug – Cold Brewtus partners with George Howell Coffee on cold brew range. The “George Howell Reserve” RTD line will be sold in New England and New York City supermarkets, as well as George Howell-affiliated cafés in Boston. The cold brew uses a Bourbon varietal from the Montecarlos Estate in El Salvador.

• Wed, 18 Aug – Brazil 2021/22 exports reached 70-80% of expected levels, according to CEPEA. Extreme weather, particularly the unexpected frost last month, contributed to reduced harvests. However, arabica harvests are occurring later than usual – so exports are expected to reach higher levels. Arabica prices on Monday 16 reached grew 1.85% to US 198.81 cents.

• Wed, 18 Aug – Food 4 Farmers celebrates 10th anniversary. The organisation has launched a campaign to raise US $50,000 to fund livelihood projects in Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, and Nicaragua. Funds will be used to strengthen local food systems. Donors (including honey company GloryBee) will match all donations up to US $10,000 by the end of 2021.

• Wed, 18 Aug – Oatly applies for “barista” trademark. The oat milk company applied to the European Intellectual Property Office to trademark the term, also used by other companies for barista-formulated milks. Oatly is now demanding Nottingham Skinny Food Co. to stop labelling its products as “Skinny Barista”. Skinny Food Co. argues that Oatly cannot monopolise the term.

• Wed, 18 Aug – COE and IWCA launch fundraiser for Honduran farmer. Donations will go towards medial bills for Dariela Carbajal, who contracted Covid-19 while receiving treatment for a brain tumour. She came second in this year’s Cup Of Excellence Honduras.

• Wed, 18 Aug – Research shows caffeine improves cycling performance. The report by the Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee found that consuming 3mg of caffeine per kg of body weight before exercising could improve muscle endurance and strength.

• Wed, 18 Aug – Rainforest Alliance releases 2020 report. The organisation runs projects in 70 countries and has helped 2.3 million farmers become Rainforest Alliance certified. Last year, companies purchased enough Rainforest Alliance-certified coffee to produce 320 million cups of coffee every day.

• Wed, 18 Aug – Researchers predict 4% drop in Brazil’s 2022 harvest. The Tropical Research Services are expecting a loss of around 2.7 million bags next year. Brazilian exporter Guaxupe is predicting a loss of 4.5 million bags, while Brazilian trader Comexim anticipates a 20% reduction in Minas Gerais alone.

• Wed, 18 Aug – Costa Coffee to extend partnership in India with Devyani International Limited. DIL became the franchise partner for Costa Coffee India in 2005. It now operates 40 outlets in the country.

• Thu, 19 Aug – COE releases mid-year review. There have been 211 COE winners so far this year. The average price per lb this year is US $25.18, with US $150/lb the top price paid.

• Thu, 19 Aug – Dunkin’ to open outlets in hotels, universities, and airports. As part of its development strategy, Dunkin’ will focus on “non-traditional” stores that it claims are vital to its growth.

• Thu, 19 Aug – Starbucks opens farmer support centre in Minas Gerais, Brazil. The company operates five support centres in Latin America. The new centre in Minas Gerais will provide technical services and farming support to local producers. It will also promote Starbucks’ in-house sustainability scheme, “C.A.F.E. Practices”.

• Thu, 19 Aug – Caravela Coffee’s PECA programme helps reduce GHG emissions on coffee farms. Caravela partnered with Solidaridad to work on 50 farms in Tolima, Colombia. Using the “Cool Farm Alliance’s Cool Farm Tool”, the PECA team were able to identify areas where GHG emissions could be reduced. Strategies include sustainable fertilisers, efficient use of water in wet mills, and better management of coffee cherry pulp.

• Thu, 19 Aug – MICE 2022 tickets now available. The event was postponed to 27-30 September 2022 due to Covid-19 outbreaks in Melbourne. Over 11,000 people are expected to attend.

• Fri, 20 Aug – Jägermeister opens first coffee shop. The “Coffee Haus” is located in Shoreditch and serves Caravan Coffee Roasters. Next to the café is a Jägermeister Cold Brew coffee dispensing billboard where customers can fill bags of roasted beans.

• Fri, 20 Aug – Brazil coffee exports to UK and EU reach pre-pandemic levels. The value of exports (including coffee) increased by 41% and 47% in the second quarter of 2021 for the UK and EU, respectively. Imports from the UK and EU to Brazil also increased to pre-pandemic levels, reaching £1 billion (US $1.4 billion) for the UK and €16.6 billion (US $20.1 billion) for the EU.

• Fri, 20 Aug – Lavazza launches at-home meal kits with MasterChef judge Jock Zonfrillo. The “Nature’s Course” meal boxes contain three recipes inspired by Lavazza’s ¡Tierra! range of Central American, Amazonian, and African coffees. The meal kits aim to highlight sustainable agriculture and healthy eating.

• Fri, 20 Aug – Fourth edition of Florada Premiada Contest to take place on 22 September. The contest was first held in 2018 by 3 Corações Group, celebrating female Brazilian coffee farmers. Participants can register until 22 September and will compete in six categories, including “grand champion” and best coffee from each region. The grand champion winner will receive R $25,000 (US $ 4,616).

• Fri, 20 Aug – Entrepreneur uses online coffee community to help tackle loneliness. Jing Lin launched “Coffee Confessionals” in 2017 in an effort to solve America’s “loneliness epidemic”. The online platform is a source of information, stories and e-commerce for unique coffee blends, coffee accessories and lifestyle products.

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

• Wed, 28 Jul – Study finds caffeine intake increases bee pollination productivity. Researchers created a mixture of caffeine, sugar, and specific flower scent that was infused throughout the nest. Bees who had been exposed to this mixture were more likely to pollinate the flower associated to the specific scent. No negative impact on the bees was found.

• Wed, 11 Aug – Régilait launches compostable capsule range. The French milk product manufacturers’ announced four new capsules, including Black and Cappuccino flavour. The pods are compatible with Nespresso Dolce Gusto machines.

• Thu, 12 Aug – Tim Hortons China merger sets evaluation of US $1.8 billion. The China branch of the Canadian coffee chain is seeking to file for an IPO with Silver Crest Acquisition. Tim Hortons China plans to open 1,500 stores throughout the country.

• Fri, 13 Aug – Selecta releases report of UK vending coffee sector. The analysis of 119 UK towns and cities from the vending machine supplier reveals Nottingham sold the highest amount of vending machine coffee in 2020, followed by Leicester and Birmingham. Black coffee was the most purchased beverage, followed by lattes and cappuccinos.

• Fri, 13 Aug – SCA, University of Campinas, and Coffee Science Foundation launch packaging and flavour perception survey. The survey is part of a 2-year programme on assessing the effects of packaging on coffee flavour. Participants should not be coffee industry professionals. They must also be based in the US and need to have consumed at least one cup of specialty coffee (no sugar added) for at least a year.

• Fri, 13 Aug – THAIFEX – ANUGA ASIA 2021 to take place as virtual event. The food and beverage event will now be fully online this year, held from 29 September to 3 October. The in-person event has now been scheduled to 24-28 May 2022 in Bangkok.

• Fri, 13 Aug – American Society of Agronomy publication states limestone may increase coffee production. Brazilian researcher Rogério P. Soratto found limestone reduces soil acidity and increases calcium and magnesium contents. Results led to some 40% increases in coffee yields.

• Sat, 14 Aug – Baristas win illegal firing case against Starbucks. Two baristas at a Philadelphia store attempted to unionise co-workers and staged in-store demonstrations to supposedly improve working conditions. The ruling stated Starbucks illegally fired both employees. Starbucks has been ordered to backpay the two workers.

• Sat, 14 Aug – Paris cafés require Covid-19 pass for entry. The French government is demanding café owners require proof of vaccination, negative test results, or proof of recovery from the virus. Café owners who break regulations more than once are faced with forced 7-day closures.

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Feature photo credits: @vanmarty