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

Mon, 11 Apr

• SCA announces winners of 2022 Best New Product and Coffee Design Awards. The winners were announced at the Specialty Expo held in Boston. Best New Product winners include the POUR’D coffee dispenser from Marco Beverage Systems and ROEST’s L100 countertop roasting solution. The 2022 Coffee Design Awards winners include Tropicália Coffee, Colectivo Coffee, and Roast Runner.

• Torque Coffees launches Proportional Pricing equity model. The model automatically adjusts the prices farmers receive based on retail prices paid for their coffees. Consumers are able to view these prices through a QR code, which also provides information on the producer, as well as roast profiles.

• SCA announces winners of 2022 US Coffee Championships. The competitions were held at the Specialty Expo, which attracted over 10,000 attendees from around 40 countries. Morgan Eckroth placed first in the Barista Championships, Elika Liftee won the Brewers Cup, Alexandra Hager placed first in Coffee in Good Spirits, Julien Langevin won the Cup Tasters Championships, Nick Berardi placed first in the Roaster Championships, and Piyapat (Flook) Lapteerawut won the Latte Art Championships.

• Luckin Coffee emerges from bankruptcy proceedings. In 2020, the Chinese coffee chain was convicted of accounting fraud in the US. Luckin has now fully restructured its financial indebtedness.

• Gruppo Cimbali debuts Faemina espresso machine at Specialty Expo. The new model includes a remote technology system which can set water temperature, pressure, and extraction times. Gruppo Cimbali also showcased the E71E model at the expo, which will be the 2022 World Coffee in Good Spirits sponsor.

• Pre-orders available for One of a Kind Guatemala auction. In partnership with Anacafé and Alliance for Coffee Excellence, the second edition of the auction will take place on 28 July.

• Winners of UK Coffee Awards announced. The winners of London Coffee Festival’s award campaign include La Marzocco for Best All-Round Traditional Coffee Machine and Change Please for Most Ethical Initiative.

Tue, 12 Apr

• Digital coffee trading platform Algrano releases second annual market trends report. The Coffee Sourcing and Production Trends in the Context of a New Price Boom report covers a range of topics, including strategies to avoid shipping delays and product diversification drivers. The report is available for free.

• ROEST to launch P2000 commercial roaster. The 1 to 2kg-capacity machine pushes air through bean mass, which ROEST claims helps to improve roasting efficiency. The separate bean and environmental temperature sensors help to continuously maintain and adjust temperatures.

• Panera Bread to use AI-powered coffee monitoring system. The coffee and bakery chain partnered with Miso Robotics to implement the system, which will monitor coffee data, including volume, temperature, and time. Panera Bread states the data will help to improve coffee freshness and reduce waste.

• Brazilian Coffee Industry Association reports domestic consumption increased 1.7% in 2021. A total of 21.5 million 60kg bags were consumed between November 2020 and October 2021. Over the past decade, Brazil’s coffee consumption has increased by more than 1 million 60kg bags.

• Synesso launches new prosumer espresso machine. The single-group Synesso ES1 includes Automatic Preinfusion technology, which uses sensors to automatically adjust flow rate. Pre-orders will be available by mid-2022.

• Colombia’s National Coffee Fund receives sustainable financing from Japanese bank. The FNC-operated fund has contracted medium-term debt with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation. The US $40 million funding will be distributed over three years.

• Global decaf market to be valued at US $5.3 billion by 2031. Europe is expected to have over 39% market share, according to Transparency Market Research.

Wed, 13 Apr

• Pret A Manger to expand in Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland. Through franchise partner Carebrook Partnership Ltd, 20 stores will open across the two countries over the next ten years. The first store will open in Dublin in mid-2022.

• STōK partners with DK’s Donuts for National Cold Brew Day. The LA store will sell STōK cold brew-infused doughnuts on 20 April.

• MUMAC Academy Lab opens first location in Oslo. The facility opened at Primulator, which is Gruppo Cimbali’s Faema distributor in Norway. The MUMAC Academy Lab will host training sessions using Faema espresso machines.

• Higher Grounds Trading re-launches public tours and coffee tastings. On two Fridays of every month, bookings are available to visit the roastery in Michigan. The tours are free to attend.

• Joe & The Juice to expand in Middle East. The coffee shop chain currently operates around 300 stores across Europe, the US, and Asia Pacific, but is planning to open between 200 and 300 outlets in the Middle East over the next ten years. Joe & The Juice is also planning an IPO within the next five years.

• Coffee Bros to release next set of Crypto Barista NFTs in late May. The first consumer-focused series included around 455 NFTs. The New York roaster states the second series of Crypto Baristas will include more producer-focused initiatives, including improved traceability and price transparency of its coffees.

Thu, 14 Apr

• Australian supermarket Coles to launch home compostable capsules. As part of its Urban Coffee Culture brand, the Nespresso-compatible capsules have been certified by the Australasian Bioplastics Association.

