Coffee News Recap, 2 Dec: World AeroPress Championship Finals take place in Vancouver BC, Canada, two Peet’s Coffee California locations vote to unionise & other stories

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

Mon, 28 Nov

• European Union set to enforce new sustainable packaging regulations for single-use products which includes coffee capsules. The EU’s final approval of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) mean companies are required to use as little packaging as possible, and that governing bodies will need to ensure that 65% of all packaging waste (including coffee capsules and single-serve products) is recycled by end of 2025. Companies will also be required to publish detailed information on their sustainability practices, including coffee brands.

• Rinaldo’s Specialty Coffee and Tea acquired by Managing Director Jayne Hynes. Following the retirement of founder and owner Rin Colombi, Hynes acquired the Kendal, UK roaster for a six-figure sum. Rinaldo’s also sells and distributes commercial and home espresso machines.

• Nestlé commits to invest US $1.86 billion in Saudi Arabia over the next decade. Nestlé will initially fund the development of a ready-to-drink coffee manufacturing facility, which is set to open in 2025.

• Lavazza to acquire French brand MaxiCoffee for undisclosed amount. The Italian company says the acquisition will accelerate the development of MaxiCoffee’s multi-brand e-commerce platform, as well as expanding Lavazza’s presence in the French market. Founder of MaxiCoffee Christophe Brancato will reinvest in the company to maintain a minority stake.

• Employees at two Peet’s Coffee California stores vote to unionise. Workers at two Davis locations submitted signed union cards to the National Labor Relations Board. Managers at the two stores say the unionisation vote was near-unanimous.

Tue, 29 Nov

• Chinese coffee chain Manner Coffee set to open in Hong Kong. The company will launch new branding for its Hong Kong store, and will operate as Maners Coffee.

• Coffee Technicians Guild Summit 2022 takes place in Florence, Italy. After a two-year hiatus, the event will be held at La Marzocco’s Accademia del Caffè Espresso in Florence. The two-day event will include a number of activities, such as workshops on scale calibration and automatic and fully-automatic machines.

• Coffee price increases following US Department of Agriculture’s revised estimates for Brazil, Colombia, and Vietnam production volumes. Last week, the USDA lowered its coffee production estimates for Brazil, Colombia, and Vietnam, which caused arabica futures to increase slightly to US 165.05 cents/lb. However, the price of coffee is soon expected to fall again as Brazilian coffee farmers are optimistic for next year’s harvest.

• Strauss Group credits rising coffee sales for 7% year-on-year revenue growth. The Israeli company says that despite revenue growth, 2022 Q3 operating profit dropped sharply by 63.3% compared to the same period in 2021. Meanwhile, Strauss experienced 67% growth in coffee sales in Russia and Ukraine.

• Dutch Bros appoints former Starbucks Vice President Christine Barone as president. Barone, who most recently served as CEO of True Food Kitchen, will work alongside Dutch Bros CEO Joth Ricci to develop the drive-thru coffee chain’s growth strategy.

• Global Coffee Platform Brazil celebrates tenth anniversary at 2022 International Coffee Week. Speaking at the event, which was held mid-November, the organisation says its two-tier governing model (which is comprised of the National Advisory Board and the Brazil Working Group) has made the country’s coffee industry more sustainable.

Wed, 30 Nov

• Tims China reports 67.9% year-on-year revenue growth in 2022 Q3. The company says ongoing store expansion, sales growth, and an 85.8% increase in loyalty club membership has driven revenue growth.

• Erica Kim wins first-ever Marco SP9 Brew Master Challenge. Kim is the Head Trainer and Quality Control at The Studio Beans, as well as a barista at Dukes Coffee Roasters, in Melbourne, Australia.

• Italian coffee chain Cafè Barbera opens first Djibouti store. The new location is in the Hamoudi Centre shopping mall in Djibouti City. Cafè Barbera already operates stores in Egypt, Morocco, Ghana, Somalia, and Sudan. The new location is Djibouti’s second branded coffee shop.

• Starbucks Philippines to open up to 45 new stores per year. Local franchisee Rustan Coffee Corp says at least half of all new stores will be drive-thru locations following a rise in consumer demand during the pandemic.

• New study from UC Davis Coffee Centre claims it’s better to serve black coffee too hot rather than too cold. The research found that “consumers under typical conditions cannot heat up their coffee, but can readily wait a few minutes for the beverage to cool”, and concludes that the optimal temperature range for serving black coffee is between 58°C and 66°C.

• First 2023 US Coffee Championship qualifier round to be held in Baltimore, Maryland on 28 and 29 January. The first 2023 US East Coast Barista, Brewers Cup, Cup Tasters, Coffee in Good Spirits, Roasting, and Latte Art Championship qualifiers will take place at the Baltimore Convention Centre. The winners will compete at the 2023 US National Coffee Championships in Portland, Oregon from 21 to 23 April.

Thu, 1 Dec

• World AeroPress Championship Finals take place in Vancouver BC, Canada. The three-day event will include training and conditioning sessions, several competition rounds, and a Café Takeover day. Some 60 competitors will be taking part in the competition, with the winner announced on 2 December.

