Coffee News Recap, 24 May: 2025 WBC to take place in Milan, Junnie Phyu wins 2024 Australia’s Richest Barista & other stories

Every Friday, Perfect Daily Grind rounds up the top coffee industry news from the previous week. 

Here are this week’s stories – the word of the week is competitions.

Mon, 20 May

• Starbucks to host its first North American Barista Championship this June. The finals will take place in Seattle to crown the company’s best barista in the US and Canada. The winner of the competition will receive a trip to Hacienda Alsacia, Starbucks’ coffee farm in Costa Rica.

• Red Bay Coffee to open location in iconic Mills Building in San Francisco. Red Bay Coffee will operate the new location in the city’s financial district alongside new offices for Yes SF, a coalition promoting urban renewal.

• Washington D.C.’s The Wydown Coffee Bars close following unionisation effort. The company closed its two locations this week after workers announced plans to unionise over a month ago. The owner claims the decision to close predates the unionisation effort, while some workers allege it was in retaliation.

• The Other Side of Coffee launches industry-first fresh coffee fruit juice. With 30mg of caffeine per serving, the company says its coffee fruit juice supports healthy brain function. The Other Side of Coffee’s products are now available on US Amazon, and will soon be available in Erewhon stores.

• Probat publishes its first sustainability report. The new report outlines the roaster manufacturer’s social and environmental sustainability efforts in 2022. Probat plans to reduce its carbon emissions to net zero by 2030.

• USDA lowers Indonesia’s coffee production estimate for 2023-24 crop year. Robusta production dropped sharply to 6.3 million 60kg bags following adverse weather – down from the USDA’s previous estimate of 8.4 million 60kg bags. Arabica production was slightly revised upwards to 1.35 million 60kg bags. The USDA anticipates production to rebound to 10.9 million 60kg bags in the 2024-25 crop year, with partial recovery in lowland areas and improved yields in highland areas.

Tue, 21 May

• Lost Sheep Coffee launches fully traceable RTD range. The beverages are available in mocha and latte flavours and include a blend of Brazilian and Colombian coffees. Made with skimmed milk and under 85 calories per can, the products are fully traceable from “farm to can”.

• MICE2024 attracts more than 10,890 visitors. The event took place from 12 to 14 May (with MICE2025 to be held from 20 to 22 March) and hosted several competitions:
  • Junnie Phyu won the 2024 Australia’s Richest Barista contest
  • Liam Pratt of Extraction Coffee Roasters placed first at the 2024 MILKLAB Roaster Royale competition
  • Ryan Nguyen won the 2024 MILKLAB Barista Battle

• Uganda takes steps to comply with EUDR requirements. Managing Director of the Uganda Coffee Development Authority Dr. Emmanuel Iyamulemye announced the country’s commitment to register all coffee farmers and implement a national traceability system. The National Coffee Register, mandated by the National Coffee Act 2021, will assign unique identifiers and geolocations to all coffee farms.

• Starbucks sues small Louisiana business over mermaid-siren logo dispute. Mountains & Mermaids sells coffee under the brand Siren’s Brew Coffee Co., which features a mermaid logo. Starbucks alleges potential confusion among consumers due to similarities in the logo and name, appealing M&M’s registration application for the “Siren’s Brew” trademark in 2018.

• India’s Subko Coffee Roasters sees annual sales soar, but expansion costs rise. In the 12 months ending 31 March 2023, the roaster achieved a remarkable 94% year-on-year sales growth (primarily driven by coffee sales) but also experienced a significant increase in expenditure after expanding operations.

Wed, 22 May

• The 2025 World Barista Championship to take place at HostMilano. Next year’s competition will return to Milan from 17 to 21 October. The 2024 championship was recently held at the first-ever World of Coffee Asia event in Busan, South Korea, where Indonesia’s Mikael Jasin placed first. Jasin used a Stronghold machine to roast his winning Ethiopian landrace and Gesha varieties.

• Sucafina raises money for Kenyan coffee-farming communities affected by flooding. Over 293,000 people have been displaced by the flooding and an estimated 257 people have died. For every CHF $266 (US $294) raised, Kenyacof (Sucafina’s Kenya division) will provide emergency provisions to those impacted.

• Robusta intraday prices experience biggest increase since 2010 amid Vietnam rain concerns. Intraday robusta prices rose by 7% early this week, while arabica futures increased by 6%. Droughts in Vietnam initially caused price hikes, though recent rains have somewhat alleviated supply worries.

• Reborn Coffee to acquire majority stake in Turkey’s Derin Lezzetler. The Californian coffee brand plans to expand into the health-focused food market by acquiring a 55% stake in the Turkish snack and frozen bakery company. This strategic move will leverage Derin Lezzetler’s global distribution network to enhance Reborn Coffee’s reach in the US, Europe, Middle East, and Asia Pacific regions.

• La Marzocco supports opening of new University of California Davis Coffee Center. The UC Davis Coffee Center is the first academic facility dedicated exclusively to coffee research in the US. The 7,000 sq ft facility includes sensory analysis labs and a roastery.

• Coffee futures surge to three-week highs on London and New York stock exchanges following growing supply concerns. In London, July robusta futures rose by 6.7% to US 3,734/tonne – the highest level this month, while July arabica futures gained 5.1% to US 217.20 cents/lb. Arabica price hikes are the result of logistical issues at Brazilian ports and smaller-sized beans. Robusta prices surged following insufficient rain in Vietnam and an estimated 2.1 million 60kg bag reduction for Indonesia’s 2023-24 robusta production.

