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

• Mon, 25 Oct – HOTELEX Chengdu Exhibition to take place in July 2022. The 8th annual HoReCa Expo is expected to attract over 60,000 visitors. The 2022 China Barista, Latte Art, Brewers Cup, and Roasting Championships will be held at the event. The expo will take place from 7 to 9 July 2022.

• Mon, 25 Oct – Rave Coffee releases Christmas blend. The dark roast blend includes coffees from Mexico, Ethiopia, and Costa Rica, and are a mixture of washed, natural, and honey processed beans. Rave will donate 1% of all sales to the 1% For The Planet initiative.

• Mon, 25 Oct – BSCA and Apex-Brasil showcase Brazilian coffees at Expo Dubai. Seven Brazilian coffees will be highlighted at the global technologies event, taking place until 31 March 2022. Apex-Brasil developed three of the coffees in partnership with the BSCA through The Nation of Coffee project.

• Mon, 25 Oct – US Women in Coffee to host Coffee Women’s Colloquium webinar series. The virtual series will explore a range of topics across the coffee supply chain. Each episode will be hosted by an IWCA US Chapter board member. The first session will be held on 11 November at 12:00 PST.

• Mon, 25 Oct – Grind City Coffee Xpo to be held on 6 November. The second annual event will be held in Memphis and will include over 11 local and national coffee and tea businesses. Proceeds from the expo will be donated to Protect Our Aquifer, a local water protection non-profit.

• Mon, 25 Oct – Sucafina works on biodigester project in Kenya. The reusable waste and organic fertiliser programme helps to reduce the carbon footprint of local coffee-growing communities. Families can dispense of household waste and organic matter in hermetic hybrid reactors to produce biogas that can be used for household energy.

• Mon, 25 Oct – Brazilian coffee producer wins award for automatic coffee turner. The machine uses gear-controlled wooden panels to turn coffee cherries on raised beds or patios for drying. Da Silva won the 2021 Emater-MG Rural Creativity Award for his invention.

• Mon, 25 Oct – Rancilio launches several new machine and grinder models. The Classe 5 and Classe 7 espresso machines come equipped with Steady Brew water temperature regulation technology. The fully automatic Egro MoDe and Egro QuBe are available in Pure Coffee, Quick, and Pro Milk models and are designed for HoReca businesses. The on-demand 64mm burr Kryo Evo and 58mm burr Stile grinders are available in a range of colours.

• Mon, 25 Oct – Fairtrade International study finds farmers are at increasing risk of climate change. Ahead of COP26, the EU-funded study includes research from The Vrije University Amsterdam and Bern University of Applied Sciences. Researchers found increases in temperature and droughts in Brazil, Central America, and India could negatively affect coffee production and leave farmers vulnerable. The report calls for more urgent action against climate change.

• Tue, 26 Oct – Pret A Manger partners with JDE Peet’s for Pret Express self-serve machine trial. The new machines will use technology developed by JDE Peet’s and will be placed in on-the-go locations – mainly service stations and supermarkets. The self-serve machines will offer the same beverages as café locations.

• Tue, 26 Oct – Royal Coffee to host sensory class. Spice Specificity & Coffee will explore various spices found in coffee tasting notes and participants will receive sensory kits. Registration is open until 1 November and the class will be held on 18 November at 11:00 PST.

• Tue, 26 Oct – La Colombe expands partnership with Whole Foods Market. The Philadelphia roaster will be a key coffee supplier to Whole Foods Markets in several US regions and will also provide training for Whole Foods cafés. La Colombe will open its first Friends of Whole Foods Market café in Austin, Texas this year.

• Tue, 26 Oct – Peter Rowland Group acquires Sensory Lab. The Sensory Lab was founded by ST. ALi owner Salvatore Malatesta. ST. ALi will remain as the roaster, while PRG will acquire the retail side of the company.

• Tue, 26 Oct – Athens Coffee Festival releases post-event report. The festival was held from 25 to 27 September and attracted over 16,500 visitors. The 2021 Greece Roasting Championship was held at the event, with Nerantzis Alexandros in first place. The 2022 Athens Coffee Festival will be held from 24 to 26 September.

