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

Mon, 21 Nov

• PRF confirms multi-year sponsorship deals with MTPak Coffee and Ally Coffee. MTPak Coffee will be a Gold Sponsor for the next two PRF events, while Ally Coffee has confirmed it will be a Bronze Sponsor for the next four events. PRF El Salvador will take place on 16 and 17 March 2023 in San Salvador.

• The Barista League announces team Brew-ti-ful as winners of Manchester competition. Nat McDonald and Claudia Cho Ngai Lam placed first, and both received plane tickets to a “mystery coffee location”. The event attracted attendees from nine countries and included 24 UK competitors.

• Nespresso launches new home-compostable capsules. The paper-based capsules include a biopolymer lining and are available as four new blends – including an organic coffee sourced from Nespresso’s AAA Sustainable Quality programme.

• Korean coffee brand Ayantu launches new solar panel programme in coffee-growing communities. The Solar Cow initiative provides children in coffee-producing communities with solar-powered charging stations to improve their access to education. Proceeds of sales of Ayantu’s coffee will be used to fund the project.

• Ethiopia’s Tracon Trading wins the 2022 Ernesto illy International Coffee Award. The annual award celebrates “the finest arabica coffees in the world”. Other countries which competed this year include Brazil, El Salvador, India, and Rwanda. The winner of illy’s Coffee Lovers’ Choice Award was Costa Rican coffee co-operative CoopeAtenas.

• Coffee and food-to-go chain LEON plans to double the number of its UK self-serve kiosks. The company aims to open 200 kiosks by the end of January 2023, most of which are currently operating in EG Group petrol station forecourts and Asda supermarket stores.

• New Krunchy Dream stores open at former Krispy Kreme locations in Russia. Krispy Kreme ended operations in Russia following the invasion of Ukraine earlier this year. The rebranding follows the opening of Stars Coffee locations in Russia after Starbucks also ceased operations in the country.

• Brazil Brewers Cup and Cup Tasters Championships announces winners for 2023 competitions. Owner of Um Coffee Co. in São Paulo Garam Um placed first in the Brewers Cup, while José Augusto Oliveira Naves from exporter Nutrade in the Varginha region won the Cup Tasters Championship. The World Brewers Cup and Cup Tasters Championships will be held at World of Coffee Athens from 22 to 24 June 2023.

Tue, 22 Nov

• Alliance for Coffee Excellence and Long Miles Coffee to host Burundi Private Collection Auction. The auction will include 16 coffees, with score points ranging from 86 to 89.25. The Long Miles Coffee Burundi PCA will be held on 22 December 2022, with samples available now.

• More than 400 UK Caffè Nero locations partner with Deliveroo. The coffee chain says the partnership will help to drive its delivery sales and strategy, which grew by 10% during the pandemic. Delivery is expected to be available at all 400 locations by the end of the month.

• US food and coffee manufacturer JM Smucker reports 10% increase in retail coffee sales. The company’s coffee portfolio includes Folgers, Café Bustelo, and Dunkin’ brands. Net retail coffee sales reached US $64.7 million in 2022 Q2.

• Atomo Coffee appoints former Patagonia and Impossible Foods executives to its Board of Directors. The “beanless” coffee company says the appointment of Birgit Cameron and Jordan Schenck will help to build “a more equitable and sustainable food industry”.

• US Department of Agriculture lowers its 2022/23 coffee production estimates for Colombia and Brazil. The USDA says excessive rainfall and increased cloudiness in Colombia could reduce 2022/23 production volumes by up to 9.2%. Meanwhile, the USDA has reduced Brazil’s 2022/23 arabica yield by 4.1%, while estimates for robusta production remain unchanged.

• New survey says 62% of European dieticians believe moderate coffee consumption has clear health benefits. The new survey from the European Federation of the Association of Dieticians and Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee also found that 86% of European dieticians agree that “regular moderate coffee intake can improve alertness” and 69% believe that “regular moderate coffee consumption can improve athletic performance.

• Curocaps launches Nespresso-compatible nutritional supplement coffee capsules. The Belgian company says its new line of functional coffee capsules have a number of benefits, including strengthening immunity and aiding sleep. Curocaps plans to launch its capsules in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Kuwait, and Brazil.

Wed, 23 Nov

• Luckin Coffee reports 2022 Q3 net profit of US $74.3 million despite Covid-19 setbacks. The Chinese coffee chain reported a loss of US $3.6 million during the same period last year. Luckin credits the turnaround to rising sales, continuous nationwide store expansion, and an increase in customers.

• Nescafé launches Origins do Brasil Chapada Diamantina Bahia blend as part of its Fazedores de Café sustainability project. The new blend, which was officially launched at the 2022 Brazilian International Coffee Week, was developed in partnership with Sofá Café and The Coffee Sensorium, and includes coffees grown by young farmers in Chapada Diamantina, east Brazil.

• Three-storey Starbucks Reserve location opens in New York’s Empire State Building. The new store includes an “immersive coffee experience”, a cocktail bar, art exhibitions, and a restaurant.

• High arabica prices could lead more price-sensitive roasters to buy robusta. Founder of Indian cold brew manufacturer Bonomi Vardhman Jain says that rising arabica prices are likely to encourage more roasters and coffee shops in price-sensitive markets to source more robusta, as well as to help fast track the development of fine robusta, backed by more “experimentation at farm level”.

• Brazil’s coffee-producing Garça region achieves Geographical Indication certification. The region is comprised of 15 municipalities in the state of São Paulo, with an estimated 400 families working in coffee production in Garça. Currently, Brazil has 107 registered Geographical Indications, 32 of which are Denominations of Origin and 75 are Indications of Origin.

