Global Coffee Report March 2023

March/April 2023

by nature nordic

Espresso House Group CEO

Anssi Thureson on strategic growth, the importance of staff satisfaction, and why first impressions always count.

Why technology matters

The next evolution of digital acceptance

Imminent deforestation laws

What it means for your business

Instant revival

A new sensory analysis protocol to help expand instant consumption

Disaster plan

How the Caribbean and Central America are prepared to manage risk

www.gcrmag.com

COVER STORY

IN THIS ISSUE

FEATURES

8 NORDIC BY NATURE

Espresso House Group CEO Anssi Thureson on the next phase of the company’s evolution, and discovering new geographies to expand

12 TIME TO ACT

What the European Regulation on deforestation-free supply chains means for the global coffee industry

17 WHAT’S THE RISK?

How insurance programs are helping producers in the Caribbean and Central America manage disaster risk with greater security

21 MAXIMISING SCREEN TIME

Eversys unveils its new digital signage and customisation services to provide added value to customers

25 A SOLUBLE SOLUTION

Flavourtech explains how its Rotating Disc Column is helping roasters meet the demand for soluble coffee offerings

38 MILESTONE MOMENT

Buencafé General Director

Cristina Madriñán on celebrating the company’s 50th anniversary and how it has stayed relevant in the global coffee industry

40 A GREEN ATTITUDE

Rancilio Group explains its renewed commitment to sustainability with a new development model

32 AIM HIGH, THINK GLOBAL

Why a partnership with Highpresso is key to positioning a brand into the marketplace of tomorrow

Neuhaus Neotec on the launch of its next generation of roller grinders, the SPECTRUM grinder series,

34 ENTER ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

How Cropster aims to enrich the industry by deploying the use of AI into its product suite to interpret data and provide actionable insights

36 STRAIGHT TO THE SOURCE

Almacena Platform discusses its sustainable and transparent approach to connecting the specialty coffee supply chain

LAST WORD

58

The Coffee Science Foundation is launching a new research project to determine where the sweetness in coffee really comes

Espresso House Group CEO Anssi Thureson on strategic growth, the importance of staff satisfaction, and why first impressions always count.

“I SEE A VERY STRONG INTERRELATION BETWEEN PEOPLE WHO FEEL VALUED AND DELIVER QUALITY TO OUR GUESTS, AND A SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS LONGTERM.”

Anssi Thureson Espresso House Group CEO

MAN, VS MACHINE

Technology is moving at a pace I can’t compete with. Recently, when I went to the self-service check-out counter at the Uniqlo clothing store, my items of clothing tallied up automatically without scanning or touching a thing, thanks to Radio Frequency Identification technology. It easily reduced my transaction time and streamlined my checkout process. Bonus.

However, when I wanted to contact my local bank after hours, I was encouraged to use a web chat service to make my inquiry, and was greeted by a “bot”. After failing to classify nor correctly respond to my question, it asked if I wanted to speak with a human. “Yes” was my resounding response.

To me, there is still immense value in the human skill, but in this ever-changing world, the advances of technology will soon become unstoppable.

In the global coffee world, we already have contactless payment, high-tech robot arms pouring lattes, automated processes, and telemetry services. Their ability is proven, and information deemed powerful, however, it’s what you do with it next that matters most.

This exact consideration is the specialty of Adam Carr, Founder and Managing Director of Highpresso, a strategic management consultant. This edition, Carr talks about understanding the value of the information and implementing change in businesses to get the most from new technology.

WMF Professional Coffee machines is doing just that. It is exploring how to combine robotics technology with its coffee machines to produce innovative and comprehensive solutions.

Cropster’s Roasting Intelligence program

uses smart prediction capabilities to anticipate the roast outcome and provides roasters with advice on how to prevent defects in real-time, and make pre-emptive decisions to ensure maximum coffee quality and minimum wastage.

And Coles Express in Australia is actively using Eversys’ telemetry system to digitally activate new coffee products overnight to more than 800 coffee machines across multisite chain locations – a feat not physically possible at the same speed.

As you’ll see this edition, there are many companies thinking broadly about how technology can be used to our advantage, and help customers become more efficient, agile, and empowered. Quite simply, it’s the future.

It’s been predicted that AI technology alone will create 97 million new jobs by 2025, and we’re already seeing it’s integration in coffee. I wonder that’s next?

This month’s cover story, Espresso House Group, was an early adopter of digital services. As CEO Anssi Thureson discusses in our “digital” conversation, as long as his employees are connected and communicating – online or physically via a simple smile and wave – it means everybody understands the purpose and culture of Espresso House and can work together towards a common goal. And that’s what being connected is all about.

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER

Christine Clancy christine.clancy@primecreative.com.au

EDITOR

Sarah Baker sarah.baker@primecreative.com.au

JOURNALIST

Hayley Ralph hayley.ralph@primecreative.com.au

Isak Ivanovic isak.ivanovic@primecreative.com.au

ART DIRECTOR/DESIGN

Daz Woolley

HEAD OF DESIGN

Blake Storey blake.storey@primecreative.com.au

DESIGN PRODUCTION MANAGER

Michelle Weston michelle.weston@primecreative.com.au

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AND MARKETING ACCOUNT MANAGER

Adele Haywood adele.haywood@primecreative.com.au

CLIENT SUCCESS

Ben Griffiths ben.griffiths@primecreative.com.au

PHOTOGRAPHY

PMAGI AB Foto & Film

CONTRIBUTORS

Gordon Feller HEAD OFFICE

Prime Creative Pty Ltd 379 Docklands Drive, Docklands, Victoria 3008 p: +61 3 9690 8766 f: +61 3 9682 0044 enquiries@primecreative.com.au www.gcrmag.com

SUBSCRIPTIONS

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Global Coffee Report Magazine is available by subscription from the publisher. The rights of refusal are reserved by the publisher

ARTICLES

All articles submitted for publication become the property of the publisher. The Editor reserves the right to adjust any article to conform with the magazine format.

