Coffee News Recap, 10 Feb: ICO says coffee prices remained stable during January, Luckin Coffee opened nearly 500 stores last month & other stories (2024)

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

Mon, 6 Feb

• Washed & honey processed Bolivian Gesha receives highest bid of US $136.75/lb at Los Rodriguez Collection No. 1 Private Auction. More than 22lbs of the coffee, which scored 89.07 points, were purchased by Canasto Coffee Co. and VeiserCoffeeRoasters for a total of US $3,015.34. Total earnings from the auction were more than US $172,268.

• Hemro Group relocates headquarters to Zurich, Switzerland. The manufacturer of Mahlkönig, Anfim, Ditting, and HeyCafé coffee grinders says its new office will accommodate up to 50 employees. The new headquarters also includes a Hemro Innovation & Technology campus.

• International Coffee Organisation says coffee prices remained stable during January 2023. Despite a decline in global exports, the organisation reports that the ICO Composite Indicator Price fell by 0.1% from December 2022.

• Coffee Quality Institute appoints Ben Bicknell as Community Liaison leader. Bicknell is a Q-grader, CQI Instructor, and freelance coffee consultant.

• Nestlé joins US $950 million pledge to support US Vice President Kamala Harris’ migration plan. Along with Target, funding from Nestlé will help to address poverty and violence which is “driving migration from Central America” to the US. Nestlé pledges to support 7,500 coffee producers in the region to strengthen its supply chains.

• US Department of Labor finds two more Louisville, Kentucky coffee shops guilty of illegally hoarding workers’ tips. Following a similar case with Heine Brothers last month, the department recovered more than US $188,000 in illegally pooled tips on behalf of 125 employees at both Please & Thank You and Sunergos Coffee. The US Department of Labor says the businesses “illegally allowed managers to keep a portion of the tips earned by workers”, which violated the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Tue, 7 Feb

• Alliance for Coffee Excellence reschedules 2023 Indonesia auction. This year’s CoE Indonesia auction will take place on 28 February.

• Luckin Coffee opened nearly 500 stores in January 2023. The Chinese coffee chain now operates nearly 8,400 coffee shops in mainland China, and is increasing its focus on the country’s third and fourth-tier cities.

• Coffee equipment manufacturer Fetco to launch new NG batch brewer. The company says its new NG (Next Generation) batch brewer features a number of upgrades, such as a touchscreen display and more robust build. The NG batch brewer will be available later this month.

• Coffee Ventures Europe announces dates for 2023 Milan Coffee Festival. The event, which will take place at Superstudio Più exhibition centre, will return from 2 to 4 December.

• Fellow to launch new Opus conical burr grinder. Fellow’s latest grinder has 41 different settings, and also includes single-dose loading and anti-static technology. The Opus will be available later this month.

• Brazilian Soluble Coffee Industry Association publishes white paper on assessing instant coffee quality. Developed in partnership with the Institute of Food Technology, ABICS’ new white paper focuses on assessing the quality of instant coffee using flavour attributes, as well as intensity of flavour.

• Japanese coffee chain % Arabica to open first Vietnamese location. The store, which will open later this month, will be in Ho Chi Minh City’s Nguyen Hue “Café Apartments”, a popular destination for both locals and tourists. The outlet will be operated in partnership with Hong Kong investment company Kho Group.

• Melbourne International Coffee Expo to co-host Leaders Symposium on 16 August. In partnership with Global Coffee Report, the event will include four panel discussions to address key issues in the coffee industry. MICE 2023 will take place at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre from 17 to 19 August.

Wed, 8 Feb

• JNP Coffee and Peet’s Coffee launch Jubilant Blend in honour of Black History Month. For a second consecutive year, Peet’s Coffee has released the Jubliant blend, which celebrates black women producers for Black History month. The medium roast blend includes Burundian coffee sourced by black-owned JNP Coffee, as well as Brazilian coffee sourced by black and women-owned coffee business BD Imports.

• Alliance for Coffee Excellence announces dates for two 2023 Private Collection Auctions. The 2023 Guatemalan One of a Kind PCA will take place on 3 Aug. As well as this, the 2023 Best of Yemen PCA will be held on 8 August.

• National Federation of Coffee Growers of Colombia says January 2023 coffee production similar to 2022 figures. Colombia produced 868,000 60kg bags last month, which is the same amount produced in January 2022. However, the FNC states that production over the past 12 months is down by 10% year-on-year, mostly because of the effects of La Niña.

• Ultramar Caffè reports 40% turnover increase in 2022. The Italian Nespresso-compatible coffee capsule manufacturer says the increase is a result of a growing number of investors.

• Brazilian Specialty Coffee Association says country’s farms sequester up to 10 tonnes of CO2 per ha every year. Through sustainable farming practices, such as producing shade grown coffee, applying organic fertilisers, and using solar energy, the BSCA says farmers are working to increase carbon sequestration.

