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

• Monday, 28 Jun – Speakers announced for Tea & Coffee World Cup 2021. The one-day virtual conference launches on 8 September, with on-demand access to online resources available for one month. The keynote speaker will be Thomas Linemayr, CEO of Tchibo Coffee, with executive VP of Japanese tea supplier ITO EN, Rona Tyson, also speaking.

• Monday, 28 Jun – Swiss convenience store chain k kiosk offers free coffee to commuters. Following the easing of Covid-19 restrictions in Switzerland, the chain decided to celebrate by providing one day of free coffees for those on their way to work.

• Monday, 28 Jun – RD Coffee releases CHARGED Guatemala coffee. CHARGED is the first dark roast from the company headed by American Motorcyclist Association champion Ryan Dungey. The beans are sourced from Huehuetenango, with notes of caramel, chocolate, and nuts.

• Monday, 28 Jun – Joe & The Juice announces Thomas Nørøxe as new CEO. Nørøxe will oversee the Danish coffee chain’s international expansion strategy. Nørøxe previously worked as Director of Strategy, Development, and Chief of Staff­ for the company.

• Monday, 28 Jun – Nespresso predicts office coffee consumption won’t recover until 2022. Despite consumer sales increasing during 2020, the majority of officer workers remain at home. Nespresso also announced that it will maintain current capsule prices despite Covid-19 supply chain issues and smaller 2021 coffee harvests.

• Monday, 28 Jun – Coffee and lifestyle brand BEAR looks for tasters for new capsule range. Applicants must own a Nespresso-compatible capsule machine. Successful contenders will receive a Discovery pack containing 30 different pods across three roast profiles.

• Monday, 28 Jun – Hawaii Coffee Association announces cupping competition winners. The top ten highest-scoring coffees all scored 85 points or over. Olinda Organic Coffee came first with 86.63 points for a washed Red Catuai from the Maui region.

• Monday, 28 Jun – Coca-Cola acquires stake in Italian chain Caffè Vergnano. The soft drink giant has obtained a 30% stake in the company, while also entering into an exclusive agreement for the distribution of Caffè Vergnano products in international markets.

• Tuesday, 29 Jun – Caffè Culture Show returns in 2021. The event will be held in-person on 2 & 3 September in London. Over 70 panellists and speakers will attend the event, alongside live demonstrations, workshops, and the SCA UK Latte Art Championships. Visitors can register for free.

• Tuesday, 29 Jun – Singapore Specialty (Micro-Lot) Coffee Auction 2021 announces new partner for hybrid auction on 13 July. Chinese green coffee trader Mellower Coffee is the third strategic partner to join the event. As well as an in-person event, the auction can be virtually accessed via Zoom, with more than 55 micro-lots from 15 origin countries on offer.

• Tuesday, 29 Jun – Prana Chai partners with Mutki Australia to support girls’ education in Sri Lanka & India. For every 250g bag sold, the company will donate AU $2 to the nonprofit. Mutki Australia funds both its partner organisations Pandita Ramabai Mukti Mission in India and Wings of Hope in Sri Lanka, who support disadvantaged and vulnerable children.

• Tuesday, 29 Jun – JDE releases statement on supply chain issues amid Colombia protests. The company said it is currently unable to source substantial Rainforest Alliance and UTZ-certified coffee from Colombia, but that it will attempt to replenish its stocks from other countries.

• Tuesday, 29 Jun – Folgers commits US $500,000 to UC Davis Coffee Centre. The funding will be used to support the launch of the Folgers Analytical Chemistry Lab, which will provide research on how the chemical composition of coffee affects flavour.

• Tuesday, 29 Jun – Barry Callebaut buys Europe Chocolate Company. The strategic acquisition of the privately-owned B2B chocolate specialties and decorations manufacturer will help strengthen Barry Callebaut’s international portfolio.

• Tuesday, 29 Jun – Entries for 2021 El Salvador CoE winners announced. There were 24 Cup of Excellence (CoE) winning lots, with three farms scoring over 90 points. The highest-scoring lot was a semi-washed Pacamara from four-time competitor Mileydi Farm, with 91.68 points. All winning coffees scored over 87 points. The CoE Costa Rica auction will take place on 10 August.

• Tuesday, 29 Jun – Starbucks to open first location in Barbados. In partnership with Caribbean Coffee Traders Limited, the first location will open in Haggatt Hall St. Michael this year. Barbados will become Starbucks’ tenth market in the Caribbean.

• Tuesday, 29 Jun – Study finds Covid-19 likely to cause production crisis in global coffee supply chain. The research by Rutgers University claims the pandemic could act as a trigger for renewed epidemics of coffee leaf rust due to a lack of financial investment in preventative measures.

• Tuesday, 29 Jun – Founders of coffee capsule manufacturer Prosol acquire 21% stake in Supracafé. Rocío Hervella and Julián Espegel, who founded the instant and capsule company, acquired the stake to support Supracafé in its strategic planning. IoT Synergy Investment also acquired 21% of the company.

• Wednesday, 30 Jun – Voting opens for SCA Canada Chapter committee. Votes can be cast from 30 June to 14 July, with winners announced on 19 July.

• Wednesday, 30 Jun – Nuova Simonelli launches Aurelia Wave UX espresso machine. The Independent Temperature Setting controls individual group head temperatures, while the Easycream technology is programmed with four different milk steaming settings. Compared to previous models, the Aurelia Wave UX produces 7% fewer CO2 emissions.