• PRF Colombia announces new speakers. Gustavo Cerna is the Senior Manager for Coffee for National DCP and Dunkin’ and Matt Swenson is the Director of Coffee for Nestlé Coffee Partners. PRF Colombia will be held at Plaza Mayor in Medellín from 30 June to 1 July.

• Private label roaster Joe’s Garage Coffee wins 2022 Excellence in Customer Service Award. The award is presented by the Business Intelligence Group. This is the second consecutive year that Joe’s Garage Coffee has received the award.

• Stumptown Coffee Roasters launches new sustainability platform. The B Corp roaster’s new webpage highlights its sustainable business partnerships and practices. As part of the new campaign, the roaster released the Supernature organic blend, which is available online and in Stumptown cafés.

• TONE Brewer launches in UK. The Swiss brewer manufacturer launched its TONE Touch 3 model at London Coffee Festival. TONE claims its brewers use ten times less energy than competitor brands.

• Lavazza reports record 2021 revenue at over €2.3 billion (US $2.48 billion). This represents a 11% increase on 2020. The company achieved the most sales growth in the North American market. However, Lavazza warns of potential future supply chain issues related to conflict in Ukraine.

• First-ever Colour of Coffee Collective symposium to take place in May 2022. The event will include BIPOC coffee professionals and will focus on improving representation and diversity in the global coffee industry. The Colour of Coffee Collective symposium will be held in Houston on 14 May.

Fri, 15 Apr

• Fast food chain Wendy’s launches signature coffee blend in Canada. Wendy’s first-ever signature blend uses arabica coffees sourced from Central and South America. The medium-roast blend will be available from 2 May.

• Cropster partners with La Marzocco on extraction tracking data software. The Cropster Café software can be integrated into La Marzocco espresso machines, including the Linea PB, GB5, and KB90. The software can collect real-time data on extraction time, water volume, temperature, and yield across multiple machines and locations.

• Sovda Coffee launches fully customised roasting solutions range. Sovda’s new personalised service will work with roasters to customise roasting machines, including installation and training.

• Forward Coffee launches seventh series of Lottery roasting campaign. Over 60 global roasters are participating in the Forward Lottery. Upon purchasing a ticket, each roaster receives 1kg of coffee, but with minimal information, and must roast the coffee to the best-tasting profile. Forward states it created the campaign to encourage discussion around coffee pricing.

• Coffee-based snack brand nudge partners with US Major League Baseball team. nudge’s Coffee Bombs and Coffee Bars are the new Official Snacks of the Miami Marlins and will be sold at the baseball team’s stadium.

• Monin releases new functional syrup line. The new syrups (which can be added to coffee) include the Energy Boost and vitamin-enriched Total Immunity Boost.

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

• Tue, 5 Apr – Global cold brew market to grow over 26% by 2025. This equates to over US $1.37 billion in growth, with North America predicted to obtain over half of the global market share during the analysis period.

• Thu, 7 Apr – Baratza releases Encore ESP grinder. The espresso-optimised grinder debuted at the Specialty Expo in Boston. The new Encore ESP model includes a 54mm antistatic dosing cup for portafilters.

• Thu, 7 Apr – Cecafé launches digital system to issue certifications of origin. At the International Coffee Organisation Statistics Committee, the Brazilian Council for Coffee Exporters claimed the new system will improve efficiency and accuracy in authorising certificates of origin.

• Thu, 7 Apr – Heavy rainfall and floods reported in Colombia’s coffee-growing regions. The most affected areas include Antioquia, Huila, Nariño and the Coffee Triangle (Caldas, Quindío, Risaralda, Tolima, and Valle del Cauca). Around 5,500 people have been impacted by flooding and landslides.

• Fri, 8 Apr – More than 24,000 visitors attend London Coffee Festival. The festival also raised £9,660 (US $12,580) for the British Red Cross Ukraine Crisis Appeal and £21,791 (US $28,380) for Project Waterfall, which provides clean water sources for coffee-growing communities.

• Fri, 8 Apr – German Coffee Association reports national consumption increased by 500 million cups in 2021. The organisation claims per capita consumption increased to 169 litres in 2021, with sales of whole bean as the largest driver of growth.

• Fri, 8 Apr – Fairtrade International hosts panel at Specialty Expo. The Empty Cups panel addressed current climate change issues affecting coffee-growing communities and the long-term implications of these issues on the overall industry.

• Sat, 9 Apr – Coffee companies donate to Stand Up for Ukraine fundraiser. Companies pledging support include Blue Bottle Coffee, Nestlé, and Nespresso. The event raised US $4.6 billion in grants and US $5.5 billion in loans for humanitarian efforts supporting Ukraine.

• Sat, 9 Apr – Keurig Dr Pepper announces new CEO. Current CFO of the company (which produces K Cups) Ozan Dokmecioglu will take over the CEO role from 29 July 2022.

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Photo credits: @cebuddha