Coffee News Recap, 12 May: World AeroPress Championship 2023 will take place in Melbourne, Oatly appoints new CEO & 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, 8 May

International Coffee Organisation to work with European Union on new anti-deforestation regulations. The ICO’s Coffee Public-Private Task Force held a webinar to discuss the new EU deforestation-free regulations, which included 260 coffee professionals and EU representatives. The organisation reaffirmed its commitment to work with the EU and all coffee sector stakeholders to implement due diligence checks.

This year’s World AeroPress Championship to take place in Melbourne, Australia. The 2023 WAC finals will take place immediately after this year’s Australian AeroPress Championship, which will be hosted by Fieldwork Coffee. This year’s theme is “Plungin’ Down Under”, with more details to be announced soon.

Anaerobic natural Red Bourbon coffee receives top score of 87.23 points at 2023 Best of Ka‘ū competition. The coffee, grown by Leo Norberte of JN Farms, will be up for auction along with seven other Ka‘ū lots at the Isla Custom Coffees & Alliance for Coffee Excellence Private Collection Auction on 15 June.

National Federation of Colombian Coffee Growers receives 750 lots in eighth Land of Diversity competition. The lots were grown in 16 of the country’s departments, with 39 of them from Antioquia, Cauca, Cundinamarca, Huila, Norte de Santander, Tolima, and Santander selected for international auction.

ZHAW Coffee Excellence Centre opens applications for 2023 Certificate of Advanced Studies. The online course covers all levels of the supply chain, and will begin in early October.

Tue, 9 May

AeroPress launches new Clear brewer. The AeroPress Clear is a fully transparent plastic brewer, which the company says allows users to more accurately observe and adjust extraction. The new brewer is currently available in the US for US $49.95, and will be available from international distributors soon.

WMF Professional Coffee Machines partners with Diebold Nixdorf on self-service checkout technology. The new partnership will allow retailers to connect WMF coffee machines with Diebold Nixdorf’s cloud-based Vynamic self-checkout platform.

Dutch Bros reports 30% revenue increase in 2023 first quarter. The US drive-thru coffee chain recorded US $197.3 million in revenue between 1 January and 31 March 2023. Dutch Bros also opened record 45 stores during the analysis period.

Researchers develop model to explain why finer grind size results in “weaker” espresso. Researchers at the University of Huddersfield designed a mathematical model to assess the impact of uneven extraction. The study found that excessively fine grind size creates a “positive feedback loop” that results in higher variations in flow rate, and can thereby decrease extraction – resulting in weaker-tasting espresso.

Voting opens for SCA Greece Chapter committee elections. Voting will remain open until 24 May. The roles up for selection are Community Coordinator and Marketing & Communications Coordinator.

Starbucks launches limited-edition Green Apron Blend. The company says the new blend was co-created by its “store partners” (or employees). For a limited time, US 10 cents from each cup sold in stores will go to the Starbucks Caring Unites Partners Fund, which supports employees with emergency funding.

Wed, 10 May

Oatly appoints new CEO following significant financial losses. Christophe Flatin will replace Toni Petersson as new CEO, following an earlier announcement that the company has secured new funding in an effort to achieve “financial self-sufficiency”. Flatin has 30 years’ experience working at Mars, including CEO and president of the Royal Canin cat and dog food brand and president of the company’s chocolate division.

This year’s Toronto Coffee Festival takes place at Evergreen Brick Works. Canada’s flagship three-day coffee event includes the Lab and Sensory Experience workshops, as well as Latte Art Live.

Union Hand Roasted Coffee releases 2022 annual impact report. Last year, the UK B Corp says it paid US $3 million above C market price for all coffees sourced, and reduced its carbon emissions throughout the year by 23 tonnes.

Tim Hortons to launch in South Korea in 2023. The Canadian coffee chain will sign a master franchise and development agreement with quick service restaurant operator BKR Co., Ltd.

More than 440 producers took part in 4C and Melitta Improving working and living conditions for coffee smallholders in Colombia project. The three-year project, held in partnership with National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia, included nearly 600 on-farm training sessions and online workshops. The project supported producers with implementing climate-smart farming practices, receiving higher prices for 4C-certified coffee, and encouraging more youth to be involved in coffee production.

