Recap: Recent Developments in Coffee

Welcome to Recap, a brief overview of recent coffee developments every two weeks from the Specialty Coffee Association, made possible with the support of DaVinci.

Special Thanks to Our Sponsor, DaVinci
This episode of Recap is made possible with support from DaVinci. With its heritage in specialty coffee and expertise in trends and menu innovation, DaVinci is the beverage brand of choice for the foodservice professional. Their product range is designed to provide end-to-end solutions and support specialty coffee professionals in their mission to create inspirational beverages. Follow us at DaVinci Europe, DaVinci North America, or using #WeAreDaVinciGourmet.

Two economists from the International Coffee Organization suggest that a rise in protectionist economic policies has not yet resulted in trade barriers significantly impacting the coffee sector. In a feature for Global Coffee News, Dr. Christoph Saenger and Carmen Steinmetz shared a quantitative analysis of trade interventions implemented between 2009 and 2019. The analysis compares the number of “harmful” or “protectionist” interventions, like tariffs and state loans, against “liberalizing” interventions across member countries, but does not track the impact of individual interventions on the coffee sector. The feature also notes that interventions are reported with a time-lag, with the figures for 2019 and 2020 understating the true number of policies implemented in those years, which reflect a period of increased stress on the international trade system, including the ongoing Sino-American trade war.

Coffee berry borer has been discovered on the Hawaiian Island of Kaua’i for the first time. The pest, whose larvae feed on coffee beans, has devastated coffee production throughout parts of Africa and the Americas for decades. Despite strict green coffee quarantining measures in effect for Hawaii’s islands, the borers have been previously found on the island of Hawai’i in 2010, the island of O’ahu in 2014, and on Maui in 2016. The island of Kaua’i is home to the largest coffee farm in the United States, Kauai Coffee, which maintains 4 million coffee trees on more than 3,000 acres. A coordinated effort to contain and manage the pest has begun as harvest season on the island—also home to several smaller commercial coffee farming and roasting operations—is already underway.

Readers of the UK’s popular press have been inundated with stories of the London arrival of Neguse Gemeda Mude’s top-scoring lot from the inaugural Ethiopian Cup of Excellence competition, covered in Recap Episodes 10 and 12. Harrods, a luxury department store, and Difference Coffee, who specialize in producing specialty microlot capsules from rare and expensive lots, successfully bid for the top lot with a buying group featuring Japan’s Maruyama Coffee and Saza Coffee, the US’ Comeeter and Goodboybob Coffee, and Taiwan’s Orsir Coffee. Most of the coverage from the UK’s popular press is unfortunately focused solely on the price of the winning coffee as sold by Queens of Mayfair, who were granted exclusive access to some of Difference Coffee’s share. Offering only 15 total servings, two of which have been purchased by media outlets reviewing the coffee, Queens of Mayfair has priced its tableside service of Neguse Gemeda Mude’s coffee in a crystal wine glass at GB£50 per cup.

Conversely, two long-form accounts of challenges facing coffee’s complex value-generating ecosystem and the impacts they’ll have on coffee farmers were also recently released. In the Atlantic, Maryn McKenna traced the history and impact of coffee leaf rust in a story spotlighting Guatemalan farmers. Acknowledging the role of colonialism in coffee’s history, the feature critically covers the historic and present role of the Norman Borlaug Institute for International Agriculture at Texas A&M University, who are a part of the global research infrastructure working to find solutions to coffee leaf rust. Similarly, a video by VOX Atlas explores the impact of climate change on the future of coffee production with a particular focus on Colombia, featuring interviews with coffee farmers alongside historic footage of previous coffee crises. These popular media features mark a step forward in socializing the myriad impacts of the climate crisis on the complex coffee system.

This episode of Recap was made possible with the support of DaVinci. If you want to dive deeper into anything you heard today, check out the links in the description of this episode. Recap will be back in two weeks’ time. Thanks for listening.

Further Reading:

• ICO Economic Report: The Ultimate Disrupter (Global Coffee Review) <...

Welcome to Recap, a brief overview of recent coffee developments every two weeks from the Specialty Coffee Association, made possible with the support of DaVinci.

Special Thanks to Our Sponsor, DaVinci
This episode of Recap is made possible with support from DaVinci. With its heritage in specialty coffee and expertise in trends and menu innovation, DaVinci is the beverage brand of choice for the foodservice professional. Their product range is designed to provide end-to-end solutions and support specialty coffee professionals in their mission to create inspirational beverages. Follow us at DaVinci Europe, DaVinci North America, or using #WeAreDaVinciGourmet.

In Episode #15, we covered the rise of the C market price for coffee, largely attributed to the shifting relationship between the US dollar and the Brazilian real. An increase in price was further bolstered across August by concerns over low levels of coffee outputs and exports. But supplies may not be tight for long: Brazil has managed a bumper crop this year despite difficult weather and COVID-19 restrictions. Combined with a weak currency, this has made Brazilian coffee more competitive than washed Arabica from Central America. Bloomberg reports that major traders are preparing to ship Brazilian coffee to warehouses for approval to replenish dwindling coffee stockpiles, at their lowest level since 2000. On Tuesday, September 7, Reuters reported that 855 60 kg bags of Brazilian Arabica were accepted by exchange warehouses in Antwerp, more than doubling the amount of Brazilian coffee in the warehouse in one day. Accepted deliveries of Brazilian coffee to the exchange are rare: Arabica futures are backed by washed coffees, while Brazil produces mostly natural and pulped natural, or “semi-washed,” coffees. However, this season’s record crop is of high quality and expected to contain a fair amount of semi-washed coffees, which are more likely to be certified as deliverable. If further shipments are accepted as meeting the requirements of the commodity market, the increase in warehouse supply could destabilize the steady growth of the C market price over the past two months.

Qima Coffee, a Yemeni coffee specialist, announced it has discovered a new genetic group of Arabica. In partnership with coffee geneticist Christophe Montagnon, Qima Coffee undertook a multi-year research project that conducted genetic fingerprinting of over 130 Arabica samples across 25,000 sq. km. The new genetic group has been named Yemenia, which can be translated to “the Yemeni mother,” and has been touted as the most significant finding in Arabica coffee since the centuries-old discoveries of the other major Arabica groups Typica, Bourbon, and the SLs. The results of the research project have been submitted for publication to the Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution Journal. Qima Coffee will partner with the Alliance of Coffee Excellence to host a public auction focused entirely on Qima’s coffees, with 15 of the 20 lots on offer made up of the newly discovered, high-scoring Yemenia genetic group.

The International Coffee Organization, Inter African Coffee Organization, and the Center for Agriculture and Biosciences International have proposed a plan to alleviate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the African coffee sector. The US$14 million dollar plan is designed to improve food security for smallholders suffering from a prolonged period of low coffee prices exacerbated by the effects of the pandemic on infrastructure and markets. Scheduled to take place over three years and across 11 countries, the plan seeks to both boost coffee exports and encourage the addition of other crops for cash and consumption. Supported by the African Union Commission, the proposal has now been submitted to the European Commission for consideration.

Flash Coffee, an Indonesian coffee chain that recently made the jump to Thailand, appears to be thriving despite the difficult operating conditions of the pandemic. Seeking to blend a specialty coffee menu with affordable prices and tech, Flash Coffee worked with Thai World Latte Art Champion Arnon Thitiprasert, to build their offering. The company’s Managing Director, Pan Leenutaphong, remarked, “if anything, COVID-19 has facilitated our launches, and landlords have been more welcoming to our new concept.” Flash Coffee Thailand launched their first store in May of this year with funding from Rocket International, a Berlin tech incubator. The company plans to use technology to enhance operational performance and to facilitate other core parts of its business.