COPYRIGHT

Sarah Baker Editor, Global Coffee Report

Global Coffee Report is owned and published by Prime Creative Media. All material in Global Coffee Report Magazine is copyright and no part may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means (graphic, electronic or mechanical including information and retrieval systems) without written permission of the publisher. The Editor welcomes contributions but reserves the right to accept or reject any material. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information Prime Creative Media will not accept responsibility for errors or omissions or for any consequences arising from reliance on information published. The opinions expressed in Global Coffee Report are not necessarily the opinions of, or endorsed by the publisher unless otherwise stated.

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NEWS DRIP BY DRIP

Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.

See page 58.

ASIA PACIFIC

In November 2022, the Partnership for Central America, World Bank, and the United Nation’s World Food Programme launched a Disaster Risk Insurance and Finance in Central America Consortium. The consortium aims to identify and support climaterelated agricultural insurance solutions for up to two million smallholder farmers in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, to increase food security and financial resilience.

See page 17.

Cropster Coffee is using technology to connect producers with the global market and build long-term relationships with buyers. Its Roasting Intelligence AI is one such program that uses smart prediction capabilities to anticipate the roast outcome. It measures data variables such as heat mass and roast temperature. It provides roasters with advice on how to prevent defects in real-time and make preemptive decisions to ensure maximum outputs and minimum wastage.

See page 34.

Buencafé is celebrating 50 years of transforming the future of coffee, reinvesting its profits into improving coffee growers’ quality of life,

impact is a result of Buencafé producing 24 million cups of Colombian coffee daily, exporting to around 40 countries, reaching 60 markets, and delighting new consumers with 100 per cent Colombian coffee.

See page 38.

According to 2020 figures from Cecafé – the Council of Coffee Exporters of Brazil – and the Brazilian Instant Coffee Industry Association, Brazil produces 117,000 tonnes of soluble coffee each year. It exports 4.1 million bags of instant coffee per year, estimated to be worth US$600 million, and distributes 0.95 million bags to Brazil’s domestic market. In November 2022, it released a White Paper titled, ‘Quality Assessment of Instant Coffee: A Sensory Science Development’, proposing a new standardised methodology and sensory analysis protocol for instant coffee.

See page 46.

The Coffee Science Foundation is launching a research project to determine where the sweetness in coffee comes from after discovering it does not come from sugars in the bean. The project began in December 2022 in collaboration with the Specialty Coffee Association and Flavor Research and Education Center in the College of

Flavourtech’s Rotating Disc Column (RDC) is helping roasters meet the demand for soluble coffee. The RDC allows a continuous flow of coffee slurry for high temperature extraction. The slurry is exposed to temperatures of between 150° to 180°C for just 20 minutes to enable further hydrolysis to take place. The end result is a premium RTD or soluble product in terms of quality and enhanced aroma at the end of the line.

See page 25.

Highpresso is an innovation and strategic management consultant that helps clients grow their brand by implementing new technologies and utilising data-driven strategies in a way that suits their vision. Since 2016, Highpresso has delivered a range of services to market, including competitor analysis and product benchmarking for dairy products, sustainability programs and strategy to government bodies, and product development for a new generation of coffee machines.

See page 32.

US$8.6 million

The amount Espresso House is investing in the salaries of its coffee shop employees this year, in order to be competitive in the market and show appreciation to staff.

Last year, a record 15,056 attendees visited the Melbourne International Coffee Expo over four days at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, with 15 per cent international attendees from 71 countries. This year, the expo will celebrate its 10th birthday from 17 to 19 August, featuring more than 200 exhibitors showcasing the latest and greatest in coffee, equipment, and services.

See page 50.

EUROPE

Espresso House Group CEO Anssi Thureson has helped grow Espresso House from 160 shops in 2015 into one of the leading premium coffee shop brands, operating more than 500 coffee shops across Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Germany. It’s next stage of growth will be franchise operations and looking for partners to expand its presence in Germany, Poland, Switzerland, Austria, and one day, Asia.

In 2022, Espresso House exceeded pre-COVID 2019 sales figures by 15 to 20 per cent.

See page 8.

The European Parliament and the European Council of the European Union provisionally agreed on a new regulation on 5 December 2022 to ensure supply chains remain free from processes and products that cause deforestation. Industry groups had been involved in the development of the Regulation since 2019. Further drive to the initiative was undertaken at the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow in November 2021, when the European Union, along with more than 140 other countries, pledged to halt deforestation by 2030. According to the European Commission, the hope is that this new regulation will stop a significant share of global deforestation and forest degradation, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity loss.

See page 12.

services on its models to expand the screen’s visual experience. Coles Express in Australia uses this added value feature on each of its 800-plus Eversys Cameo coffee machines installed. It has seen consistent doubledigit growth across its coffee product sales since installing the Eversys Cameo machines throughout 2020/21.

See page 21.

WMF Professional Coffee Machines is supplying robotics technology in self-service cafés Coffeebanhada and Rossum Café. According to WMF, the fully automatic WMF 5000 S+ was the best machine for the job in both cafés due to its high performance of up to 250 cups per day, variety of coffee specialties available, and the flexible technical integration capability into upstream and downstream customer systems.

See page 29.

Business-to-business agricultural marketplace Almacena Platform is digitalising the coffee supply chain to increase farmers’ income and create new brands. Currently, Almacena Platform has more than 160 cooperatives with over 300,000 farmers that supply 12 per cent of the African coffee supply registered on its platform. It facilitates sales to 11 European countries.

See page 36.

capable of balancing economic, financial, environmental, and social interests. Since 2020, Rancilio Group headquarters have been powered by 100 per cent renewable energy sources, using 70 per cent solar power, 10 per cent hydroelectric power, 7 per cent wind power, and 13 per cent from other renewable energy sources.

See page 40.

Neuhaus Neotec is launching the next generation of roller grinders, the SPECTRUM grinder series, at the Interpack trade fair from 4 to 10 May in Düsseldorf, Germany. The first machine of the new series, the SPECTRUM 102, will have a roll length of 1000 millimetres and two grinding sections. Neuhaus Neotec says this size is one of the most sold models thanks to its capacity.

See page 42.

Brambati is using a heat recovery system that significantly enhances the efficiency of its coffee production plants. The system is based on an air and water heat exchanger which allows a stream of water to be heated by a stream of hot air. It allows for the recovery of about 450 kilowatts of thermal power, equivalent to saving about 45 normal cubic metres of natural gas in a 300-kilogram batch roaster.

