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

Mon, 12 Sep

• Agnieszka Rojewska wins 2022 Polish Brewers Cup. Rojewska, who is a former World Barista Champion and the 2022 World Coffee in Good Spirits Champion, will represent Poland at this year’s World Brewers Cup in Melbourne, Australia from 27 to 30 September 2022.

• One in five workers in 44 countries plan to quit their jobs in 2022, including in the hospitality industry. PwC’s Global Workforce Hopes and Fears survey included insight from around 52,000 working professionals – including those in the coffee industry.

• World AeroPress Championship announces Café Imports as 2022 official sponsor. The green coffee trader has sponsored and provided green coffee for the event for the previous seven years. Café Imports will also sponsor the winner of the 2022 World AeroPress Championship to visit the farm which produced the coffee for this year’s competition.

• Expo Café announces 2022 Mexican Barista and Brewers Cup Champions. Edilberto Zapata Terrazas placed first in the Barista Championship, while Jesus Manuel Vazquez won the Brewers Cup. They will both compete in the World Coffee Championships held in Melbourne later this month.

• Starbucks to launch NFT-based rewards programme. The company says it will incorporate NFT technology into its current loyalty programme to create new experiences for customers. “Starbucks Odyssey” has no official launch date, but loyalty club members can join a waiting list.

• Grind opens first US location in Los Angeles. The London roaster’s new coffee shop is located in lifestyle brand Soho House’s studio in West Hollywood. Grind first announced its partnership with Soho House last year.

Tue, 13 Sep

• Brazil’s coffee export revenue up by 61.4% in 2022, despite 2.5% drop in August export volumes. The Council of Coffee Exporters of Brazil (Cecafé) says exports totalled a record US $5.9 billion between January to August this year. The increase in revenue is attributed to higher prices and more favourable exchange rates against the US dollar.

• Thai coffee chain Café Amazon opens first location in the Middle East. Following the restoration of Saudi Arabia-Thailand relations, Café Amazon opened its first store in Riyadh’s InterHealth Hospital. PTT Oil and Retail Business (PPTOR), which operates Café Amazon, plans to open a total of 150 stores in Saudi Arabia by 2032.

• Japanese coffee chain % Arabica opens first location in South Korea. The store is located in the Starfield Library in Seoul’s Gangnam district. The company’s also opened its first Taiwanese location last month.

• Miracle Coffee to launch pop-up store in Singapore. The coffee chain, created by Singaporean music artist JJ Lin, will open a pop-up location at the end of the month in the ArtScience Museum. The pop-up coffee shop will become permanent in 2023.

• Coffee Board of India partners with Amazon to boost domestic coffee consumption. Amazon will sell Indian coffees on its online marketplace, including arabica and robusta blends. The selected coffee products will be branded as “India Coffee” and “Coffees of India” on Amazon.

• Woman-owned Brewpoint Coffee featured in Entrepreneur. CEO of the company Melissa Villanueva spoke about inclusion and diversity in the coffee industry, as well as the importance of community.

• Starbucks outlines three-year “reinvention” financial roadmap; aims for 10% to 12% revenue growth. Interim CEO Howard Schultz says the company has “lost its way” in recent years, alluding to unionisation campaigns across the US. On top of the US $1 billion investment programme launched earlier this year, Starbucks will spend another US $450 million on new coffee equipment in a bid to accelerate growth.

Wed, 14 Sep

• New study suggests people crave coffee more than other beverages. The research from Flinders University found that coffee, water, and soft drinks were the the three types of beverages craved the most by the 128 participants. Levels of tiredness were found to be the most common trigger for coffee cravings.

• World Coffee Research completes first F1 hybrid variety trials in Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Rwanda. The organisation says four F1 hybrids have been selected for pre-commercial trials. The Gesha and Sarchimor hybrid varieties were found to produce higher yields and achieved an average of 84 points, as well as being more resistance to several diseases.

• Project Café US 2023 says US’ branded coffee shop market has recovered to 96% of its pre-pandemic value. The report says US coffee shop chains collectively achieved US $4.5 billion in 2022 sales – representing a 10% sales increase over the last 12 months.

• European Union parliament votes in favour of new anti-deforestation laws. The new regulations state that products sold in the EU – including coffee – cannot be sourced from supply chains which include deforestation.

• Huhtamaki and Stora Enso to implement single-use cup recycling programme in Europe. Collection bins for the Cup Collective initiative will initially be available in coffee shops, restaurants, offices, and transport stations in Brussels and Amsterdam. The scheme aims to recycle around half a billion paper cups in the first two years.

• Coffee Al Paso Mission Chile event to promote Colombian coffee in Santiago on 29 September 2022. The event, hosted by the Ibagué Chamber of Commerce, will include coffees from four different Colombian brands in an attempt to connect the Colombian coffee sector with the Chilean market.

Thu, 15 Sep

• Heine Brothers becomes second-largest coffee chain to unionise in US. The majority of employees at the company’s 17 Kentucky locations voted in favour of unionisation.

