Coffee News Recap, 20 Jan: Last chance to apply for PRF El Salvador Mayorga Scholarship and volunteer positions, World of Coffee Dubai attracts more than 12,000 visitors & 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, 16 Jan

• World of Coffee Dubai 2023 attracts more than 12,000 visitors from 48 countries. The event, which was held at the Dubai World Trade Centre, also included over 180 exhibitors and 36 volunteers. WoC Dubai also hosted the 2023 UAE Barista Championship, with Mariam Erin Pinza of Cosmic Garden Coffee Roastery announced as the winner. Pinza will represent the UAE at the 2023 World Barista Championship in Athens from 22 to 24 June.

• Coffee Consulate to host Next Level Filter Coffee Experience on 23 February. The workshop will cover how to grind and brew filter coffee, as well as focusing on water quality. The event will specifically look at how to use Coffee Consulate’s RS16 and RS40 brewers, as well as Marco Beverages Systems’ automated SP9 brewer.

• Second qualifying round for 2023 US Coffee Championships to take place in Denver, Colorado. The second round of qualifiers, which includes the US Barista, Brewers Cup, Cup Tasters, Coffee in Good Spirits, Roasting, and Latte Art Championships, will be held from 3 to 5 March 2023.

• US actor Sylvester Stallone launches RTD coffee brand. Tiger Eye Coffee products are available as Iced Coffee Latte, Iced Coconut Latte, and Iced Coffee Mocha in the US.

• UAE company Q-Lab launches 3D-printed Q-Dripper. The brewer, which Q-Lab claims is the first-ever pour over brewer designed and manufactured in Dubai, was debuted at 2023 WoC Dubai. The Q-Dripper is manufactured using 3D printing technology, and is designed to resemble a traditional Arabic coffee cup. Ceramic versions of the brewer will be manufactured in partnership with local ceramic studios.

• International Coffee & Tea Asia Expo 2023 to be held from 25 to 27 May. The tenth annual event, which also coincides with 2023 Café Asia, will be held at the Sands Expo and Convention Centre in Singapore. The events are expected to attract more than 10,500 visitors from around 30 countries.

Tue, 17 Jan

• Photographer Lucia Bawot publishes book to highlight women’s voices in the coffee industry. Bawot’s book We Belong: An Anthology of Colombian Women Coffee Farmers highlights the stories and lives of 62 women coffee producers in Colombia.

• Israeli food and beverage manufacturer Strauss Group announces executive leadership changes. The company, which manufactures a number of coffee products, appointed Strauss Dairies CEO Raanan Kovalsky as CEO of Strauss Israel. Strauss Group Deputy CEO Ronen Zohar will now serve as Strauss Group’s Chief Operations Officer.

• Tims China unveils new expanded branding. Upon opening its 600th store in Zhongshan, Guangdong province, the Chinese division of the Canadian coffee chain launched new branding as “Tian Hao Coffee”.

• Luckin Coffee plans to expand in Southeast Asian market. The Chinese coffee chain is reportedly considering Indonesia, Singapore, and Thailand as potential markets.

• US chain Peet’s Coffee launches in UAE. The flagship Dubai coffee shop was opened in partnership with Middle Eastern restaurant operator Americana Restaurants. The new store includes a Discovery Bar which offers coffee tasting flights.

• Starbucks to expand partnership with DoorDash in the US. DoorDash delivery will be available at the coffee chain’s stores nationwide by March 2023.

• Registration opens for 2023 Specialty Coffee Expo and Re:co Symposium. This year’s Specialty Coffee Expo (which will host six 2023 US Coffee Championships) will be held from 21 to 23 April in Portland, Oregon, with Re:co Symposium taking place just before the event on 19 and 20 April. Registration is also now open for the 2023 Coffee Design and Best New Product Awards.

Wed, 18 Jan

• UCC Europe appoints Samuel Hadorn as new CEO. Hardon, who previously served as the company’s Chief Financial Officer, will take over from Paul Molyneux.

• Indian company Blue Tokai Coffee raises US $30 million in Series B funding round. Led by A91 Partners, the funding round welcomed White Wale Ventures as the company’s newest investor. Blue Tokai says the funding round is the largest-ever in the Indian specialty coffee sector.

• Starbucks’ Vice President of Creative Studios is latest member to leave executive team. Following the departure of the coffee chain’s Head of Coffee Trading Tim Scharrer and long-serving Director Javier Teruel, Jen Quotson is leaving Starbucks after 14 years.

• Last chance to apply for PRF El Salvador Mayorga Scholarship and volunteer positions. PRF Diamond Sponsor Mayorga Coffee will cover ticket expenses for 500 Salvadoran farmers to attend the event. Scholarship applications close on 1 February and candidates can apply here. PRF El Salvador volunteers need to be at least 18 years of age and have some level of coffee experience. Volunteer applications close on 6 February and candidates can apply here. PRF El Salvador will be held on 16 and 17 March 2023 at the Salamanca Exhibition Centre in San Salvador.

• Industry experts claim consumers need to pay more for coffee if coffee shops are to survive. Director at Institute of Coffee and AST Trainer, Jon Townsend, states that rising rates of inflation, increasing energy costs, and the ability to pay baristas a living wage are some of the reasons why customers must start paying more money per cup of coffee.

Thu, 19 Jan

• Lyon Trade Fair to showcase Wega, Barista Attitude, and Astoria espresso machines. The 21st edition of the French event, which runs until 23 January 2023, will include Wega’s Polaris espresso machine – which features a four-dose programme function – and Astoria’s sixties-inspired Sabrina espresso machines. The event will also feature Barista Attitude’s two-group Storm and Tempesta GARA three-group machines – the latter of which is the official World Barista Championship machine until 2025.