Thu, 11 May

Glasgow Coffee Festival 2023 to be held on 13 & 14 May at the Briggait. The event will include a series of talks from UK-based coffee professionals, as well as cuppings and tasting sessions. This year’s Glasgow Coffee Festival will also launch Scotland’s first coffee scholarship, which will provide barista training and work experience opportunities to disadvantaged youth.

Six US beverage equipment manufacturers merge to form Lotus Beverage Alliance. Alpha Brewing Operations, GW Kent, Twin Monkeys, Stout Tanks and Kettles, Brewmation, and Automated Extractions now fall under one group.

Brazilian coffee exports declined by 10.3% in April 2023. The Brazilian Coffee Exporters Council (Cecafé) says exports throughout the first four months of this year are also down by almost 20% to just under 11.1 million 60kg bags.

Flash Coffee raises US $50 million in Series B financing round. The tech-driven coffee chain secured funding from several investors. Funding will be used to expand its footprint across the Asia Pacific region and to accelerate product innovation.

LEON and World Land Trust’s “rainforest-saving coffee” reforests 2,000 acres of land. This equates to around 1m2 of forest saved for every seven cups of coffee – which the health-focused fast food chain sources from Peru and Honduras.

International Trade Centre launches fourth edition of the Coffee Guide in Amharic. This marks the first time that the Coffee Guide has been published in Amharic, the most widely-spoken language in Ethiopia.

Fri, 12 May

Cxffeeblack launches crowdfunding page for its Barista Exchange programme. As part of a collaboration with SoGiv Shoes, Cxffeeblack is selling its Pan-African Cxffeeblack Runner shoes. Proceeds of sales will go towards its Barista Exchange initiative, which allows young coffee professionals from Africa to train in the US, as well as funding origin trips for black American baristas.

Nestlé to host Nescafé Plan 2030 Progress Highlights webinar on 6 June. The webinar will provide a number of updates on the Nescafé Plan 2030 project, including an impact assessment report from Rainforest Alliance.

Breville to launch new Barista Touch Impress on 16 May. The new home espresso machine includes a number of features, such as the intelligent dosing Impress Puck System, hands-free Auto MilQ technology for steaming a range of milks (including plant-based options), and the ThermoJet heating system.

Le Paris Café Festival 2023 to take place at Le Carreau du Temple from 13 to 15 May. This year’s competition will include the Roasters Village and The Lab, as well as Latte Art Live, Roast Masters, and a revamped Best Espresso Blend of France competition hosted by Collectif Café.

Next Barista League event to take place in Brno, Czech Republic on 26 May. This will be the first Barista League competition to be held in the city, and will include the Mystery Mocktail Challenge.

Natural Gesha receives top score of 91 points at 2023 Cup of Excellence Mexico competition. The coffee, grown by Gustavo Boltjes Rising of Finca Las Nieves, will be up for auction along with 25 other lots on 20 June.

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

Mon, 1 May – Tim Hortons India appoints Tarun Jain as new CEO. Jain, who replaces previous CEO Navin Gurnaney, previously served as CEO of Costa Coffee in India.

Tue, 2 May – Black Sheep Coffee to open first Middle Eastern location in Dubai. The coffee chain (which exclusively sources and uses fine robusta) signed a 30-year agreement to open 250 stores in the Middle East over a 15-year period.

Wed, 3 May – Qatari barista Ranij Basnet wins Costa Coffee’s Global Barista of the Year competition. The 24-year-old has been working as a Barista Maestro for two years at a Costa Coffee location in Doha.

Thu, 4 May – Brazilian and UK researchers recycle plastic in used coffee pods to manufacture filaments for 3D printers. Research teams at the Federal University of São Carlos, State University of Campinas, and Manchester Metropolitan University were able to use waste polylactic acid (PLA) from coffee capsules to produce the filaments, thereby reducing environmental impact.

Fri, 5 May – Australian researchers find coffee consumption could improve brain health. The Centre for Eye Research Australia in Melbourne found that drinking two to three cups of coffee per day could increase the thickness of the macular retinal nerve fibre layer – a sign of good brain health.

Fri, 5 May – Mayorga Coffee’s Eduardo Choza places fourth at 2023 US Roasting Championship. The company’s Head of Coffee competed against 24 US coffee roasters. Choza was the only East coast roaster to reach the top five highest-scoring competitors.

Photo credits: Ádám Csordás