• Wednesday, 30 Jun – XpreSole Panto upcycled coffee footwear launches on Kickstarter. Each pair is produced using up to 15 cups of spent coffee grounds. XpreSole Panto shoes are vegan and can be machine washed up to 100 times.

• Wednesday, 30 Jun – PDG Media launches new website for digital marketing services. The agency is dedicated to the coffee industry, helping scale growth for a range of businesses. Client services include branding, advertising, social media management, content creation, and more.

• Wednesday, 30 Jun – Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority seeks higher investment from Asian markets. Adugna Debela, Director General of the Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority, wants to increase trade with countries such as South Korea and China, thanks to growing consumption in these markets.

• Wednesday, 30 Jun – Vitro M5 automatic coffee machines uses eye-tracking technology. The machine, designed by Azkoyen Group, uses technology developed by IRISBOND that allows users to select beverages with their eyes. The technology uses infra-red sensors to pinpoint where the consumer is looking on the screen.

• Wednesday, 30 Jun – Global caffeine market to exceed US $23.22 billion by 2027. The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) between 2020 and 2027 is expected to be 7.4%. Caffeine consumption – including coffee, tea, and guarana products – is expected to increase in popularity throughout Europe and Latin America.

• Thursday, 1 Jul – ONA Coffee rebrands packaging. The Australian roasters updated its coffee packaging and website with a new colour scheme. The milk-based blend range has also been renamed, with “The Founder” now the “Gateway Blend”.

• Thursday, 1 Jul – CQI announces first Laos Green Coffee Competition 2021. The virtual event is part of the USAID-funded CLEAN project to promote the specialty coffee market in Laos. The CLEAN project held another virtual tasting in Laos last summer. Participants have received more than 120kg of both arabica and robusta. The awards ceremony is set to take place in August.

• Thursday, 1 Jul – Caffeine may enhance muscle strength and endurance, according to new research. A meta-analysis of 21 studies by The Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee also found that caffeine consumption can boost performance in a range of aerobic exercises, such as sprinting and jumping.

• Thursday, 1 Jul – Cropster launches environment-tracking AmbientSensors. The sensors can be linked to Cropster accounts, monitoring environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity. They can be placed anywhere in roasteries, cafés, or refrigerated areas; each sensor measures to 40m (130 feet).

• Thursday, 1 Jul – Registration opens for Café Show Seoul 2021. The hybrid event is set to take place from November 10 to 13 at CoEx in Seoul. There will be more than 650 exhibitors from over 40 countries in attendance.

• Friday, 2 Jul – Modern Standard Coffee opens first café in Edinburgh. The UK roaster opened a new café in Bruntsfield, serving the Momentum Espresso blend and single origin offerings. The Scottish brand supplies coffee to Five Guys, Amazon UK headquarters, and hotel chains.

• Friday, 2 Jul – Hemro Group to take over Ditting US. Upon Ditting founder Albert Bezjian’s retirement, parent company Hemro will take over the US Ditting business, while Prima Coffee Equipment will be the new distribution partner. Hemro made a similar structural change with Mahlkönig’s US branch earlier in the year.

• Friday, 2 Jul – Coffee Masters reopens applications for UK baristas until August 6. UK competitors have until midnight on 6 August to submit a signature drink video application. Coffee Masters will take place from September 23 to 26 at the 2021 London Coffee Festival.

• Friday, 2 Jul – Global Coffee Platform releases Snapshot 2019 & 2020 report. JDE Peet’s, Melitta Group, Nestlé, Strauss Coffee, Supracafé, and Tesco all contributed to the report, detailing sustainable coffee purchases throughout 2019/20. Between 2018 and 2020, total average sustainable green coffee purchases increased from 15% to 48%.

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

• Monday, 21 Jun – Starbucks UK receives £4.4 million (US $6.1 million) in tax credit. After the closure of over 900 UK stores in 2020, the coffee chain reported a loss of £41 million (US $56.9 million) for the year.

• Tuesday, 22 Jun – Nestlé announces “forest positive” strategy. By 2025, the company aims to remove 100% of deforestation in its major supply chains, including coffee. The initiative is part of the company’s wider strategy to become carbon neutral by 2050.

• Thursday, 24 Jun – SCA opens 2022/23 Board of Directors nominations. The board consists of 18 volunteer positions serving two-year terms. Nominations close on 9 July, with interviews taking place in July and August.

• Thursday, 24 Jun – Barista Guild begins Livelihoods in Coffee webinar series. The four-part series will run throughout July, focusing on how living wage incomes can benefit the coffee supply chain. The first webinar aired on 1 July at 17:00 CEST.

• Friday, 25 Jun – Research finds consumption of pure cocoa powder improves eye health. The study conducted by Complutense University of Madrid and the Spanish National Research Council found eating 2.5g of natural cocoa powder improves visual acuity in healthy young adults under daylight conditions.

• Friday, 25 Jun – NAMA Foundation opens new scholarship opportunities for the NAMA Show and Coffee Tea & Water 2021. Recipients will be funded US $1,000 to cover registration, travel, and accommodation for the event in August.

• Saturday, 26 Jun – Coffee shortages reported in Austin, Texas. Local coffee shop Mozart Coffee claimed reduced harvests in Brazil have led to stock shortages.

Sign up to our weekly coffee news recap to get a summary of all the biggest stories in the sector, delivered straight to your inbox every Monday.