This episode of Recap was made possible with the support of DaVinci. If you want to dive deeper into...

Welcome to Recap, a brief overview of recent coffee developments every two weeks from the Specialty Coffee Association, made possible with the support of DaVinci.

Special Thanks to Our Sponsor, DaVinci

This episode of Recap is made possible with support from DaVinci. With its heritage in specialty coffee and expertise in trends and menu innovation, DaVinci is the beverage brand of choice for the foodservice professional. Their product range is designed to provide end-to-end solutions and support specialty coffee professionals in their mission to create inspirational beverages. Follow us at DaVinci Europe, DaVinci North America, or using #WeAreDaVinciGourmet.

Welcome to Recap, a brief overview of recent coffee developments every two weeks from the Specialty Coffee Association, made possible with the support of DaVinci.

As communities endure lockdown around the world, market researchers are tracking a strong increase in at-home consumption. In the UK, the Guardian reports that consumers spent an additional GB£24 million in tea and coffee sales across July. Across the Atlantic, Keurig and Breville both reported increases in sales of their respective home brewing devices. Searches for coffee subscription services—whether for whole bean, ground, or specialty instant offerings—yield numerous features across popular media outlets touting lists of “the best coffee subscriptions for every kind of coffee lover.” Less anecdotally, the SCA’s own research with Square showed a 109% increase in subscription coffee sales for coffee shops. A separate SCA COVID-19 community impact survey confirmed this trend, reporting that 42% of the responding businesses saw a significant increase in online coffee revenues. As specialty coffee roasters around the world worked to grow their online sales, an explosion of brew guides and other home-consumption content appeared across our feeds.

This trend for increased at-home coffee consumption is reflected across investment news outlets. JDE Peet’s, which encompasses several coffee brands including Peet’s Coffee, L’OR, Douwe Egberts, Tassimo, and Kenco, reported growth across the first half of 2020 despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. The company attributed this to the variety of companies in its portfolio, remarking that it allowed them to “quickly adapt to rapidly changing consumer habits, following the dynamic shift of cups from the away-from-home to the in-home environment.” Nestlé and Nespresso reported similar growth across the first half of 2020, particularly across their coffee at-home product category. But the trend isn’t limited to large, multinational brands: At this year’s Re:co event, James Watson, a beverage analyst with Rabobank, reported strong growth in US grocery sales of whole bean coffee since March. This metric is often used as a proxy for specialty coffee sales.

As the pandemic continues to push consumers into this segment of the market, some specialty coffee companies have begun to focus on making coffee easier for consumers to access and enjoy. In Australia, Market Lane set up a vending machine full of roasted coffee and brewing equipment outside of their shop for customers’ 24-hour access. Online retail is one way to reach customers through fluctuating lockdowns, so some roasting companies are exploring more “ready to drink” options, like white-label specialty instant coffee services or growlers of cold coffee. Notably, Cometeer, a company offering frozen specialty-grade coffee has participated in group purchases of the 2020 Cup of Excellence winning lots across Ethiopia, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Costa Rica. Cometeer’s coffee capsules were the recipient of a 2019 Specialty Coffee Expo Best New Product Award in the Open Class category.

Despite more people brewing at home, coffee companies are still struggling with the current climate of work closures and social distancing measures. In the second iteration of our COVID-19 community impact survey, 48% of respondents said the impact on their business was significantly or existentially negative. However, there was a significant shift in optimism between the surveys, opened in March and June, as specialty coffee companies are learning to adapt and survive in the current pandemic.

This episode of Recap was made possible with the support of DaVinci. If you want to dive deeper into anything you heard today, check out the links in the description of this episode. Recap will be back in two weeks’ time. Thanks for listening.

Further Reading:

• Market researchers are tracking a strong increase in at-home consumption.
  • COVID-19 and Specialty Coffee Survey Response: Survey Results and Key Learnings (S...