See page 44.

100%

The number of Buencafé’s profits that benefit 540,000 Colombian coffee growing families, contributing to the sustainability of the coffee industry in Colombia, the third largest coffeeproducing country in the world.

nordic

by nature

Image:

By Sarah Baker

While few CEOs would understand the labour and knowledge required to uphold the standards set to employees, each quarter Espresso House Group CEO Anssi Thureson visits one of the company’s designated coffee shops to immerse himself behind the coffee machine.

“The leadership team make important decisions, but we also need to understand the effect of our operations and decision-making,” Thureson tells GlobalCoffeeReport

“We call it ‘out of office Friday’. You learn so much from the experience. It’s a great way to meet colleagues, connect with our guests directly, listen to their needs, and understand what they want.”

After a long career working in the retail and grocery market in Finland, Thureson applied for an interview with Swedish-born Espresso House, not having heard of the company.

“Two hours before the interview in Stockholm, I decided to visit a few Espresso House shops to get a taste for the brand. I was stressed I wouldn’t be able to find one. All of a sudden, I saw Espresso House coffee shops on every corner,” Thureson says.

“I remember a girl in her early twenties waving to me. She said, ‘god morgon, do you want coffee?’ Her big smile was telling me there was something unique in the feeling and experience of Espresso House. There weren’t too many other people in Stockholm Central Station smiling at seven o’clock in the morning. I was lucky to have such a good first impression of the brand, and it’s the feeling we chase over and over in our business.”

When Thureson was appointed company CEO in May 2022, taking over the position from long-serving employee John Nylén, the former Chief Operating Officer spent his first 100 days travelling and meeting with 330 coffee shop managers.

“I base my leadership on listening. It’s not always about wisdom. It’s really fascinating to work with young people. They really want to express themselves, to be heard, and they are really fast learners,” Thureson says. “After my first 100 days, I realised what an extremely strong culture at Espresso House we have, and what amazing people we have working for us.”

As such, a long-term strategy for Espresso House is to offer competitive salaries to coffee shop employees, which this year will be an investment of around US$8.6 million.

“I want to show appreciation to our people. They are the heart of our business. I see a very strong interrelation between people who feel valued and deliver quality to our guests, and a sustainable business long term,” Thureson says. “When our people grow, our business grows. If they are happy, then we have succeeded in delivering the right work conditions, which we hope develops into a role as a master barista, senior baristas, assistant managers, and other layers of growth. I see so much joy when our people develop.”

Approximately 30 per cent of Espresso House office staff have taken the opportunity to invest in the company, which Thureson says is a key driver in company culture and employees’ sense of belonging.

EXPANDING THE ESPRESSO HOUSE CULTURE

Espresso House is part of the world’s largest coffee family, JAB Holding BV. When Thureson started work at Espresso House in 2015, the company had 160 shops, mainly across Sweden. He soon discovered that part of his role as country manager would be to share the business with the rest of the world. Espresso House has now grown into one of the leading premium coffee shop brands, operating more than 500 coffee shops across Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Germany.

“We work in five different markets with five different languages and currencies. We have done a lot of transformation in our processes and communication to become a more professional company. We have been extremely proud of the fact we operate our shops by ourselves, but the next stage of our growth journey is to give our brand to future partners,” Thureson says.

“It’s a big step. It means that we want to start a franchise operation. We do have some franchise operators in small pockets of the market, but we want to expand that and discover new geographies to grow in the future.”

Espresso House is already negotiating with several partners in Germany, where Thureson says it would be a natural fit to expand its current presence, in addition to Poland, Switzerland, Austria, and one day, Asia.

When Espresso House Founder Charles Asker opened the first Espresso House shop in 1996 in

ESPRESSO HOUSE GROUP CEO ANSSI THURESON ON STRATEGIC GROWTH, THE IMPORTANCE OF STAFF SATISFACTION, AND WHY FIRST IMPRESSIONS ALWAYS COUNT.

Image: Espresso House Group

Lund, a small city in the Southern part of Sweden, his ambition, Thureson says, was to operate 100 shops.

“People told him it wouldn’t happen, that it was already a lot to handle just one shop. But as of last year, Espresso House broke a great milestone – 500 shops. Of course, the next milestone is to hit 1000

“We know we can achieve that goal if we grow at a fast pace with our franchise partners and continue our organic growth. I also believe our unique Nordic values of being humble and sustainable, have allowed the company in the past few months, to focus more on becoming better instead of becoming bigger.”

Thureson acknowledges the challenge will be “scattered” competition from other coffee chains and many boutique roasters in the Nordic region. However, in the German market already, Espresso House’s newest addition, results have been “exceptionally good”.

“There are not too many players that offer what makes us unique – specialty coffee and baked goods from our premium quality bakery in Arlöv [just outside Malmö in Sweden]. Not too many companies have succeeded in combing these two elements. You either succeed with one or the other, but we have both,” Thureson says.

“Entering a new market is like education, you start small and grow steadily. We conduct a thorough food analysis to see what assortment of products will work well. The breakfast behaviour in the Nordics is quite unique, with focaccias and bagels, but in Germany, they love their salty pretzel in the morning with a good coffee, so of course we need to fulfil their needs.”

Espresso House’s cinnamon roll is its top seller, even in Germany. Thureson notes the company still uses Founder Charles’ grandmother’s old mud cake recipe. “That’s one recipe we probably won’t touch,” he says.

TRADITIONS AND TRIUMPHS

Aiding the growth of Espresso House is the company’s committing to the digital space, which it has pioneered since 2014 with the launch of its My Espresso House loyalty program.

In Sweden, Thureson says almost half of customers pay for their order via the Espresso House app or

Anssi Thureson

CEO, Espresso House Group

by using its digital loyalty program. He says the digital transformation was counter-intuitive of the COVID era, whereby the company had already educated its customers to use contactless payment.

Espresso House’s latest innovation, at oneand-a-half years in the making, is a subscription model that enables customers to make monthly payments, “just like a streaming subscription”.