• Barcelona Coffee Awards to take place from 30 September to 2 October 2022. The event, which will be held at the Nau Bostik cultural centre, will include 30 exhibitors, several coffee competitions, and lectures and seminars.

• Flash Coffee collaborates with Ageless Galaxy on exclusive streetwear collection. The specialty coffee chain co-designed a range of merchandise with streetwear brand Ageless Galaxy, including t-shirts, pins, and stickers. The new merchandise will be available at Flash Coffee stores in Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan, and South Korea from 19 September.

• Merriam-Webster adds “pumpkin spice” to its English dictionary. Other notable additions include “oat milk” and “plant-based”.

• Tenth annual Triestespresso Expo scheduled for 27 to 29 October 2022 in Trieste, Italy. The event is expected to attract more than 13,000 visitors, and will include exhibitors and presentations.

• Safras & Mercado lowers Brazil’s 2022/2023 coffee crop projection by 4.7%. The consultancy says negative weather conditions have resulted in a smaller-than-expected crop this season. The projected arabica figure has been lowered by 3.6 million 60kg bags, while robusta expectations remain largely unchanged.

• Canadians are returning to pre-pandemic coffee purchasing routines. Research from The NPD Group shows that coffee servings ordered at restaurants increased by 13% year-on-year in Canada, indicating that consumers are beginning to move away from at-home consumption. However, total restaurant coffee servings remain 15% below pre-pandemic levels.

Fri, 16 Sep

• “Triple-dip” La Ninã may cause US $1 trillion in damage by the end of 2023. The third in a sequence of La Niña events is predicted cause widespread damage to homes, infrastructure, agriculture, and mining, all of which will have dramatic effects on the global economy. Dry weather continues to affect coffee production in South America, while flooding is claiming lives and livelihoods in South Asia.

• Monin launches low-sugar white tea concentrate. The syrups company says the new concentrate has floral notes, and can be added to signature beverages in coffee shops.

• London’s WatchHouse opens CrowdCube investment round. The roaster plans to open five new locations in London, another in Bath, and its first international store in New York City. WatchHouse also aims to expand its coffee subscription service.

• Coffee accessory brand Umeshiso launches GoFundMe. Founder Umeko Motoyoshi says funds will be used to develop new products and pay staff wages.

• Preliminary rounds of 2023 US Roaster Championships take place in Houston, with four more 2023 US Coffee Championship preliminaries held in Denver. Houston’s Luce Coffee Roasters will host the Roaster Championship preliminary rounds, while the Barista, Brewers Cup, Coffee in Good Spirits, and Latte Art Championship preliminaries will be held at Sweet Bloom in Denver, Colorado.

• Eighth Istanbul Coffee Festival to run from 6 to 9 October. The event will be held in Küçükçiftlik Park and will include workshops, seminars, coffee tastings, and live music. Organiser Dream Sales Machine says the festival “is all about quality and all-natural brews”.

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

• Mon, 5 Sep – Franke Group reports 11% revenue increase on first half of 2021. Parent company of Franke Group, the Artemis Group, reports that the Franke Coffee Systems division was a positive contributor to sales growth. However, the group also predicts there will be significant supply chain disruptions in the coming months, which could potentially slow down growth.

• Thu, 8 Sep – Hayk Coffee to host 2022 Iranian AeroPress Championship. Registration is open for the competition, which will take place on 29 September 2022 at the Niayesh Mall in Tehran.

• Thu, 8 Sep – Keurig Dr Pepper launches new K-Café SMART coffee machine. The new machine is part of the company’s “connected” range and can be controlled using a dedicated smartphone app. It also features Keurig’s new BrewID technology, which can detect specific brewing requirements of different K Cups.

• Thu, 8 Sep – Italian brand Caffè Vergnano launches in Ireland and Northern Ireland. The company will distribute its products in hotels and restaurants across the two countries.

• Thu, 8 Sep – Square Mile Coffee Roasters joins Fellow Drops text-to-order programme. Fellow launched the project last year, which allows users to order coffee from partner roasters via text.

• Fri, 9 Sep – Russia’s Stars Coffee plans to expand in Armenia. Co-owner Timur Yunusov said the Russian Starbucks successor plans to open 20 international locations. Co-owner and restauranteur Anton Pinsky says the first international locations are set to open in Armenia.

• Fri, 9 Sep – Proud Mary opens its second US coffee shop. The specialty coffee roaster opened a new location in Austin, Texas. The company also operates another US coffee shop in Portland, Oregon, as well as two locations in Melbourne, Australia.

• Fri, 9 Sep – Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund plans to buy minority stake in Alshaya Group’s Starbucks franchise. Alshaya Group operates around 1,700 Starbucks outlets in 14 markets. The Saudi Public Investment Fund recently pledged to invest more than US $300 million in local coffee production over the next decade.

• Sat, 10 Sep – Lavazza Professional unveils self-service micro-café concept for UK workplaces. The company says the concept is “designed to be a hassle-free alternative to canteens”, and includes vending facilities, super automatic espresso machines, and smart fridges with built-in payment systems.

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