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

• Mon, 20 Dec – Brazil’s food agency revises 2021/22 coffee production estimates. Conab now estimates some 47.7 million bags for the 2021/22 harvest – an increase of 840,000 bags on previous estimates from September. However, 2021/22 production still remains 24.4% lower than record production levels seen in 2020, at around 63.1 million bags. This drop in production is attributed to severe droughts experienced earlier in the year. Furthermore, July 2021 frosts are expected to affect the 2022/23 harvest more than 2021/22 production figures.

• Mon, 20 Dec – The 7th edition of AVPA Coffees Roasted at Origin International Contest held virtually. Some 200 coffees were registered at the competition, representing 25 coffee-growing countries. Thirteen coffees received the Gourmet Gold award, including coffees from Colombia, Hawaii, Honduras, and Indonesia.

• Mon, 20 Dec – CoE Indonesia 2021 winners announced. All 26 coffees scored over 87 points. The highest-scoring coffee was a honey processed blend of Ateng, Bourbon, and P88 varietals from Pantan Musara farm in the Aceh region. The CoE auction will be held on 27 January 2022.

• Mon, 20 Dec – United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) forecasts 8.5 million bag fall for 2021/22 global coffee production. Brazil’s coffee production was estimated to have the biggest fall, with a loss of 13.6 million bags – mainly attributed to severe droughts earlier in the year. Global exports are expected to reduce by 3.8 million bags to a total of 117.2 million, with a notable increase coming from Vietnamese production (up 2.1 million bags).

• Mon, 20 Dec – Uganda to improve household income through coffee-growing programmes. The partnership between Uganda Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) and the Ankole Diocese of the Church of Uganda will assist 46,000 households in the country with coffee production. The UCDA donated over 22,000 robusta seedlings, which will be planted on church grounds.

• Mon, 20 Dec – Cannabis brand Binske to sell coffee-infused chocolate bars. The Espresso flavour of the single origin chocolate bars contains beans roasted by Intelligentsia. The cannabis-infused chocolate will be available in January 2022.

• Mon, 20 Dec – Producer Roaster Forum 2022 to be held in Colombia. The event will include an in-person two-day forum in Medellín, as well as the three-day PRF Origin Trip Experience. Dates for PRF Colombia will be announced soon.

• Mon, 20 Dec – Westrock Coffee Company to expand with new US manufacturing facility. The private label roaster and packaging company will invest in a 524,000 square foot facility in Arkansas to scale the production and distribution of coffee, tea, and RTD products.

• Mon, 20 Dec – Winners of National English AeroPress Championships 2021 announced. The competition took place at the Sheffield Coffee Festival. Ryohyji Hope of Origin Coffee placed first, using the inverted brewing method.

• Tue, 21 Dec – Italian beverage equipment manufacturer Ceado launches new grinder brands. The new Life and Leon brands will target home and commercial markets, respectively with on-demand and doserless grinders. Ceado also released the E37 Z-Barista grinder under its own branding, which includes the grinder chamber SweepOut cleaning system.

• Tue, 21 Dec – Australian company Vittoria Coffee opens flagship showroom in UK. After signing of the Australia-UK Free Trade Agreement, the company will expand its nationwide presence. The company will also hire a national brand ambassador.

• Tue, 21 Dec – Winners of 2021 Brazil CoE auction announced. The highest bid/lb was US $66 for the top-scoring Dbarbosa Coffee from Fazenda Cachoeira, which received 90.5 in the CoE competition. Total bids at the auction amounted to over US $374,000.

• Tue, 21 Dec – FNC launches “Gender Equity Policy for Women Coffee Growers”. The Colombian Coffee Growers Federation will work to close gender gaps in national coffee supply chains through six core principles, including autonomy and empowerment, and shared responsibility. The FNC claims it will achieve these principles through eight strategic policies, including cultural transformation and redefining gender norms.

• Tue, 21 Dec – UCDA reappoints Managing Director. Dr. Emmanuel Iyamulemye was reappointed into the role after serving his position from 2016 to 2021. By 2025, the UCDA aims to increase production up to 20 million bags per year.

• Tue, 21 Dec – Food and agri-business Olam International secures US $150 million loan. The loan agreement will allow the company to plan out a potential IPO and demerger for ofi, its food and beverage ingredients subsidiary, including for coffee.

• Tue, 21 Dec – Cold brew start-up Brewbike secures US $3 million in funding round. The US university campus coffee business will use funds to expand its presence into seven new US markets throughout 2022. Brewbike currently operates both mobile and fixed locations across 11 universities.

• Tue, 21 Dec – Colombian coffee producer Green Coffee Company receives US $9.6 million in Series B funding round. The coffee producer also announced the acquisition of over 2,300 acres of land, which the company says positions them as the largest producer by area in the country.

• Wed, 22 Dec – Fairtrade America releases 2022 consumer trends report. The five key consumer trends include an increased demand for a focus on sustainability, continuous rise in online shopping for everyday items, and more demand for mission-focused brands with increased transparency.

• Wed, 22 Dec – New supply chain sustainability platform SourceUp launches. The platform allows supply chain actors to directly work together on sustainability initiatives. The founders of the platform include Jacob Douwe Egberts and IDH – The Sustainable Trade Initiative.