• Sucafina acquires majority stake in Dutch instant coffee manufacturer TB Brown. The Dutch brand currently operates in 22 European markets, which will help Sucafina to expand its presence across the continent.

• World Coffee Events to host virtual Competitions Strategic Committee meet-and-greet on 15 December. The committee is a volunteer-led group which helps to organise and guide the World Coffee Championships. The webinar will give attendees an opportunity to meet the team and hear more about their work. Pre-registration is required to join.

• Digital Coffee Future releases results of its Digital Origin Education Programme. The two courses, which were held earlier in the year in Central America, aimed to support 20 co-operatives to digitalise their operations. Digital Coffee Future says the programmes will help it to continue scaling its educational initiatives in coffee-growing regions.

• US green coffee trader Osito Coffee to expand operations in Australia and Brazil. The company will open a new office in Melbourne in 2023, as well as a new export hub in Poços de Caldas, Minas Gerais.

• Latte Art Grading System to host World Latte Art Grading System Battle from 6 to 8 December in Abu Dhabi. The 2022 WLAGS Battle will be held at the Abu Dhabi International Food Exhibition, and will include 28 latte art professionals from 11 countries compete in three rounds.

• World Coffee Research releases initial results of International Multi-location Variety Trial. The organisation first launched the trial in 2015, which includes 31 coffee varieties grown in 29 locations. The trial assesses the yield, disease resistance, and cup quality of the varieties, and initial results show that F1 hybrids currently have the highest yields across all sites.

Fri, 2 Dec

• World Turkish Coffee Day to take place on 5 December. The annual World Turkish Coffee Day commemorates the date of the traditional brewing method’s UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List registration in 2013.

• The Barista League to host first-ever Mexico City event on 3 December. Twelve teams will take part in the three-round barista-style competition, which will be hosted at BUNA La Tostadora. The winning team will receive tickets to the Barista League’s next Mystery Event origin trip.

• National Coffee Association’s 2023 Convention to be held in Tampa, Florida from 9 to 11 March. The theme of next year’s event will be resilience and reinvention, and will include a trade exhibition, networking opportunities, and educational activities. Registration is now open.

• Neumann Kaffee Gruppe rejoins Global Coffee Platform. The green coffee trader rejoins the multi-stakeholder association following the launch of GCP’s new strategy, which will focus on farmer prosperity.

• Re:co Specialty Coffee Symposium 2023 to take place on 19 and 20 April in Portland, Oregon. The event will feature lectures and seminars led by industry experts, a number of sensory experience sessions, and networking opportunities.

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

• Tue, 8 Nov – Tech start-up Carble secures US $314,000 to fund anti-deforestation software. The company uses satellite imagery to help commodity traders (including coffee) monitor carbon storage in their supply chains and identify areas to reduce carbon emissions. In turn, using Carble’s model, producers can be financially rewarded for mitigating deforestation on their farms.

• Thu, 17 Nov – Blank Street Coffee announces plans to expand into e-commerce. The coffee chain says it will launch its first online product – the Speed Dial blend – on 2 December.

• Thu, 17 Nov – Krispy Kreme to pay more than US $1.1 million to more than 500 employees after overtime pay violations. The US Department of Labor says the violations occurred at multiple Krispy Kreme locations in the US, finding that Krispy Kreme “failed to include monthly bonuses in some employees’ regular rates of pay”.

• Tue, 22 Nov – Saudi HORECA 2022 hosts Saudi Barista Competition in Riyadh. The competition included more than 50 competitors and five judges, including Head of Coffee Planet, Cleia Junqueira, and Founder of THAT Boutique Café, Sara Al Ali.

• Wed, 23 Nov – Venezuelan coffee producers protest over “unfair” coffee prices. Around 200 farmers staged a protest in the capital city of Caracas to call on the Venezuelan government to set a “fair” price for coffee. According to the report, producers also claim the illegal influx of Colombian coffee into the country creates unfair competition.

• Wed, 23 Nov – Café de Finca secures more than US $1 million in first investment round. Forbes reported that investors in the Spanish specialty coffee company include professional sports players, such as basketball player Marc Gasol and football player Ansu Fati.

• Thu, 24 Nov – Vienna Tourist Board highlights how city’s coffee house culture contributes to quality of life. At the Sip of Vienna barista class, which was held in Dubai last month, the tourism authority mentioned that the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage status of Vienna’s coffee houses “plays a significant role in enhancing the city’s liveability factor”.

• Thu, 24 Nov – Indian coffee company Beanly secures seed investment for national expansion. The brand, which sells products such as instant coffee, nitro cold brew, and single-serve coffee bags, plans to be “among the top three coffee brands in the country” within the next 36 months.

• Fri, 25 Nov – Olam International sells its Russian instant coffee plant to Lalibela Coffee. Lalibela’s CEO says the company is planning to invest about US $9 million in the Russian instant coffee industry.

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Photo credits: AeroPress, World AeroPress Championship

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