• US Senator Bernie Sanders requests Starbucks CEO to testify at labour committee hearing. Reuters reports that Sanders asked Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz to testify regarding his company’s compliance with federal labour law. Sanders has criticised the coffee chain, accusing it of working against its employees “every step of the way”. The hearing will take place on 9 March.

Thu, 9 Feb

• Coffee Fest New York 2023 to take place at Javits Centre from 5 to 7 March. The annual event include an exhibition, networking opportunities, and educational workshops.

• MiiR launches New Standard Carafe on Kickstarter. The company says the release of its new vacuum-insulated stainless steel carafe is a response to issues with traditional glass carafes (mainly breakages). The first shipments of the MiiR New Standard Carafe are scheduled for April 2023.

• National Coffee Association 2023 Convention to take place from 9 to 11 March in Tampa, Florida. The theme of this year’s event is “Resilience and Reinvention”, which the NCA says characterises the coffee industry’s capacity to reinvent itself to overcome adversity. The event will feature lectures from NCA President, Bill Murray, and Starbucks’ Executive Vice President of Global Coffee Social Impact & Sustainability, Michelle Burns.

• Gruppo Cimbali announces recipients of its SCA Coffee Sustainability Programme scholarship. Jeff Garon, Joane Innez Marianti, and Eric Penders will receive funding for the SCA Coffee Sustainability Foundation certification course courtesy of Gruppo Cimbali. The company will also fund attendance fees for the winner and runner up of the 2023 Italian Barista Championship.

• SCA announces new Qualified Sponsors for 2023 World Coffee Championships in Taipei. The Sanremo Café Racer is the new qualified espresso machine for the World Latte Art and World Coffee in Good Spirits Championships, the Macap Labo 70D is the qualified espresso grinder for the World Latte Art and World Coffee in Good Spirits Championships, and Cafetto is the qualified cleaning sponsor for the World Latte Art and Roasting Championships.

• German chain Coffee Fellows to launch first US location in Houston, Texas. The Munich company plans to open 25 stores in Texas by the end of 2024, including its first drive-thru location.

Fri, 10 Feb

• Nucleus Coffee Tools launches Paragon brewer. Designed in collaboration with the Zurich University of Applied Science (ZHAW), the company says the brewer uses extract chilling technology to produce up to 40% more aroma volatile compounds.

• Brazilian coffee exports fell by 18.5% in January because of lower prices. Cecafé says Brazil shipped 2.8 million 60kg bags of coffee in last month, which represents a 16.8% year-on-year decrease, as well as a 17.8% decrease in monthly earnings.

• Victoria Arduino launches new Eagle Tempo espresso machine. The new two and three-group machines include energy efficient technology, as well as the company’s Easycream milk steaming system.

• Glitter Cat Barista launches human resources certification programme. The non-profit will host a 12-week course starting 21 March 2023, which seeks to diversify the pool of human resource professionals in the specialty coffee sector.

• Etkin Coffee to donate all online sales profits to aid relief efforts in Turkey. Following a devastating earthquake in the country earlier this week which resulted in thousands of deaths, the brewer manufacturer is also encouraging people to donate to Turkish Philanthropy Funds’ Türkiye Earthquake Relief Fund.

• Selecta Italy appoints Jan Marck Vrijlandt as interim CEO. The Swiss foodservice company says that Vrijlandt will help to drive sales growth as the brand expands its coffee vending business across Italy.

• Indian Barista Championship 2023 to take place from 14 to 19 February in Rajajinagar. Specialty Coffee Association India and the United Coffee Association of India will co-host the championship at Orion Mall. The winner will represent India at the World Barista Championship in Athens, Greece in June.

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

• Fri, 17 Jan – Hanns R. Neumann Stiftung concludes successful Coffee Agronomy Training project in Uganda. The company says the four-year programme supported more than 22,000 Ugandan smallholder farmers, and targeted those who had previously abandoned coffee for other cash crops.

• Fri, 26 Jan – US chain Heine Brothers Coffee forced to repay US $300,000 in back wages and damages. An investigation led by the US Department of Labor found that the company violated labour and wage laws by diverting workers’ tips to management. Heine Brothers have been forced to compensate almost 500 employees.

• Tue, 30 Jan – Groupe SEB says coffee machine sales and Luckin Coffee partnership helped to boost 2022 sales. The French appliance manufacturer reported an 8.2% revenue increase on 2019, which the company says was driven by the distribution of Schaerer coffee machines in Luckin Coffee stores.

• Fri, 2 Feb – Joe & the Juice settles US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sex discrimination case. The company agreed to pay US $715,000 for failing to “recruit, hire, and promote women in its American locations”.

• Fri, 2 Feb – Tata Consumer Products says rising out-of-home coffee consumption led to 8% revenue growth in 2022/2023 Q3. The company operates over 300 Starbucks stores in India, and says its expanding presence increased Tata Starbucks revenue by 42% in the three months ending 31 December 2022.

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