• Wed, 22 Dec – Italian-inspired coffee chain Puro Gusto launches in US. The brand is owned by food and beverage company Autogrill. The new store opened in Washington DC and will serve Lavazza coffee.

• Wed, 22 Dec – US drive-thru chain Dutch Bros appoints Stephen Gillett to Board of Directors. Gillett has previously held top leadership positions in multiple industry leading brands, including technology companies Best Buy and Symantec. Dutch Bros was valued at US $5.6 billion after an IPO earlier this year.

• Wed, 22 Dec – Cameroonian government partners with payment solutions platform to increase financial access in coffee supply chains. Over 600,000 coffee and cocoa farmers in the country will receive individual QR codes from the Agri Edenred platform, which will grant them access to subsidies from the Cocoa and Coffee Sector Development Fund.

• Wed, 22 Dec – Bloomberg reports more coffee exporters using break-bulk shipping. For the first time in over two decades, continuous shortages of shipping containers have led traders to trial shipments using packaging materials such as bags, boxes, crates, or barrels. The Eagle break-bulk vessel recently transported robusta beans from Indonesia to the US in bags.

• Thu, 23 Dec – New study published on coffee wilt disease. Researchers from Imperial College London, the University of Oxford, and the agricultural non-profit CABI studied the 70-year old cryogenically frozen samples of the Fusarium xylarioides fungus. Findings will be used to study how the disease spreads and to ultimately prevent further outbreaks.

• Thu, 23 Dec – Starbucks estimates US $3 billion will be spent on gift cards during holiday season. In 2020, over 46 million gift cards were purchased between October and December in North America alone.

• Thu, 23 Dec – Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii to open ten new US franchise locations. Four new franchise partners are currently finalising locations, but will open stores as early as January 2022.

• Thu, 23 Dec – Singapore chain Flash Coffee opens Tokyo store. This is the company’s first location in Japan. Flash Coffee recently opened two stores in Seoul, South Korea.

• Fri, 24 Dec – Functional coffee company Bulletproof becomes certified Transparent Company. The health and nutrition company is now certified by the independent verification company Transparency Invest for adhering to six organisational transparency key performance indicators.

• Fri, 24 Dec – US packaging company Graphic Packaging International receives award for paper-based coffee can. The company received five awards at the WorldStar Global Packaging Awards 2022, including for its recyclable coffee can. The Boardio can is made from sustainably-sourced fibres.

• Fri, 24 Dec – Italian roaster Bazzara Espresso becomes certified Benefit Company. The Italian independent verification company system is based on the US B Corp model. Bazzara received the certification for its social and environmental sustainability efforts.

• Fri, 24 Dec – Vietnamese robusta company TheCapheVietnam to expand in the Middle East. The fine robusta brand is looking to enter the growing United Arab Emirates coffee market.

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

• Mon, 13 Dec – Nestlé Centre of Excellence Academy announces first graduates from Kuwait. Five graduates completed the company’s sales training programme, which focuses on sales growth and supply chain activity for a range of industries – including for coffee.

• Wed, 15 Dec – Origin Coffee enters 3-year workplace partnership with food service management firm Sodexo. Origin will supply coffee to Sodexo’s corporate services clients, and will also open a coffee shop at Sodexo’s London offices in January 2022.

• Wed, 15 Dec – Lavazza to expand presence in Indian home market. The Italian roaster will launch a range of products on the Indian lifestyle platform Tata CLiQ Luxury – including roast and ground and instant coffee as well as coffee machines.

• Thu, 16 Dec – Ghanaian coffee farmers selected to take part in productivity training. Nine hundred farmers from 6 coffee-growing regions will receive training in China to increase yields. The training is funded by the International Trade Centre, European Union, and African, Caribbean and Pacific Coffee Project.

• Thu, 16 Dec – Global capsule machine market to reach over US $11.7 million by 2026. Global market research company Technavio also reported the North American sector is estimated to represent some 32% of global market growth.

• Thu, 16 Dec – Victoria Arduino opens new Experience Lab in Barcelona. The concept store includes the Black Eagle Maverick espresso machine and Mythos grinders.

• Fri, 17 Dec – First speakers announced for SCA’s Sensory Summit 2022. Director of Strategy and Communications at World Coffee Research Hanna Neuschwander and University of Oregon professor Christopher Hendon will be speaking at the UC Davis event from 4 to 6 February, 2022.

• Fri, 17 Dec – Fourth edition of women-focused Florada Premiada competition held in Brazil. This year’s competition received over 1,000 registrants. Viviane Antenor Santos Mattos received the highest score of 91.46 points for her natural processed arabica.

• Fri, 17 Dec – Blue Bottle opens largest café in Hong Kong. The three-floor Wan Chai location is the company’s third location in the city. Each floor is designed to provide a different customer experience.

• Fri, 17 Dec – The National Agricultural Research Centre of Ivory Coast (CNRA) digitises coffee gene bank. The centre received funding from the USDA to add its data to the global Genesys plant diversity repository, which can be accessed remotely from any location. The CNRA holds 8,000 accessions from 25 African species and a few cultivars from Brazil.

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.

Want to keep up with current affairs in the coffee industry? Check out last week’s stories.

Photo credits: @devonbbarker

From all of us at Perfect Daily Grind, have a happy holiday season!