For Espresso House employees, in addition to an internal Espresso House Academy, a digital training platform is used to maintain consistency across all markets. A digital Barista Pulse system also encourages staff to rate their shift with different versions of smiling emojis. For instance, if a barista rates their shift as stressful because they were understaffed on a busy Saturday, the company can monitor operations and implement better planning.

“It’s important that we are a flat organisation so that people feel we are doing this together. It also gives the leadership team strong access to our people and a direct form of communication,” Thureson says.

“I believe that when we are connected with

“I WANT TO SHOW APPRECIATION TO OUR PEOPLE. THEY ARE THE HEART OF OUR BUSINESS. WHEN OUR PEOPLE GROW, OUR BUSINESS GROWS.”

Image: Espresso House Group

Espresso House has a designated in-house architect to recreate the Nordic look and feel of its shops.

our people, and everybody knows the purpose and meaning of Espresso House, then we can create a fantastic and fun business.”

Part of that ethos includes a sustainable roadmap. In 2021, Espresso House started mapping its carbon footprint according to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. This year, it aims to work towards setting science-based emission reduction targets in line with the Science Based Target Initiative’s recommendations and criteria.

“We are proud of our long-standing producer relationships of 20 to 25 years. We have full transparency from bean to cup, and we understand that a company of our size needs to invest in certifications,” Thureson says.

In 2021, Espresso House bought coffee from 10 different countries, and brewed more than nine million cups of specially graded coffee.

All of Espresso House’s coffee is roasted in its Länna-based factory, just outside Sweden’s capital of Stockholm, where it produces 800 tonnes of coffee annually. Thureson says the volume is attributed to its growth in multi-channels and distribution of products to grocers and on-demand coffee stations.

In 2022, Espresso House exceeded pre-COVID 2019 sales figures by 15 to 20 per cent. It also won the Allegra Award 2022 for Best Coffee Chain in the Nordic Region.

Also on the rise is Espresso House’s 43 converted coffee shops, formerly of Balzac Coffee which it acquired in 2017. The transformation has resulted in a 20 to 30 per cent sales increase.

To see the results for himself, Thureson tells Global Coffee Report his next ‘out of office Friday’ is booked for March.

“I’m not the world’s best latte artist, but I can pour a heart, or a tulip,” he says. “We have t-shirts that say: ‘Sorry if I can’t get up to speed because we’re out of office.’ We really do try to be as humble as possible and bring a great energy to the team. Hopefully our colleagues won’t be scared by having their boss jump behind the coffee machine.” GCR

Image: PMAGI AB Foto & Film

Espresso House Group CEO Anssi Thureson visits designated coffee shops to immerse himself in the company’s culture and connect with colleagues.

Time to act

WHAT THE EUROPEAN REGULATION ON DEFORESTATION-FREE SUPPLY CHAINS MEANS FOR THE GLOBAL COFFEE INDUSTRY AND WHY THERE’S NO TURNING BACK.

hen the European Parliament and the European Council of the European Union provisionally agreed on a new regulation on 5 December 2022 to ensure supply chains remain free from processes and products that cause deforestation, it was a strong signal to the world that it is determined to address global deforestation.

“Today’s political agreement on the EU’s deforestation law marks an important turning point in the global fight against deforestation,” said Frans Timmermans, Executive Vice-President for the European Green Deal in a press statement.

“Combatting deforestation is an urgent task for this generation, and a great legacy to leave behind for the next.”

Virginijus Sinkevičius, Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries added that to succeed, it would “build efficient and close cooperation with both consumer and producer countries to ensure a smooth process”.

Industry groups had been involved in the development of the Regulation since 2019. Further drive to the initiative was undertaken at the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow in November 2021, when the European Union, along with more than 140 other countries, pledged to halt deforestation by 2030.

Once adopted and applied, the new law will ensure that goods such as coffee, palm oil, cattle, soy, cocoa, timber, and rubber, that are placed on the EU market, will no longer contribute to deforestation and forest degradation in the EU and elsewhere in the world.

These commodities were chosen on the basis of a thorough impact assessment identifying them as “the main driver of deforestation” due to agriculture expansion.

According to the European Commission, the hope is that this new regulation will stop a significant share of global deforestation and forest degradation and reduce greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity loss.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that 23 per cent of total anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions between 2007 to 2016 come from agriculture, forestry, and other land uses.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates that 420 million hectares of forest were lost to deforestation between 1990 and 2020, and that the world lost around 178 million hectares of forest cover in the same period of time, which is an area triple the size of France. It’s for these reasons and many others, that the time has come to act.

THE BLACK AND WHITE

Given that the EU accounts for one third of world coffee consumption, virtually all of which is imported, says Anthony Woolich, regulatory partner at HFW lawyers, and a member of the City of London Law Society’s Committee on Commercial Law, this new Regulation will have “wide-reaching impacts across the industry”.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates that 420 million hectares of forest were lost to deforestation between 1990 and 2020.

“Brazil and Vietnam together account for over half of the EU’s coffee imports,” he says.

European Commission’s spokesperson for the environment, Adalbert Jahnz, says companies placing relevant commodities and products on the EU market will be required to put in place and implement due diligence systems to ensure that only deforestation-free – produced on land that was not subject to deforestation after 31 December 2020 – and legal products, according to the laws of the country of origin, are allowed on the EU market.

While the regulation is an opportunity to enhance trade in deforestation-free products and boost opportunities for sustainable actors around the globe, Jahnz says traders and roasters buying direct will have to go through three key steps as part of their due diligence systems:

1. C ollect information on the commodity, quantity, supplier, country of production, evidence of legal harvest, etc.

2. Use the information gathered under the first step to analyse and evaluate the risk of noncompliant products entering the supply chain.

For example, on the plots of land used for producing the commodities.

3. Take adequate and proportionate mitigation measures in case you find risk under step two, to make sure that the risk becomes negligible.

The Regulation is not expected to enter into force until mid-2023. Large companies will have a further 18 months before they have to comply with the Regulation’s requirements, while small and medium-sized enterprises will have 24 months.

NO EASY FEAT

Jahnz says a key and challenging requirement for companies will be obtaining geographic coordinates of the plots of land where the coffee they place on the market, was produced.