• Café Show Seoul takes place at Starfield COEX Mall in South Korea. The four-day event is also running alongside the 2022 World Coffee Leaders Forum and the 2022 Seoul Coffee Festival. Several competitions are due to take place at the event, including the World Coffee Battle and the Korea Coffee League.

• Specialty Coffee Association publishes updates on pilot programmes to review Cupping Protocol and form. The overall aim of the pilot projects was to be more inclusive of subjective assessments of flavour profiles, rather than solely focusing on cup scores. A final updated version of the SCA Cupping Form is expected to be published next year.

• Taf Coffee and four-time World Barista Championship finalist Ben Put host espresso workshop. The event, which took place at Taf in Athens, Greece, was focused on innovation and experimentation in espresso extraction.

Thu, 24 Nov

• JNP Coffee Grand Cru Burundi auction rescheduled to 8 December 2022. The auction will include 26 coffees sourced from the East African country, with scores ranging from 87.5 to 91.5 points. Sample sets are available now.

• Go Fund Bean launches barista wage transparency survey. The survey intends to collect updated information on coffee professionals’ wages in the US. The anonymous survey is open until 31 December 2022.

• International Coffee Partners to broadcast Stronger After the Crisis panel discussion on 7 December. The event, which originally took place earlier in the year, explores resilience in coffee farming – particularly following the Covid-19 pandemic. Speakers include Vice Chairman of the Lavazza Group Giuseppe Lavazza.

• International Trade Centre and MARKUP publish updated catalogue of East African coffee producers and co-operatives. The Catalogue of Selected Coffees from the EAC MARKUP Project highlights a number of coffee SMEs in Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. The guide includes information on the SMEs’ social and environmental impact, as well as general information about their coffees.

• UK workplace union Unite launches campaign to improve pay and job prospects at major national coffee chains. Unite is planning solidarity action with Starbucks, Costa Coffee, Caffé Nero, and Pret A Manger coffee shop workers in more than 50 towns and cities in the UK to discuss joining the Baristas United campaign.

• IMA Coffee launches new coffee processing and packaging plant in Italy. The new IMA Coffee Lab opened at the company’s Petroncini facility, and also includes a showroom for visitors.

Fri, 25 Nov

• Uganda Coffee Development Authority reports US $883.24 million in total coffee export earnings over past year. The authority says that although exports dropped by 11% between November 2021 and October 2022, higher coffee prices resulted in a 35% increase in revenue.

• Ensambles Cafés Mexicanos to host Mexico Magico origin trip in January 2023. The company will host a number of international coffee professionals at its El Equimite biodynamic coffee farm from 16 to 24 January next year. The origin trip will include a number of workshops and cuppings.

• Victoria Arduino launches new Mythos MyOne grinder. The new grinder includes 75mm titanium burrs and three programmable dose settings.

• Röststätte launches Coffee Cocktail Box in collaboration with 2022 World Coffee in Good Spirits runner up. The Berlin roaster partnered with Ukrainian barista Vladyslav Demonenko to create four holiday-inspired coffee cocktail recipes. The box includes all necessary ingredients, including Cold Brew X coffee liqueur.

• Weber Workshops launches third generation EG-1 grinder. The new model is designed for single-dose grinding and includes the new Purge feature, which reverses burr movement to mitigate grind retention.

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

• Mon, 14 Nov – Former US Coast Guard launches direct trade coffee company. Upon retiring from the military, Calvin Harris III visited coffee farms in Colombia and launched Reveille Trading Company to help improve prices received by local producers.

• Mon, 14 Nov – Westrock Coffee reports 27% net sales increase in 2022 Q3 despite significant losses. The Arkansas, US company also reported adjusted total earnings of US $17.9 million for Q3 – representing a 33% year-on-year increase.

• Wed, 16 Nov – Group of unions file complaint against Starbucks over US $181 million of unused gift cards. The union group has requested that the US Securities and Exchange Commission investigate how the coffee chain has accounted for unused money on customers’ gift and store cards.

• Thu, 17 Nov – Brazil’s biggest co-operative predicts third consecutive year of low coffee harvest. Bloomberg reported that Cooxupe, the country’s biggest arabica coffee co-op, had initially expected production volumes to grow, but it stated that not all flowers turned into cherries.

• Thu, 17 Nov – World Coffee Events to host Judge Certification in Dubai. To become a WCC Certified Judge, applicants must complete a two-day WCC Judge Certification test to demonstrate applicable skills and knowledge. Once received, WCC Judge Certification is valid for three years.

• Thu, 17 Nov – Starbucks workers organise strikes at 113 stores in the US. The union representing Starbucks employees claims the coffee chain has yet to reach a collective bargaining agreement, which Starbucks denies. The strikes took place on Starbucks’ annual Red Cup Day when the company gives away reusable holiday-themed cups.

• Fri, 18 Nov – Colombian brand Juan Valdez launches new coffee blockchain technology. The launch is part of the brand’s “Tracing the coffee route” campaign, which aims to improve traceability and transparency in the supply chain. By scanning a QR code on the packaging, consumers can trace specific coffees back to ten producers in the Mesetas, El Dorado, and Cubarral municipalities.

• Fri, 18 Nov – AMT Coffee sold out of administration to SSP Group. The acquisition will save 25 of the British coffee chain’s outlets, but 18 kiosks will permanently close – resulting in a loss of up to 100 jobs. AMT Coffee previously reported an annual loss of US $3.8 million in 2021 as a result of difficulties related to the pandemic.

• Fri, 18 Nov – Africa Youth Barista Championship announces first-ever winner. Kennedy Owino placed first at the competition, which aims to increase the presence of African coffee professionals on an international scale.

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Want to keep up with current affairs in the coffee industry? Check out last week’s stories and make sure to read the latest Coffee Intelligence news piece on the stock market and Brazilian producers.