Thu, 23 May

• ICO says coffee traders have accelerated shipments ahead of EUDR. ICO Executive Director Vanusia Nogueira says stocks in producing countries are falling as importers rush to ship coffee to the EU ahead of the new legislation rollout.

• Industry faces fourth consecutive year of supply shortages for instant coffee products. Harvest for the 2024-25 season is projected at 24 million 60kg bags, which are the lowest levels in 13 years. Analysts say poor rainfall has caused irreversible damage to coffee blossoms, while reduced fertiliser use and the expansion of durian trees have further impacted coffee production.

• This year’s International Café & Beverage Show returns to Malaysia. Organised by Montgomery Asia, the 2024 expo will run until 25 May. In addition to a trade show, networking opportunities, and educational activities, the event is hosting the 2024 Malaysian Coffee Championships.

• illycaffè renews B-corp certification. This year, illycaffè improved its B Corp score to 90.4 – a notable increase from its 2021 certification.

• Australian company New Ground opens its first RTD manufacturing and innovation plant for roasters. The company now operates the largest facility of its kind in the southern hemisphere. The 1,200 sq ft factory in Wairau Valley, Auckland, can produce over 40 million servings every year – including RTD cans, instant and concentrate products, and espresso martini kegs.

• Imperator S.r.l becomes Italy’s first company to certify specialty coffee through Q system. To obtain the certification verified by the Coffee Quality Institute, Imperator invested in developing advanced laboratories, implementing certification systems for green coffee and water, and using dedicated grinders and extractors.

• Global Coffee Platform recognises three new sustainability schemes aligning with Coffee Sustainability Reference Code. GCP has recognised Fairtrade International, Small Producer Organization and Coffee Standard, and Fair Trade USA’s Agriculture Production Standard as equivalent to the Coffee SR Code third party assurance. Montesanto Tavares Group’s GMT Green has also been recognised as equivalent to the Coffee SR Code second party assurance. This brings the total number of sustainability schemes recognised by GCP to 19.

Fri, 24 May

• Porto Coffee Week 2024 to be held from 1 to 6 October. The event – which will be the third edition this year – celebrates the coastal city’s vibrant coffee culture. Porto Coffee Week 2024 will feature lectures, workshops, coffee tastings, and competitions.

• Common Man Coffee Roasters to celebrate ten years of the Singapore AeroPress Championship in June. The tenth annual competition will take place on 6 June at East Coast Commune from 18:00 to 22:00 local time. The winner will compete at the World AeroPress Championship in Lisbon, Portugal, in September 2024.

• The Barista League announces dates for North American tour. Competitions will be held in Denver on 17 August, Brooklyn on 24 August, and Montreal on 29 August. Applications for all three North American dates close on 25 June.

• This year’s Cafeex Wuhan to begin on 31 May. The event – which is held annually in Wuhan, Shenzhen, and Shanghai – will bring together coffee shop owners, roasters, equipment suppliers, green coffee traders, and packaging providers to celebrate China’s specialty coffee industry. Activities will include a coffee forum, cuppings, live roasting, and barista competitions.

• Springbok Coffee Roasters rebrands as Foresight Coffee Roasters. The South Carolina roaster offers four year-round blends and several washed and natural processed single origin coffees, as well as a subscription service. Owners Jason and Josh Bell will operate from a new location and have invested in a Loring S35 Kestrel roaster and a Sovda Pearl Mini colour sorter.

• Coffee equipment manufacturer avercasso launches new ecommerce website. The new site includes the avercasso Points and Green Bean Processing Programs features. Additionally, coffee professionals in Taiwan can now use the AI Green Coffee Bean Sorter CS One software.

• Farmer Brothers appoints Vance Fisher as Chief Financial Officer. Fisher has over 25 years of financial leadership experience, and previously served as CFO of Nothing Bundt Cakes – tripling the company’s EBITDA. He also held CFO roles at Dunn’s River Brands and Daisy Brand, significantly boosting revenue and profitability.

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

• Mon, 13 May – Intercontinental Exchange announces changes to coffee futures contract rules. To support the implementation of EUDR, new custom status requirements have been implemented for specific European delivery ports, including definitions of “legacy stock” and “transition stock”.

• Thu, 16 May – Frinj Coffee files for bankruptcy to restructure company. Founded by Jay Ruskey in 2017, the company first filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January 2024 with US $215,000 in assets and over US $1.8 million in liabilities. Additionally, former head roaster Paige Gesualdo is suing the company for fraud, breach of contract, and other claims.

• Thu, 16 May – UK supermarket Waitrose to open first in-store Gail’s bakery in June 2024. Waitrose has stocked Gail’s bread since 2010 and added dedicated Gail’s bakery aisles in 64 stores last year. The new Gail’s site in Canary Wharf will prepare food on-site, sell specialty coffee from Union Hand-Roasted Coffee, and offer click-and-collect and delivery services.

Photo credits: Specialty Coffee Association, World Coffee Events

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 coffee news stories and make sure to read the latest Coffee Intelligence News & Opinion piece on why Nescafé is investing in Brazil’s coffee sector.