“Using geolocation coordinates is the simplest and most cost-effective way of obtaining the necessary geographic information for EU Member States’ competent authorities to be in a position to check whether products and commodities are deforestation-free,” Jahnz says.

He says information on the plot of land or farm where the commodity has been produced allows for the use of satellite images – widely available and free-to-use digital tools – to check whether a product or commodity is compliant or not with the deforestation-free requirement of the proposal.

HFW’s Woolich says that it’s important not to understate the challenges involved in ensuring traceability, adding that the requirements under the Regulation to provide precise geographic coordinates are “very specific”.

“Furthermore, the mixing of coffee from different farms will create a risk that coffee produced on deforested land could be introduced. It is expected that satellite imagery will be used to monitor deforestation patterns,” Woolich says. “It is also worth noting that it will be incumbent on those seeking to sell coffee in the EU, rather than the farmer, to prove that it is not produced on deforested land. This still leaves a big challenge of tracing a coffee harvest back to a particular plot of land, especially in a

lines foR

supply chain with multiple levels between the farmer and the importer.”

Carolin Ehrensperger, Head of Sustainable Business Unit of Neumann Gruppe GmbH in Hamburg, Germany, the holding company of Neumann Kaffee Gruppe, says currently, for conventional coffee, however, this level of traceability does not exist. While satellite images are widely available, tools that reliably detect deforestation are not.

“At the moment, no coffee map exists that would tell us where coffee was grown before the cut-off of 31 December 2020, and no tool that would reliably detect coffee or deforestation as defined by the EU regulation. This means even with high quality geolocation data on farms, deforestation events can’t be detected with certainty,” she says.

“The most widely used tool, Global Forest Watch, relies on tree cover loss, not deforestation. This leads to many false positives requiring costly manual checking of information including on the ground visits. Systems are especially bad at identifying agroforestry systems and renovation is often tracked as deforestation. Even for more advanced algorithms, that come at a cost, reliably detecting deforestation in the tropics remains challenging.”

Given that coffee is still often grown in remote and difficult areas to access, Ehrensperger says that for many farmers, especially if they produce small volumes, it is still more efficient to sell their coffee to a middleman passing by, instead of spending hours or even days travelling to the next purchasing point by an exporter.

“Beyond this issue of traceability, farmers don’t necessarily have access to technology to map their farms’ geolocations. Boundaries and ownership may also not be clearly defined. Aspects on data protection remain open, as well as what a plot of land is according to national laws. National solutions to this issue may arise.”

While there may be a few grey areas to overcome, Ehrensperger says roasters will be obliged to undertake due diligence under the regulation.

“Operators and traders, including roasters, will be held accountable in case deforestation was detected on the plots where their coffee came from. Sanctions include confiscation of the coffee and can lead to penalties of at least 4 per cent of turnover, as well as temporary exclusion from trading/selling in the EU,” she says.

TRACEABILITY: THE PRICE WE PAY

Compliance with the regulation will make coffee exports into the EU more costly. The Impact Assessment backing the proposal estimates that the costs of compliance for companies are significantly lower than the expected benefits. However, guaranteed expenses include the cost of geolocation data, the expense of information sharing systems and traceability and monitoring systems at origin.

“Depending on how easy it will be to shift the coffee from the origin to other markets, these costs will be forwarded to buyers’ increasing prices or will have to be subsumed by producers locally, reducing

the price they receive for coffee even further and making alternatives to coffee more attractive – a threat to attractiveness for coffee farming further contributing to concentration in the industry we’ve seen for decades,” Ehrensperger says.

HFW’s Woolich says the countries which will find the new regulations challenging are those where the industry is dominated by smallholder farmers rather than large, mechanised farms, with better access to technology and resources.

“Brazilian agriculture is dominated by these larger farms, for whom compliance will be easier than countries whose coffee industries are mostly made up of smallholders, such as Vietnam, Colombia and East African countries,” Woolich says. “Because the EU is such a large market for coffee, representing approximately 50 per cent of worldwide coffee imports, there are only limited opportunities for producers to shift to supplying non-EU countries. So, Brazil, which is already the world’s largest coffee producer, is likely to become even more prominent globally.”

Vinicius Estrela, Brazil Specialty Coffee Association (BSCA) Executive Director says smallholders may struggle with additional costs to ensure traceability and monitoring in the coffee value chain, but that Brazil is in a strong position to adapt to the changes.

“Brazil represents a low risk level as a coffee origin, considering the main producing areas [has been] consolidated for decades. Also, Brazilians are subject to the federal forest code, one of the most advanced ones in the world,” Estrela says.

Ehrensperger adds that indirectly, a shift in trade patterns may occur, depending on the complexity of the value chain and farm structure.

Vinicius Estrela is the Executive Director of the Brazil Specialty Coffee Association.

“More advanced economies are at advantage to ship to the EU, while coffee from less advanced economies, with less structured supply chains and countries with higher deforestation rates, will be shipped elsewhere,” she says.

“Proofing a non-negligible risk and implementing mitigation measures is also easier in closer supply chains with long-standing relations. This model is currently seldom practised by larger roasters, as their key focus is on keeping the taste the same every year and prices stable, which may require shifting in origins/regions due to climatic conditions.”

ONE STEP FORWARD

The good news is, that for all commodities, there are already producers and operators who have best practices in place that ensure deforestation-free supply chains and many countries have traceability systems. They are models others can learn from, such as Nestlé who has already pledged to eliminate deforestation from its coffee supply chains by 2025. Meanwhile, for those which have taken little to no action to date, there is work to be done.

European Commission’s Jahnz says there is a strong EU commitment to step up its engagement with partner countries, consumer, and producer countries to address deforestation and forest degradation.

“Partnerships and cooperation mechanisms by the EU and its Member States will support countries to address deforestation and forest degradation where a specific need has been detected, and where there is a demand to cooperate,” he says. “For instance, to facilitate compliance with the Regulation for companies/smallholders, or to help partner countries meet their international commitments on halting deforestation, such as under the Glasgow Declaration or the Sustainable Development Goals.” GCR

A key requirement for companies will be obtaining geographic coordinates of the plots of land where coffee was produced.

What’s the risk?

HOW INSURANCE PROGRAMS ARE HELPING PRODUCERS IN THE CARIBBEAN AND CENTRAL AMERICA MANAGE DISASTER RISK WITH GREATER SECURITY.

conomic and natural hazards continue to be a threat to the Caribbean. The region is highly exposed to a range of natural hazards, from volcanic eruptions to earthquakes and hurricanes, floods to drought. It not only damages infrastructure stock, it destroys agricultural production. Over the years, such hazards have caused severe damage to economies and livelihoods in the region.

According to the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, an intergovernmental body of the United Nations, climate change brings more frequent and intense, unusual, and extreme weather events.

In Central America’s coffee producing regions, natural disasters tend to hurt the poor and vulnerable most, exacerbating already high risks encountered by smallholder farmers, and reducing the productive agricultural potential in extensive areas of Central America. Despite significant vulnerability to climate risks, millions of agricultural producers in the Caribbean and Central America are largely uninsured, according to the United Nation’s World Food Programme (WFP).

In response, disaster risk management has evolved over the past decade, with multiple types of insurance programs aiming to support the coffee sector.

A UNITED FRONT

Ministers from all Central American countries plan to collectively manage disaster risk under the umbrella of the Caribbean Community and Common Market, the oldest surviving integration movement in the developing world that groups 20 countries, 15 member states, and five associate members.

Collaborative action from governments has already seen programs evolve to help coffee growers and roasters mitigate disaster risk in

Central America with insurance and finance solutions. In November 2022, the Partnership for Central America, World Bank (WB), and the WFP launched a Disaster Risk Insurance and Finance in Central America Consortium (DRIFCA). The consortium aims to identify and support climate-related agricultural insurance solutions for up to two million smallholder farmers in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, to increase food security and financial resilience.

“Insurance mechanisms that pay out directly to farmers and other vulnerable populations provide an important livelihood safety net around the world,” says Mark Lopes, Chief Operating Officer of Partnership for Central America.

Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador are also vulnerable to the impact of strong hurricanes. In 2020, hurricanes Eta and Lota left a trail of devastation. In October 2022, hurricane Julia caused the loss of crops that form staple foods of the Central American populations, where according to WFP, approximately one million people are already severely food insecure.

Will Warshauer, CEO of United States-based non-profit TechnoServe, adds that the September 2022 Puerto Rican Hurricane Fiona was a recent example of how essential disaster insurance is for smallholder farmers.

“In our market-based approach to improving farmer incomes for the long-term, TechnoServe knows firsthand how disaster risk insurance promotes food security, protects business investment, and helps farmers fight poverty,” Warshauer says.

Coffee farmers face three major threats: low prices, pests and diseases, and climate change.

Michel Kerf, World Bank’s Director for Central America and the Dominican Republic, is responsible for enhancing the financial resilience of smallholder farmers and vulnerable households affected by severe and frequent climate-related disasters in northern Central America.

“Our global and regional experience has demonstrated the value of strong partnerships between the public and private sectors to design and implement effective disaster risk financing solutions,” Kerf says.

The WB is not alone in its efforts. According to WFP’s Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, micro-insurance is an innovative way smallholders can effectively manage risks and reduce vulnerabilities so they can transition to sustainable food and nutrition security.

A FUTURE OF THREATS

Eric Brenner, Program Coordinator at the Texas A&M University Coffee Center in the Unites States, says coffee farmers face three major threats: low prices, pests and diseases, and climate change.

“We have now reached a point where all three threats have converged into an interconnected and complex ecosystem that when changes occur in any of these three distinct environments, [it] will trigger Brenner says even though threats are different in nature, they cannot be treated as independent events. To make matters worse, the logistical disruption created by the global pandemic added what he calls

“a new layer of challenges for the coffee industry” exacerbating the vulnerability of coffee farmers. The challenge, however, is finding solutions that are feasible and sustainable.

Historically, low coffee prices reduce a coffee farmer’s ability to obtain supplies, whether it be fertiliser, fungicides, or pesticides. As a result, a farmer’s ability to combat pests like coffee berry borer and diseases like coffee leaf rust, are also reduced significantly.

“A farmer is now in a situation that is also [worsened] by climate change because some of these pests and diseases proliferate as a result of higher temperatures and erratic rainfall patterns where you have areas of extreme wet conditions or long periods of drought,” Brenner says.

“In the case of coffee berry borer, higher temperatures not only increase the population of this pest but also reduce the gestation period causing an explosion in the population in a shorter period of time. As a result of coffee berry borer and the coffee leaf rust infestations, the quality of the coffee greatly decreases which translates into lower prices paid to the coffee farmer, creating a continuous cycle of poverty, and decreased livelihoods.”

Brenner says understanding the link between each threat, and how they relate to each other through cause-and-effect mechanisms, is pivotal, because it serves as the foundation that will help support the creation and implementation of educational and training programs for coffee farmers.

Due to the unpredictable nature of coffee farming, any coffee insurance program or sovereign disaster risk financing will help safeguard against sudden macroeconomic shocks that negatively impact fiscal performance, and in turn, economic development. As such, Brenner says is it “extremely relevant”, yet in order for any program to be effective, understanding the complexity and correlation of threats will be extremely important for its long-term sustainability.

In 2007, Central America’s Finance Ministers created the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF) to provide cost-effective and fastdisbursing liquidity. It has become an efficient way to finance a liquidity gap arising in the immediate aftermath of disaster. CCRIF pools Caribbeanwide country-level risks into a central, more diversified risk portfolio, offering lower premiums for participating national governments.

CCRIF limits the financial impact of

Understanding the link between threats will help support the creation and implementation of educational and training programs for coffee farmers.

catastrophic hurricanes, earthquakes, and excess rainfall events by quickly providing short-term liquidity when a parametric insurance policy is triggered.

In 2022, CCRIF made four payouts totalling US$15.2 million to three of its member governments during October for hydrometeorological events associated with the 2022 Hurricane Season.

To support CCRIF, Evaluación de Riesgos Naturales and Risk Engineering and Design, a risk management specialist, formed a consortium to provide risk management, financial planning services, and catastrophe modelling services while coordinating reinsurance placement for CCRIF.

