#18 | September 24, 2020

09/24/20 • 4 min

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.

Further Reading:

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

Previous Episode

#17 | September 10, 2020

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.

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...

Next Episode

#19 | October 8, 2020

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

Special Thanks to Our Sponsor, BRITA
This episode of Recap was made possible with support from BRITA. Inventor of the household water filtration jug in 1966, BRITA produces and distributes a wide range of innovative drinking water optimization solutions for private and commercial use. To learn how BRITA’s technology supports coffee professionals by providing control over one of brewed coffee’s main ingredients, visit www.brita.net. BRITA: Water is our element.

International Coffee Day may have come and gone, but many of the initiatives launched on October 1 are long term projects. The International Coffee Organization, who first organized the holiday in 2014, focused this year’s activity on a project titled, “Coffee’s Next Generation.” While details are yet to be announced, the ICO said the program will involve financial support and training for young entrepreneurs in the coffee sector. The International Women's Coffee Alliance, or IWCA, launched a fundraising campaign called, “Empowered Voices.” The campaign will run until October 15, the International Day of Rural Women, and aims to recognize 100 women while raising US$10,000 to continue the work of the organization. The holiday also marked the launch of the Coffee Coalition for Racial Equity, founded by Phyllis Johnson of BD Imports. The coalition is described as “a robust, global community of coffee advocates driven to bring about more equity and diversity into the coffee community.” In its first webinar, the group introduced its first board members and set out a one-year timeline of activities that includes a range of educational and outreach initiatives.

Indonesia’s coffee producers are asking for help with financing as the pandemic continues to impact the demand for coffee. The Jakarta Post reports that tons of coffee are being held under what is known as a warehouse receipt, a system that allows smallholders to deposit their harvest in a warehouse as collateral for a loan. Both smallholders are exporters face difficulty under this system, particularly when prices are low and there are few buyers. And this is before most of the coffee has been harvested: almost 70% of Aceh’s harvest, currently projected at 52,000 tons, will take place between October and January. Indonesia’s Ministry of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises is preparing multiple financing schemes. Other financing organizations, like the state-owned bank, are also offering support through warehouse receipt subsidies.

Australian-based Breville Group has acquired the US-based grinder maker, Baratza, for US$60 million according to a report in Finance News Network. Breville produces a range of small kitchen appliances with an emphasis on the home coffee segment. Baratza, established in 1999, is known for its production of commercial-level quality burr grinders for home use. Breville Group says the acquisition brings together two of the world’s leading companies in the design and global distribution of coffee products.

A recent feature in Asia Times explores how women entrepreneurs in the Gulf are working to overcome the additional hurdle of the COVID-19 pandemic. Amid the backdrop of recent economic and social reforms aimed to increase women’s participation in the workforce, the feature explores how gender biases have made it more difficult for female entrepreneurs to access to stimulus packages, lending, or private investors. Nooran Al Bannay, the founder of Coffee Architecture in Abu Dhabi, is among those interviewed. The first female Q Grader in the region, Nooran opened her shop in 2018 after convincing her family members of her dream to open a coffee shop.

This episode of Recap was made possible with the support of BRITA. 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: