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

Mon, 13 Jun

• Coffee Fest Chicago to be held from 23 to 24 June. This year’s event will include more than 130 exhibitors and will host two competitions: the US Cold Brew Championships and the Coffee Fest Latte Art World Championship.

• Brazil’s 2022/23 coffee production expected to increase by 11%, according to USDA. The 2022/23 harvest is predicted to reach 64.3 million 60kg bags, with production levels estimated to be constrained by adverse weather conditions. Robusta production, however, is expected to benefit from weather conditions.

• Sucafina Rwanda achieves organic certification at four washing stations. The washing stations now receive fully organic cherry from partner farmers and maintain organic certifications throughout the entire processing stage.

• Vietnamese coffee production predicted to increase to 31.58 million 60kg bags in 2022. According to a recent USDA report, exports will reach 27 million 60kg bags this year. Vietnamese coffee production for the 2022/23 harvest is expected to decrease to 30.93 million 60kg bags.

• Nominations open for Specialty Coffee Association 2023-24 Board of Directors. The SCA Board of Directors consists of eighteen volunteer members who each serve a two-year term. Nominations close at 9:00 PDT on 24 June.

• The 16th annual Thailand Coffee, Tea & Drinks show to take place from 25 to 28 August. The 2022 expo is expected to attract more than 14,800 visitors and 100 exhibitors. The event will include the 2022 Thailand Barista Championships and Thailand Brewers Cup.

Tue, 14 Jun

• Ecuadorian roaster Coffee Relief launches NFT project. In collaboration with Square Club NFT, the roaster also launched a cryptocurrency payment system – making it the first specialty coffee business in the country to do so.

• New plant-based functional RTD coffee to launch in UK. Impact Coffee contains ancient herbs ashwagandha and ginkgo biloba, as well as vitamin B12, which the company says help to improve brain function.

• Australian university finds coffee consumption can be safe during pregnancy. Research from the University of Queensland concluded that limited amounts of coffee consumption led to no increased risk of miscarriage, stillbirth, or premature birth. The researchers state the amounts are largely dependent on genetics. The World Health Organisation currently recommends that pregnant women consume no more than 300mg of caffeine per day (around two to three cups of coffee).

• Brazil’s coffee exports increase by more than 83% in value during May. During May, all coffee exports reached more than 2.8 million 60kg bags – totalling US $668 million. So far in 2022, the country’s coffee exports are down 7% in volume on the same period in 2021.

• UK roaster Pact Coffee to release its first RTD product. The RTD coffee includes Colombian and Kenyan coffees, and will be available as nitro and an oat-based flat white.

Wed, 15 Jun

• Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters launches capsule range. The roaster says it is the first company to release home-compostable capsules in India. The new capsule range includes the Attikan Estate, Vienna Roast, Dhak Blend, and Silver Oak Blend coffees.

• Grounds for Health holds annual green coffee auction. The non-profit provides cervical cancer screening services for women in coffee-producing communities. This year’s auction included 27 single origin coffees and raised US $27,822 – an increase of US $5,000 on last year’s auction. Funds will be used to support the HPV self-swabbing programme.

• SCA Greece elects new committee. The six new members include National Coordinator Konstantinos Kalafatas, Events Coordinator Nikolaos Ferras, and Judges Coordinator Stavros Lamprinidis.

• Olam Group launches new carbon emissions tracking software Terrascope. Since its first commercial trials, the software has measured more than 230 million tonnes of greenhouse gases. Terrascope can be used to measure carbon emissions across several industries, including the coffee sector.

• Chameleon Organic Coffee acquired by food and beverage brand SYSTM Foods. The company acquired Chameleon to expand its plant-based coffee product range.

• Blue Bottle Coffee defaults to oat milk in all US locations. The US roaster launched a trial run in September 2021 at three US locations, and stated oat milk sales increased 21% over the following six months. The default to oat milk is part of the company’s aim to become carbon neutral by 2024.

Thu, 16 Jun

• Global coffee roaster market expected to be valued at over US $701.2 billion by 2032. According to market research firm Fact.MR, the roaster market is currently valued at around US $430.5 billion – representing an annual growth rate of 5% throughout the analysis period.

• Results announced for second edition of One Of A Kind Guatemala Private Collection Auction. The competition was held in partnership between National Coffee Association of Guatemala (Anacafé) and Alliance for Coffee Excellence. The highest-scoring coffee is a washed Typica from Santa Clara in the Chimaltenango region, which received 90.95 points. The auction will be held on 28 July.

• Hawai’i Coffee and Cacao Festival 2022 to be held on 18 June. The festival will take place at the weekly Kaka’ako Farmers’ Market and is free to attend.

• Home coffee equipment company Fellow raises US $30 million in Series B funding round. The funding round was led by San Francisco private equity firm NextWorld Evergreen. Fellow says the funds raised will be used to accelerate product innovation and expand its retail presence.

• São Paulo Coffee Festival 2022 to take place from 24 to 26 June. Alongside a tradeshow and live coffee demonstrations, the festival will host the 2022 Brazilian Barista Championships.

• Alpro sponsors 2022 Sónar Barcelona music festival. The barista-formulated plant milk brand is serving coffees at the festival, held from 16 to 18 June, from a coffee truck designed by street artist Zosen Bandido.

Fri, 17 Jun

• Alliance for Coffee Excellence to hold Private Collection Auction of Mexican Natural Flavour. In partnership with Cafeología, the auction will include natural coffees from the highlands of Chiapas, Mexico. The auction will be held on 6 September 2022.

• Minor Figures receives investment for international expansion. The oat milk brand received undisclosed amounts from Danone Manifesto Ventures and Hong Kong social venture model Green Monday Group. Minor Figures is looking to expand in the Asia market, as well as several other international markets.

• Robot barista concept ELLA to expand across Asia. The Singapore company, which first launched in October 2020, is set for mass manufacture within the next six months. ELLA plans to open locations in train stations, offices, and airports.

• Single-serve brewing system Morning raises US $5 million in Series A funding round. The Singapore company says funds raised will be used to expand in international markets and diversify products.

• The Barista League Portland to take place on 18 June. The multi-round competition will be held at the Buckman Coffee Factory in Portland, Oregon. Rancilio Specialty will provide espresso machines for the event.

• Project Waterfall concludes four-year project in Ethiopia. The Jabi Tehnan project has improved access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene services for over 10,570 people – some of which are coffee farmers. Project Waterfall also helped to build a reservoir and solar-powered water pumping system for local communities.

What’s happening at World of Coffee Milan?

From 23 to 25 June, the Specialty Coffee Association’s flagship European event will be held at the Milano Convention Centre in Milan, Italy.

Check out some of the World of Coffee Milan (WOC Milan) exhibitors below:

Espresso machine and coffee grinder manufacturers

• Baratza
• Dalla Corte
• Fiorenzato
• Gruppo Cimbali
• Rancilio Group

Green coffee traders and organisations

• Ally Coffee
• Falcafé
• Guatemalan Coffees
• Mercanta
• Neumann Kaffee Gruppe
• Covoya Specialty Coffee
• Sucafina Specialty
• Typica

Brewers and coffee shop equipment

• AeroPress
• Marco Beverage Systems
• Pentair
• Toddy

Roasters and roasting solutions

• Aillio
• Cropster
• IMF Roasters
• ROEST
• Stronghold Technology
• Taf Coffee

As well as a tradeshow, there will be numerous workshops and lectures at WOC Milan, alongside several 2022 World Coffee Championships. These include the Roasting Championships, Cup Tasters, Coffee in Good Spirits, Cezve/Ibrik Championships, and Latte Art Championships.

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