“Since its inception in 2007, CCRIF has made a total of 56 payouts to 16 of its member governments, totalling approximately US$245 million – all paid within 14 days of the disaster event. Based on the assessment of the use of payouts, these funds have supported over 3.5 million persons in the Caribbean and Central America, following natural disasters, providing them with food, medication, and water,” says Isaac Anthony, CCRIF’s CEO.

Payouts also have been used to support the rehabilitation of critical economic infrastructure, such as roads and bridges in the rebuilding of schools and other social infrastructure.

The US$40 million payout to Haiti following the 2021 earthquake is the largest payout CCRIF has made since 2007.

“In the face of a changing climate, parametric insurance is a must-have tool for governments in the Caribbean and Central America. CCRIF has been in the business of providing parametric insurance for the last 15 years and we continue to be encouraged that we are able to support our members to have access to quick liquidity after a natural disaster, to begin recovery efforts and to support the most vulnerable in their populations,” Anthony says.

The CRIF’s member governments purchased US$1.2 billion in coverage for catastrophe risk insurance for 2022/23 against climate-related and seismic hazards. The renewal focused on tropical cyclones, excess rainfall and earthquakes, and the fisheries sector.

For the earthquake, tropical cyclone and excess rainfall policies, members ceded over US$1.2 billion in coverage – an increase of 10 per cent over the previous year. Thirteen governments increased their coverage compared with the 2021/22 policy year. The renewal and demand for increased coverage by members illustrates

that countries continue to recognise the importance of financially protecting their economies against natural disasters.

Raul Salazar, Chief of the Regional Office for the Americas and the Caribbean at the United Nation’s Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, says “more stagnant weather patterns are expected”.

In order to reduce disaster risks and losses, Salazar and his UN teams are building what he calls “multi-hazard, multi-sectoral and multi-actor preventative and anticipatory approaches” which integrate disaster, climate, and crisis risk management.

“This will strengthen the resilience of people, their agricultural livelihoods, and the ecosystems they depend on in a sustainable manner. Multi-hazard early warning systems are required now, more than ever, to anticipate and mitigate the interconnected, cascading and mutually aggravating nature of risks and their impacts across sectors and systems, including agri-food systems,” he says.

Salazar is focused on “informing agricultural planning and investment”, and “speeding up” the implementation of prevention, preparedness, and anticipatory action measures, such as insurance. He says successful multi-hazard early warning systems leverage the knowledge and expertise of a diverse pool of expertise, including local, traditional, and indigenous communities, to effectively monitor, identify, communicate alerts ahead of disasters, and undertake appropriate measures.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres agrees. In November 2022, after last year’s devastating flooding in Pakistan, Guterres launched an action plan to provide early warning systems within five years. On the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction, he noted that it was “yet another reminder that real and concrete action on loss and damage must be global priority”.

“Extreme weather events will happen, but they do not need to become deadly disasters,” he said in a statement. GCR

Micro-insurance is an innovative way smallholders can effectively manage risks and reduce vulnerabilities.

STREAMLINE GROWTH IN 2023

Cropster Roast

Simplify the running of your roastery with solutions to produce exceptional coffees; including inventory management, profiling, quality control, cupping, and more.

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Empower your team to brew great coffee with tools to create recipes and handle task management, automatically log brews, and oversee quality control.

Maximising screen time

EVERSYS UNVEILS ITS NEW DIGITAL SIGNAGE AND CUSTOMISATION SERVICES TO PROVIDE ADDED VALUE TO CUSTOMERS SEEKING EDUCATIONAL OR BRANDED MARKETING OPPORTUNITIES.

n the early 2000s, small-body mobile handsets with keyboards were considered sleek and cutting-edge. Cars came equipped with knobs and dials, and the few early adopters of Global Positioning System accessories tinkered with their destination through pointers on unresponsive surfaces. Thanks to the digital age, a few things have changed.

This includes the evolution of interface displays as a result of a growing guild of graphic interface designers who have turned previously unexciting canvases into attractive, creative visual experiences.

Since its inception, Swiss espresso machine manufacturer Eversys has equipped its models with screens in order to be more intuitive, and aid customer and consumer satisfaction. The Eversys design and software teams are now taking a step further as they launch a new set of digital signage and customisation services to expand the screen’s visual experience.

Eversys Commercial and Marketing Director Christian Haueter says the intention behind the new Eversys Digital Services is to “genuinely empower” customers and “make marketers’ hearts beat strong”.

“We want to simplify and improve operations on machines in environments like convenience stores or quick service restaurants,” he says.

The new initiative will transform the interface on Eversys’ Légacy and Enigma lines to display digital screen signage. This can include screensavers or progress screens targeting a visual experience. It could feature video sequences, still or animated images or icons while idle or in production mode.

Similar to traditional digital signage on dedicated displays, this functionality aims to bring more value in locations where the coffee machine attracts customer attention and can be used to present information or promotions.

“We identified that screensavers could get the

attention of people passing by. The most interesting part is that while the [espresso] is being dispensed, that’s when you really have people’s attention. It is the ideal phase to display emotional experiences via videos or images,” says Stephan Zink, Software Director at Eversys.

discovered the benefits of this added value feature. Geoff Marks, Group Commercial Director of Tiger Coffee Oceania, an Eversys distributor in Australia and New Zealand, says the large national chain uses Eversys’ digital signage and customisation services on each of the 800-plus Eversys Cameo coffee machines installed.

“Each month, I receive an upload file from the Coles Express marketing team with between four to six images containing individual product promotions. It could be about an individual convenience food offering, a drink discount, or a coffee and chocolate promotion for AUD$4 (about US$2.70). We upload the promo images via the Eversys telemetry system, and they get pushed out nationally to all Coles Express coffee machines screens overnight on a selected day that Coles chooses,” Marks says.

“We program the images to appear on the touchscreen so that they all rotate while the customer’s coffee is dispensed.”

Coles Express has been using the Eversys digital signage system for the past two years, when it was first activated during 2021. Marks says the convenience chain is particularly impressed it can use the digital signage system to generate promotional material that can push sales and new revenue streams.

