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

Mon, 5 Sep

• Specialty Coffee Association announces 2023 UK Latte Art and Coffee in Good Spirits champions. Alessandro Zengiaro placed first in the Latte Art Championship, while Rastislav Kasar won the Coffee in Good Spirits competition. Both competitors will represent the UK at the 2023 World Coffee Championships in Taipei in November 2023.

• European Sensory Summit 2022 takes place Zurich, Switzerland. The two-day event was held at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) and included lectures and workshops.

• Report suggests US coffee shop sales will increase by 10.5% by end of 2022. Research firm GlobalData says despite the ongoing cost of living crisis in the country, US coffee shops are at low risk of declining sales – largely because many consumers visit coffee shops on a regular basis.

• Nestlé appoints Sarah Huber as Business Executive Officer of DACH region to lead coffee operations. Huber will oversee the company’s coffee businesses in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Huber first joined Nestlé in 2007.

• Colombian coffee production increases 4% in August 2022. The National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia (FNC) says the country produced an additional 34,000 60kg bags compared to August 2021. However, exports in August 2022 fell by 23% to 872,000 60kg bags, compared to more than 1.1 million bags exported in August 2021.

Tue, 6 Sep

• World Coffee Events announces Mazzer ZM as official grinder of 2022 World Brewers Cup. All 37 competitors will use the grinder at the WBrC finals, which will take place from 27 to 30 September 2022 at the Melbourne International Coffee Expo. The grinders include 83mm flat steel burrs.

• Study suggests up to 40% of UK hospitality businesses are facing skilled worker shortages. Digital marketing agency Koozai analysed data from the UK Office of National Statistics, finding that the “accommodation and foodservices sector” (which includes coffee shops) has been the hardest-hit industry by staff shortages.

• National Coffee Association appoints Kellem Emanuele as new Vice President of Operations. The newly created role will see Emanuele focus on day-to-day operations and help to implement the association’s 2023-2025 strategic plan.

• Robusta prices increase by 9.2% during August 2022. The International Coffee Organisation’s August report states that falling global arabica stocks have pushed robusta prices to increase. The report also claims global green coffee exports have dropped 8.8% on August 2021.

• Caravela Coffee releases 2021 Impact Report. The report outlines the green coffee trader’s social, economic, and environmental initiatives throughout last year. Caravela will host a Q&A session on 21 September 2022 at 17:00 BST to discuss the report.

Wed, 7 Sep

• Restaurant operator Alsea plans to open 200 new Starbucks stores in Mexico by end of 2026. The Mexican company will invest US $225 million in its expansion plans, and estimates the new stores will create around 2,600 new jobs. Alsea already operates around 1,500 Starbucks stores in 18 countries.

• Bay Coffee Roasters wins 2022 Great Taste Golden Fork award. The Great Taste awards recognises high-quality food and beverage retailers from around the world. Bay Coffee’s organic and Fairtrade-certified Sumatran coffee placed first in the competition, and was roasted using renewable energy.

• Swiss brand CoffeeB launches packaging-free coffee “capsule”. The Coffee Ball includes seaweed-based packaging that remains on the used coffee grounds after extraction. The “capsules” are only compatible with CoffeeB’s proprietary Globe machine. CoffeeB says its products are compostable and will break down within four weeks.

• The Barista League Copenhagen to be held on 17 September 2022. The barista competition will take place at Flere Fugle bakery, and will include a free Cold Brew Cocktail Bar.

• Koppi House launches first coffee and NFT community in Latin America. Upon purchasing a NFT, community members will receive lifetime access to coffee discounts, exclusive events, and annual cash investment returns. The second round of NFT artwork sales is currently underway.

Thu, 8 Sep

• Probat plans to become carbon neutral by 2030. The roaster manufacturer says among several sustainability initiatives, it will use solar technology, LED lighting, and energy-efficient air conditioning to reduce its carbon footprint.

• UKHospitality survey finds businesses’ energy costs have risen by average of 238%. Findings from the survey also indicate that one in five businesses (including coffee shops) cannot afford to pay their energy bills. Around 300 UK hospitality leaders have signed an open letter asking for more support from the government. Newly elected Prime Minister Liz Truss announced a £150 billion (US $172.5 billion) energy price support package, but is only providing businesses with six months’ cover.