• Tue, 26 Oct – Hawaiian roaster Bad Ass Coffee signs new mainland US franchise deal. Bad Ass Coffee will open 18 new locations in the state of Tennessee. The roaster already operates 24 franchise locations in the US, Virgin Islands, and Japan.

• Tue, 26 Oct – World Coffee Championships take place at HostMilano; Colombian barista Diego Campos wins 2021 World Barista Championship. Campos was trained by Federico Bolanos, who has now trained three WBC winners. Alongside this:
  
  • Matt Winton (Switzerland) won the 2021 World Brewers Cup Championship
  • Kyoungha Charlie Chu (Australia) won the 2021 Cup Tasters Championship.
  • Colombian coffee was used in all three winning routines.
  • This was the first time two women and two competitors from producing countries had ever reached the WBC finals.

• Tue, 26 Oct – BIEPI launches two new espresso machines at HostMilano. The “Origin” includes independent groupheads, independent pressure profiling, and customised milk steaming. The more traditionally-designed “Uptown” machine includes programmable pre-infusion times and boiler temperature settings.

• Tue, 26 Oct – HostMilano 2021 attracts over 150,000 visitors. Over 2,700 exhibitors were present at the event, which was held from 22 to 26 October.

• Tue, 26 Oct – Lavazza opens first training centre in Canada. The Toronto centre will provide training and education for coffee and hospitality professionals. Lavazza operates some 50 training centres across Europe, Asia, Australia, and the US. More training centres are planned for Miami and Chicago.

• Wed, 27 Oct – Juan Valdez announces global expansion strategy. The Colombian chain will sell retail bags through partnerships with Whole Foods Markets and CVS pharmacies. In both Australia and New Zealand, Juan Valdez will focus on retail and ecommerce sales of soluble, flavoured, and single origin coffees.

• Wed, 27 Oct – Investment opens door to US expansion for Black Sheep Coffee. The London coffee chain received funding from NBA basketball player Kristaps Porzingis to launch its first US locations. Black Sheep Coffee also plans to open more stores in the UK in 2022.

• Wed, 27 Oct – Robusta prices reach ten-year high due to shipping container shortages. Lack of shipping containers in Vietnam has led to robusta prices increasing for their sixth consecutive year. November delivery spot contracts closed at US $2,325 per tonne – the highest since July 2011.

• Wed, 27 Oct – Dark Matter Coffee wins in TripSavvy’s “Best for Café Culture” awards category. US travel site TripSavvy’s annual awards announces the best places to travel, according to local food and beverage businesses. The Chicago roaster received the award for its direct trade relationships with producers in El Salvador, Guatemala, Colombia, and Mexico.

• Wed, 27 Oct – Fairtrade International hosts global strategy webinar. Panelists for The Future is Fair: Launching Fairtrade’s Global Strategy 2021-2025 included Fairtrade’s Global CEO Dr. Nyagoy Nyong’o, Board Chair Lynette Thorstensen, and President of CLAC and Fairtrade International Board Member Miguel Munguía. The event covered insights into Fairtrade’s new sustainable global strategy.

• Wed, 27 Oct – Progeny Coffee releases exclusive pineapple-processed coffee. Piñita was developed in partnership with Colombian coffee farmer Juan Felipe and is the first coffee in the Farmers Reserve Collection. The pineapple natural process uses sustainable farming practices and helps to increase coffee quality.

• Wed, 27 Oct – ofi launches partnership to restore Brazilian rainforest. The food and drink ingredients supplier will work to restore rainforests in Pará alongside Mondelēz International, Partnerships for Forests, and The Nature Conservancy. Up to 48,000ha will be restored by 2023, benefiting local coffee-growing communities.

• Wed, 27 Oct – Kenyan woman accused of falsely claiming to be ICO official. Caroline Karanja was arrested by Kenyan authorities on counts of defrauding coffee producers with contracts claimed to be worth over US $100,000. The ICO has released a statement condemning Karanja’s actions.

• Thu, 28 Oct – HUGH INC. launches Leverpresso Pro on Kickstarter. The portable manual espresso machine includes a pressure gauge and can extract up to 60ml (2oz) at a single time. The Kickstarter campaign will remain live until 16 December.