• Soil moisture levels in some of Brazil’s top coffee-producing areas reach hit seven-year high. Reuters reports that this could lead to larger-sized beans, but is unlikely to increase yields per tree.

• Second Colour of Coffee Collective Symposium to take place from 10 to 12 March 2023. The event, which aims to improve diversity and inclusivity in the global coffee sector, will be held in Houston, Texas.

• UK’s coffee consumption rose in 2022 but is yet to reach pre-pandemic levels. Data from Project Café UK 2023 shows that the UK’s branded coffee shop market sales increased by 11.9% over the past 12 months, but sales still remain below pre-pandemic levels – mostly because of rising inflation and energy costs. The price of a latte in the UK also increased to £3.25 ($4) over the last 12 months.

• Coffee trader Volcafe claims lower harvests in Brazil will lead to global coffee shortage for third consecutive year. Bloomberg reports that in Volcafe’s January 2023 report, the company predicts there will be a global deficit of 3.8 million 60kg bags in the 2023/24 season – with robusta stockpiles decreasing the most.

• Alliance for Coffee Excellence and Isla Custom Coffees to host 2022 Best of Ka‘ū Private Coffee Auction. The auction will focus solely on coffees grown in the Ka‘ū region of Hawaii, and will be held on 15 June 2023.

• Probat launches new electric P12e roaster. The latest addition to Probat’s P series includes instant electric heating technology, which the company says helps to reduce wait times in between roasts.

• First event of The Barista League’s 2023 season to take place in Oslo, Norway on 18 February. The event, which will be hosted by Fuglen Coffee Roasters, will see 12 competitors take part in barista-style competition rounds.

Fri, 20 Jan

• Vietnam International Café Show 2023 to take place from 13 to 15 April. The event, which will be held at the Saigon Exhibition & Convention Centre in Ho Chi Minh City, will include the 2023 Vietnamese National Barista and Latte Art Championships.

• Cecafé reports value of Brazil’s coffee exports was a record US $9.2 billion in 2022. Despite this, the country’s exports fell by 3.1% to some 39.4 million 60kg bags last year, with shipments of robusta declining by 60% to around 1.5 million bags.

• La Marzocco appoints 2022 World Barista Champion Anthony Douglas as global ambassador. Douglas will promote both La Marzocco’s commercial and home espresso machines.

• Steeped Coffee launches single-serve bags with fire-roasted coffee Mr. Espresso brand. Oakland roaster Mr. Espresso exclusively sells Italian oak wood fire-roasted coffee, and its coffee is now available as single-serve Steeped Coffee bags.

• Sigep 2023 takes place in Rimini, Italy from 21 to 25 January. This year, Sigep will host more than 1,000 exhibitors, as well as the 2023 Italian Coffee Championships – including the Barista Championship. Competitors will use the Rancilio Specialty RS1 for the Latte Art and Coffee in Good Spirits Championships.

• Cafédirect launches second season of Building Better Business podcast. Each episode of the podcast features several sustainability experts – including Global Food Sustainability Director at Unilever, Dorothy Shaver, and Deputy Leader of the UK Green Party, Zack Polanski. One episode will be released every Wednesday for nine weeks.

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

• Mon, 9 Jan – Dripkit Coffee partners with roaster Rival Bros on single-serve pour over kits. The Rival Bros Dripkit includes medium roast Bourbon Barrel and Whistle & Cuss blends.

• Tue, 10 Jan – Data intelligence platform Similarweb publishes report on Covid-19 and coffee consumer purchasing behaviour. Findings state that during the first wave of the pandemic, sales of coffee products on Amazon increased by 100%, and that searches for compostable coffee pods increased 975% between November 2021 and October 2022.

• Tue, 10 Jan – Oatly expands partnership with Swedish retail developer Reitan to serve oat milk in self-serve coffee machines. Oatly’s oat milk will be available in coffee machines at 300 Pressbyrån and 90 7-Eleven convenience stores across Sweden.

• Tue, 10 Jan – Jamaican government to prioritise development of country’s coffee sector. Speaking at the Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee Festival, the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Pernell Charles Jr. stated that the government is develop initiatives to boost domestic coffee production, as well as improving sustainability in the supply chain.

• Thu, 12 Jan – Devyani International Limited opens 100th Costa Coffee store in India. The exclusive Indian Costa franchise partner aims to open 300 stores in the country over the coming years.

• Thu, 12 Jan – illycaffè celebrates 12th academic year of the Ernesto Illy master’s degree in Coffee Science and Economics. This years, twenty students from countries such as Brazil, China, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Rwanda, and Tanzania will take part in the course.

• Fri, 13 Jan – MOMA Foods partners with Teesside University on PhD programme to develop oat milk products. MOMA, which manufactures a number of products including barista-formulated oat milk, will fund the PhD. The project aims to develop new quality assessment methods for fat and protein contents of oat milk.

• Fri, 13 Jan – World Coffee Research appoints Dr. Santos Barrera as new Research Scientist. Dr. Barrera, who has ten years’ experience in agriculture science, will serve as Research Scientist, Plant Breeding and Genomics at WCR.

• Sun, 15 Jan – Rwanda to increase coffee exports to United Arab Emirates. Following a Memorandum of Understanding between the Rwanda Development Board and DP World to launch B2B e-commerce platform Dubuy in 2020, exports of Rwandan coffee to the UAE have been increasing.

Photo credits: InFocus Media, DXB Live, Sergio González

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Want to keep up with current affairs in the coffee industry? Check out last week’s stories and make sure to read the latest Coffee Intelligence news & opinion piece on why the price of coffee will continue to fall in 2023.

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