• Hayk Coffee to host first-ever Armenian AeroPress Championship. The event will take place in the country’s capital, Yerevan, on 18 September 2022. Competitor registration is full, but entry is free for spectators.

• Coffee Planet partners with Bean & Beyond to reuse spent coffee grounds. As part of the project, spent coffee grounds will be collected from the UAE roaster’s coffee shops every week to fertilise soil used for growing oyster mushrooms.

• World Kokekaffe Championship 2022 held in Oslo. The event celebrates Norway’s filter-less steeped brewing method and was hosted by Kaffebrenneriet coffeebar.

• The Green Coffee Company launches US $100 million Series C funding round. Colombia’s largest coffee producer says it will invest funds in additional farm acquisitions, farm infrastructure and development, roasting operations in the US, and alcohol distillation of coffee byproducts.

• Lamastus Family Estates 2022 auction achieves record price of US $6,034/lb. Black Gold Specialty Coffee purchased 7lbs of the Elida Aguacatillo honey processed coffee, totalling more than US $42,230. The average sale price at this year’s Lamastus Family Estates auction was US $341.20/lb.

Fri, 9 Sep

• Neumann Kaffee Gruppe celebrates 30 years of operations in Asia. The company first opened offices in Vietnam and Singapore in 1992, and has been present in Indonesia for 25 years. Neumann Kaffee Gruppe says it will focus on building its presence and operations in Japan as well.

• Voting begins for the European Coffee Awards 2022. The award scheme recognises key figures and leaders in the European coffee sector. The winners will be announced at the 2022 European Coffee Symposium on 18 October 2022. Voting closes on 23 September 2022.

• UK startup (Un)Ordinary launches new barista-formulated oat milk. The oat milk is made with 100% British oats and fully recyclable packaging. (Un)Ordinary is currently available in select UK coffee shops.

• Thailand AeroPress Championship 2022 takes place in Bangkok. Hosted by the Coffee Calling, the event is being held alongside a coffee festival featuring local roasters and retailers.

• Vienna Coffee Festival takes place in Marx Hall. The three-day event will be held from 10:00 to 18:00 CEST every day.

• Houston’s Luce Coffee Roasters to host US Latte Art Championship preliminaries. The preliminary rounds will take place from 8:00 to 17:00 CDT on 10 September 2022.

• Otten Coffee hosts first 2022 Indonesian AeroPress Championship in Medan. The event is one of three regional rounds, with another to take place in Bandung on 8 October 2022 and the final round to be held in Jakarta on 22 October 2022.

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

• Tue, 30 Aug – Brazilian researchers develop green coffee sorting technology using multispectral imaging and AI. Brazilian scientists at the University of São Paulo’s Centre for Nuclear Energy in Agriculture, along with other educational institutions in the country, used the technology to sort green beans according to commercial and specialty standards. However, the scientists say the technology cannot distinguish between cupping scores, therefore further research is needed.

• Wed, 31 Aug – New coffee brand opens in former Paulig Russian roastery. The facility is now operated by Russian coffee company Poetti, which plans to launch instant coffee products by 2023.

• Wed, 31 Aug – Pact Coffee promotes Will Corby to Director of Coffee and Social Impact. Corby started at the company as Head of Coffee in 2014.

• Thu, 1 Sep – Former Luckin Coffee chairman and co-founder rumoured to be launching competitor brand in China. Charles Lu is reportedly planning to open Cotti Coffee, which will be a direct competitor of Luckin. According to reports, Lu has already secured around US $100 million in capital for the launch of the new coffee chain.

• Thu, 1 Sep – McDonalds aims to open 1,000 new McCafé locations in China by end of 2023. The company will target the country’s third-tier cities, including Zhenjiang and Yangzhou.

• Fri, 2 Sep – Alliance for Coffee Excellence announces Best of Thailand pilot project. A full Cup of Excellence Thailand programme is expected to launch in the near future, while an auction will take place on 17 November 2022.

• Fri, 2 Sep – Huhtamäki completes sale of its Russian operations. The Finnish packaging supplier sold its four manufacturing sites in Russia to Espetina Ltd.

• Fri, 2 Sep – Brazilian coffee prices rise as a result of increasing demand. The Centre for Advanced Studies on Applied Economics (CEPEA) says higher arabica prices have increased demand – and subsequently prices – for Brazilian robusta.

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