• Thu, 28 Oct – Brazil International Coffee Week announces Covid-19 health and safety regulations. Attendees must demonstrate proof of vaccination, while cuppers must present a negative Covid-19 test result. Masks and social distancing will be in place. The event will take place from 10 to 12 November.

• Thu, 28 Oct – Starbucks to accelerate small store and drive-thru expansion in India. Through a partnership with Tata Consumer Products, Starbucks operates 233 locations in the country. Tata Starbucks plans to open between 40 and 50 cafés in 2021.

• Thu, 28 Oct – Research finds coffee quality is sensitive to effects of climate change. Climate Change and Coffee Quality: Systematic Review on the Effects of Environmental and Management Variation on Secondary Metabolites and Sensory Attributes of Coffea arabica and Coffea canephora was conducted by the SCA, Montana State University, and Tufts University. Researchers concluded coffee quality is significantly influenced by water stress, temperature, levels of CO2, and nutrient management.

• Fri, 29 Oct – Forty samples received for 2021 CoE Brazil. All samples scored over 88 points and will be analysed by an international jury until 14 November. Thirty percent of the samples were from Matas de Minas, and had a geographical indication to that effect.

• Fri, 29 Oct – UCDA and Ugandan British High Commission to host Uganda Coffee Competition. Eleven sensory judges from Uganda and the UK will assess samples received from applicants. Six finalists will have the opportunity to sell their coffees on the UK market.

• Fri, 29 Oct – International Café & Beverage Show to take place from 19 to 21 May 2022. The exhibition will focus on specialty coffee, food and beverage, and café equipment. The 2022 Malaysian Coffee Championships will also be held at the event.

• Fri, 29 Oct – Applications set to close for AVPA International Contest of Coffees Roasted at Origin. Applicants have until 31 October to submit their coffees and registration forms. The ceremony will take place in December.

• Fri, 29 Oct – World of Coffee to take place from 23 to 25 June 2022. The event will be held in Warsaw, Poland and will include features such as Roaster Village, Best New Product Competition and Display, Coffee Design Awards, and World Coffee Championships.

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

• Tue, 19 Oct – Faema partners with Basso for 60th anniversary of Faema E61 machine. Through the collaboration, the two companies designed three Faema-inspired Basso bikes. Two of the bikes will be displayed at the MUMAC Academy, while the third bike was up for auction at HostMilano.

• Tue, 19 Oct – Global soluble coffee market to reach US $41.8 billion by 2026. The CAGR is predicted to be 3.5% over the period. The US and China are expected to experience the most significant growth, with US $9.4 billion and US $8.5 billion, respectively.

• Wed, 20 Oct – Nespresso Professional launches Nespresso Momento Coffee & Milk machine. The new machine can prepare up to 12 different milk-based coffee beverages, including cortados and flat whites. The Momento Coffee & Milk is aimed for use in workplaces.

• Wed, 20 Oct – Data resource platform State of the Smallholder Coffee Farmer holds webinar. State of the Coffee Smallholder: An Initiative Towards a More Equitable and Democratic Information Landscape included speakers from Statistics for Sustainable Development, University of Vermont, and Heifer International. The webinar discussed holistic approaches to gathering and reporting information on coffee-growing communities.

• Thu, 21 Oct – Caffè Nero reports sales recovery of 87% on 2019. The UK coffee chain said city centre and travel hub locations were recovering at a slower rate than high street and neighbourhood stores.

• Thu, 21 Oct – American Journal of Kidney Diseases study finds caffeine consumption can reduce risk of kidney stones. The study included over 571,600 participants and focused on coffee consumption. Results found 1 to 1.5 cups of coffee consumed per day led to a 40% reduction of kidney stone development.

• Thu, 21 Oct – Ellianos Coffee launches fundraiser for Breast Cancer Research Foundation. The east coast US coffee chain will use pink lids to raise awareness. Customers are encouraged to post photos on social media using the hashtag #EllianosCares. For every hashtag, Ellianos will donate US $1 to the foundation.

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Photo credits: Urisar Ferneldy de León