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

• Mon, 25 Jan – Monin debuts Rooibos Tea Concentrate as their first new product for 2021. It joins their existing range of over 150 syrups, concentrates, and purees. Described as delicate and woody with a slight sweetness, rooibos tea is naturally caffeine-free. Monin has also developed their concentrate to be low in sugar, vegan, and free from artificial flavourings, colourings, and allergens.

• Mon, 25 Jan – Announcement that Sucafina has opened PT Sucafina Indonesia Coffee to source coffees for international markets and import coffee for local roasters. By working with farmers, producers, mills and exporters, Sucafina hopes to offer more coffee from Sumatra, Java, Bali, Flores, and Sulawesi, while also supporting local roasters.

• Mon, 25 Jan – Mutombo Coffee and Coffee Uplifts People (CUP) announce online event discussing the “real price of coffee“. NBA legend Dikembe Mutombo and CUP founder Angela Yee will host a virtual event on the February 3rd, entitled “The Real Price of Coffee in Your Cup”. It will feature a Q&A with panellists from Farmer Connect, Transparent Trade Coffee, and more.

• Mon, 25 Jan – Philadelphia roaster Bean2Bean Coffee releases coffee aged in bourbon barrels. This limited-run batch will offer customers Brazilian coffee that has been aged in Kentucky bourbon barrels for six months. A brew with notes of smoke, vanilla, sugar, and spice that can be enjoyed neat, over ice, or with creamer.

• Tues, 26 Jan – UCC Coffee Europe brings Japan’s top specialty coffee brand to the UK. Founded in the thirties, the Ueshima Coffee Company has a market share of some 36% in Japan, and will expand further into Europe after the UK. Their range of consists of three blends. The Tokyo Roast is a smooth, bright medium blend, their Signature House blend has a rich, refined flavour, and their Fuji Mountain is a dark and intense blend.

• Tues, 26 Jan – lllycaffè adds single origin Costa Rican coffee to product line-up. The brand researched an ideal roast profile for the bean, creating a coffee with honey, vanilla, citrus, caramel, and fruit notes. “In these difficult times when everyone’s borders have narrowed, [its] aromas and notes evoke the enchantment of unspoiled landscapes,” says CEO Massimiliano Pogliani. “We wanted to offer our customers the opportunity to dive into a sensory journey.”

• Tues, 26 Jan – Lavazza launches subscription services for businesses and consumers. Registered Lavazza business accounts can take up an Expert Subscription Model to enjoy reduced costs and access to a machine maintenance team. For consumers, the Lavazza My Way Model will offer customers the chance to order Blue capsules, K-Cups, or Nespresso Originals at a reduced cost.

• Wed, 27 Jan – Caravela Coffee releases its first Diversity and Inclusion Report. Caravela has worked with marginalised communities in the past by offering them fair pricing, access to education, and business support. They hope to build on this with the report by improving their company culture, creating a safe and inclusive environment, guaranteeing the health and quality of life employees and their families, and helping them grow personally and professionally.

• Wed, 27 Jan – Barista Guild announces new Leadership Council members for 2021. The Guild has officially welcomed members Francisco (Paco) Gudiño and Zoey Thorson, who will join a team that currently includes Bailey Arnold (Vice-Chair of Oatly) and Kathie Hilberg (incoming Vice-Chair of Stumptown Coffee Roasters). Bailey will take over the role of Barista Guild Chair from Jessie May.

• Thurs, 28 Jan – Oritain and Alliance for Coffee Excellence to verify origins of auction coffees for Cup of Excellence 2021. Each coffee will be given a unique thumbprint to verify its authenticity from farm to cup. They hope to build an international coffee origin database which will act as a traceability tool and increase transparency, compliance, and sustainability.

• Thurs, 28 Jan – 2021’s International Cafe and Beverage Show exhibition expected to take place this June. The event will take place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, at the same time as this year’s Malaysian National Coffee Championships. Malaysia’s speciality coffee market has dramatically increased in size over the past few years, and the country is now a major player in the region.

• Thurs, 28 Jan – The 2020 edition of Apex-Brasil’s import/export report is here. The Brazil/EU Trade Monitor is annually produced by Brazil’s Trade & Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil) and details export and import volumes between Brazil and the EU (including the UK) in 2020. It reveals that total exports from Brazil to the EU dropped in 2020 due to Covid-19 disrupting international travel and trade, but notes that coffee played a “pivotal part” in the recovery through the second half of the year. It also expects coffee prices will remain high, and projects that weather patterns will cause the average harvest size to fall for 2020/21.

• Fri, 29 Jan – Lost Sock Roasters announce that they will open a café in Washington DC on Monday, 1 Feb. The small-batch specialty roaster will open a coffee shop location to limited customers on Monday, with curbside pickup and online ordering to follow soon. They plan to offer filter coffee, espresso-based drinks, an “extensive pour over menu”, cold brew, retail bags, and more. All proceeds from the opening day will be donated to DC Central Kitchen.

Here’s another story from a few weeks ago that you might find interesting, too. Take a look.

• Nov 2020 – Exporter Molinos de Honduras and importer Genuine Origin reveal Hurricane Eta relief fundraising figures & information. It’s been two months since the hurricane devastated Honduras, displacing thousands and destroying many homes. Exporter Molinos de Honduras accommodated a number of people in their San Pedro coffee mill during this time, while Genuine Origin pledged US $0.05/lb for every pound of Honduran coffee sold in November for these families, raising over US $2,500.