Coffee News Recap, 21 Jul: Fairtrade International to increase minimum prices, but Fairtrade USA announces freeze & more stories

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

Mon, 17 Jul

Chilean AeroPress Championship to take place on 21 October in Santiago. CaféStore will host the competition at Ubuntu Café Coffeeshop in Ñuñoa in the capital. Spectator tickets are free.

Starbucks opens 400th store in Saudi Arabia. The new Jeddah Park Starbucks Reserve location is Alshaya Group’s 400th store in the country. The franchisee says its regional recruitment strategy is also focusing on hiring more women.

Costa Coffee opens first location in Uzbekistan. The new Tashkent store is operated by local franchisee International Food Chain. The country marks the 33rd market that the coffee chain now operates in.

Cold brew machine manufacturer Spinn launches Wefunder campaign for prospective investors. The company is calling on customers to invest a minimum of US $100 in its growth strategy. So far, Spinn has raised more than US $3.5 million from more than 280 investors.

Killarney to become first town in Ireland to stop using single-use coffee cups. A total of 47 local hotels and coffee shops have signed up to the Killarney Coffee Cup Project, and thereby pledge to stop offering single-use cups as of 31 July 2023.

Washed Gesha receives 90.86 points at the 2023 Best of Taiwan competition. Three Geshas from Royal Bean Geisha Estate received more than 90 points at Alliance for Coffee Excellence’s pilot competition. The auction will take place on 24 August.

El Niño likely to develop and affect coffee production during coming months. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology has updated its El Niño-Southern Oscillation Outlook to “alert” status, saying there is now a 70% chance that the weather phenomenon will develop during the coming season. Changing climatic conditions are likely to affect coffee production in several regions, including Vietnam and Indonesia.

Tue, 18 Jul

Fairtrade International to increase minimum prices from 1 August 2023. The Minimum Price will increase by 19% for robusta and 29% for arabica, respectively. The price increases are the result of a study and consultation which included input from more than 600 producer organisations and 745 commercial partners.

Fair Trade USA announces minimum price freeze until at least 2024. The organisation states this is largely because price increases in current economic conditions could significantly reduce consumer demand for coffee over the next couple of years – which would also impact producers. However, there has been significant criticism of this move – despite Fair Trade USA launching the Innovation for Impact initiative.

Heirloom Coffee opens regenerative coffee research lab. The company says its new facility is the first of its kind, and will be used to drive regenerative coffee research and development – with a particular focus on 100% electric roasters.

Pret A Manger says it will more than double the size of business by 2026. The UK coffee and food-to-go chain reported a 20% increase in sales during the first half of 2023, driven by international expansion. In 2022, the company also turned a profit for the first time since 2018.

Nestlé aims to locally source 90% of resources for South African processing plants. The company operates five factories in South Africa, and already produces coffee creamer using local ingredients. Nestlé also opened a Nescafé processing processing plant in Pretoria, hoping to capitalise on increasing coffee consumption in the country.

Wed, 19 Jul

New study suggests espresso can prevent formation of proteins responsible for Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers at the University of Verona say in-vitro lab tests showed that compounds in espresso can inhibit aggregation of the tau protein in the brain – which can lead to development of the disease. As such, these compounds were found to have significant “neuroprotective potential”.

Fairtrade Foundation says Kenyan coffee producers are already experiencing the effects of climate change. According to the organisation’s latest report, 93% of Fairtrade-certified Kenyan coffee producers surveyed said they are already dealing with the effects of climate change, including erratic rainfall and an increase in pests and diseases.

Registration opens for 2023 Coffee Roasters Guild Retreat. This year’s CRG Retreat will take place from 28 September to 1 October at Semiahmoo Resort in Blaine, Washington in the US. The retreat will include lectures, workshops, cuppings, exclusive access to leading industry machines in the Roasting Tent, collaborative networking opportunities, a first-hand look at the new Coffee Value Assessment, and a US Coffee Roasting Championship workshop.

JDE Peet’s unveils new recyclable paper packaging for soluble coffee products. The company has launched paper-based packaging for some of its coffee products, including L’OR and Douwe Egberts. JDE Peet’s says the new paper packaging will “generate the lowest carbon footprint within the existing range of JDE Peet’s products”.

Thu, 20 Jul

Mercon Specialty appoints Mark Inman as Specialty Coffee Director. Inman has worked in the coffee industry for nearly 30 years, and has previously served as the SCA president, World Coffee Events chairperson, and Roasters Guild chairperson.

Seventh annual New York Coffee Festival to take place from 6 to 8 October 2023. The event will take place at the Metropolitan Pavilion in Manhattan, and will include the Roasters Village, Coffee Masters NYC, the Sensory Experience, and Latte Art Live.

US Coffee Championships announces locations for 2024 preliminary rounds. Six companies will host US Coffee Championships over the following months:

Talitha Coffees, San Diego – 25 to 27 Aug (Barista, Coffee in Good Spirits)

Blendin Coffee Club, Houston – 25 to 27 Aug (Roaster)

Luce Coffee Roasters, Houston – 1 to 3 Sep (Barista)

Origin Coffee Company, Tulsa – 8 to 10 Sep (Barista, Cup Tasters)

Redhouse Roasters, Newark – 15 to 17 Sep (Barista, Cup Tasters)

Messenger Coffee and The Roasterie, Kansas City – 29 Sep to 1 Oct (Brewers Cup, Roaster, Coffee in Good Spirits)

Athens Coffee Festival returns from 23 to 25 September 2023. The annual festival includes an exhibition, live demonstrations, and workshops, and will also host the 2024 Hellenic Coffee in Good Spirits, Coffee Roasting, Cezve/Ibrik, and Latte Art Championships. Entrance is free for industry professionals.

Japanese coffee chain % Arabica returns to the Philippines with new Manila store. The company closed three stores in the country 18 months ago, but has now partnered with a new franchisee to open new stores across the country – including a roastery in Manila’s financial district.

Keurig Dr Pepper to acquire 33% stake in La Colombe Coffee Roasters as part of new strategic partnership. Keurig Dr Pepper will invest US $300 million in La Colombe – which will make it the second-largest investor. Keurig Dr Pepper will also distribute La Colombe’s ready-to-drink products through its direct store network. It will also manufacture La Colombe-branded K-Cup coffee pods under license in the US and Canada.

Fri, 21 Jul

MTPak Coffee announces 2023 Circular Economy Grant finalists. A total of 21 coffee businesses are shortlisted for the grant, of which the winner will receive either US $5,000 in cash or US $15,000 in credit to spend on MTPak Coffee’s sustainable coffee bags, boxes, and takeaway cups.

Co-founder of Coffee People and industry legend Jim Roberts passes away aged 74. Roberts played a key role in establishing Portland, Oregon’s specialty coffee scene, and is often credited to developing the first-ever drive-thru coffee shop.

Coava collaborates with The Bellden Life Project on new Cascara Girls project. Founded by Claire Sumadiwirya, the Bellden Life Project provides support and work opportunities to refugees, immigrants, and BIPOC youth. All sales proceeds of the Cascara Girls blend will go towards the project.

The Caffè by Mr. Espresso to host book signing and coffee tasting with industry legend Kenneth Davids. Davids, editor of Coffee Review and author, will sign copies of his new book 21st Century Coffee: A Guide at the Oakland coffee shop on 29 July. He will also lead a single origin tasting session, with all coffee roasted by Mr. Espresso.

April Coffee Roasters to host second edition of April Brewers Cup on 29th August in Singapore. Founder of April Patrik Rolf established the competition, which was first held in Manila in June 2023, to help coffee professionals train for national Brewers Cup championships. The knock-out style competition has two rounds – with 18 baristas using the April brewer.

Royal Coffee offers promotion on Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Washed Aricha Kebele coffee. Roasters can get 30% of this coffee using the code: EG030OFF.

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

Thu, 6 Jul – Colombian farmers invest in bear protection programme. Producers in western Valle del Cauca are taking part in “Conservamos la vida”, which is a programme that provides support and resources to coffee farmers in exchange for creating and managing conservation areas for bears.

Wed, 12 Jul – Starbucks unveils new Signature Experiences at select US Reserve stores. Starbucks Reserve stores in Chicago, Seattle, and New York will now offer three Signature Experiences, including “Art of the Espresso Martini”.

Thu, 13 Jul – Peet’s Coffee appoints Mischief as new creative agency. Mischief will debut a new creative campaign for Peet’s in the coming months.