“For Coles Express, it’s about using the space provided and offering the real estate to key suppliers who might like to enhance their product promotion or work in combination with a mixed product offering. It’s a much better option than customers staring at a blank space for the duration of their coffee order,”  Marks says.

Coles has seen consistent double-digit growth across its coffee product sales since installing Eversys Cameo machines.

Tiger Coffee can also use the Eversys telemetry system to digitally activate new coffee products across multisite chain locations.

“All telemetry updates are pushed overnight meaning activations for new products or price changes can happen instantaneously at all sites in the country. There is no way this change could be done manually in Australia to so many venues at once. It really does enhance the coffee equipment offering and give tremendous flexibility to Coles Express,” Marks says.

With Coles Express producing millions of coffee beverages each year, Marks says it is critical that the daily cleaning and servicing of Eversys machines is maintained to the highest standards.

“Using Eversys’ unique pull and push digital telemetry system allows all machines to program cleaning cycles and uphold regular preventative maintenance servicing,” he says.

“Our goal is to ensure Cameo C’2M machines are always working. Essentially, if we get contacted via the telemetry system there is an issue, we can make a change or an update remotely, without having a technician attend the site. We did this recently for a shop located more than 10 hours outside of Adelaide in South Australia. Fixing the issue remotely was a huge time and cost saving, and gave the venue instant access to sell products again.”

The end result, is extremely satisfied customers and a complete change in perception about the standard of coffee available at convenience locations operating Eversys machines.

“Coles has seen consistent double-digit growth across its coffee product sales since installing the Eversys Cameo machines throughout 2020/21 in comparison to outdated automatic machines used prior to June 2020. We are constantly monitoring the machines and their quality output. There truly is a consistent high value, coffee offering at every Coles Express nationally,” Marks says.

“The Eversys’ partnership and learnings over the past two years with Coles Express has really lifted the standard across its digital fleets internationally.”

Frank and Honest, a leading on-the-go coffee brand, has partnered with Eversys since 2016.

Sarah Grey, Operations Manager of Frank and Honest Coffee, says Eversys’ digital signage and telemetry system was part of the consideration process in choosing its coffee machine partner.

“The telemetry dashboard provides us with live machine information on key coffee quality metrics, such as ETC, cleaning stats, milk temperatures, aborts, and service information. The information is easily accessed and displayed in a user-friendly manner, highlighting trends and areas for action,” Grey says. “The data is also exportable to support the generation of offline reports. This data is core to supporting our field-based teams in driving standards with our stores. They use it as part of store visits and training

Frank and Honest Marketing Manager, Rosemary Walsh, adds that the digital screens on the Eversys’ Enigma machine provide a high-quality interface to display high-definition photography and videography, which can be customised to Frank and Honest’s brand needs.

“We can also tailor the message by site making it a powerful targeted marketing tool,” Walsh says.

Frank and Honest use the digital signage to communicate about its leadership in sustainability credentials to shoppers, social media channels and website, and to help launch a new digital loyalty app. It even incorporated a QR code to download the app, which has resulted in an estimated 35,000 downloads to date.

Frank and Honest has also used the Eversys digital screens in some of its university coffee sites for a graduate recruitment drive for Musgrave, the parent company Frank and Honest.

The scope of service focuses on preparing the signage material and the machines, and deploying content across a fleet of hundreds or thousands of installed devices. This means that content can be uploaded to an unlimited number of Eversys espresso machines within seconds without the need to go on-site.

“We assessed an icebreaker in Australia, and other clients are now contacting us to have the same. At the moment, customers must deliver their files to Eversys, and our staff uploads them. Up until now, we have created more than 460 screen files worldwide. But we want to go further and improve the process,” says Eversys’ Software Director Zink.

The software team is currently putting substantial efforts in projects to optimise operations with tailor-made selection screens, another valuable possibility offered by Eversys, mainly to self- or quick-service environments.

Eversys Digital Signage is only the starting point in the company’s digital evolution. The company wants to invest more into Internet of Things service offerings and explore future possibilities.

“The Eversys team is ready to inspire its customers with plenty of real-life references on enhanced visual experiences,” says Eversys Commercial and Marketing Director Haueter. We look forward to improving customised operator efficiency on Eversys displays – on top of delivering excellent coffee quality.” GCR

For more information, visit www.eversys.com/en/

Frank and Honest Coffee use Eversys’ digital screens to deliver key messages to customers.

FOCUS ON THE DETAILS

Our unique RFB roasters are equipped with the newest and most innovative roasting technologies. With our exible roasting pro les we give our clients the possibility to optimize every detail of the roasting process for a perfect result.

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ith many coffee roasters seeing the growth of the instant and ready-todrink (RTD) market and thinking about expanding their product portfolio, Paul Ahn, Sales Manager at global technology manufacturer Flavourtech, says it’s a natural progression to provide a higher quality product.

“Coffee roasters take such pride in their work. To them, it is both an art and science in producing roasted beans full of flavour,” Ahn says. “We are seeing the rise of specialty instant coffee, and as the demand increases, so must production. We can help here by providing a means to do so on a commercial scale and with consistency.”

Ahn says convenience and quality will continue to be driving forces for the coffee industry in 2023, and it will be joined by a continuation towards more natural and healthy products.

A soluble solution

“We will continue to help our customers adapt quickly to the changes and help them grow with demand. Our systems are all about capturing the natural flavours from the product itself through a gentle yet efficient process,” he says.

Ahn says Flavourtech, an aroma recovery and extraction specialist, is able to cater for this demand thanks in part to its Rotating Disc Column (RDC).

“The RDC is a continuous extraction device operating closely to plug flow (an idealised flow without any mixing in the axial direction but perfectly in the radial direction). Its function is to hold a slurry flow of solids in liquid for a specified residence time and at a specified temperature so that the transfer of soluble components from the solid particles to the liquid extract is maximised,” says Ahn.

Inside the RDC is a central, vertical drive shaft. Attached to the shaft is a series of rotating baffles. Between each adjacent pair of rotating baffles is a stationary baffle. Slurry is pushed from the bottom of the RDC up through the column, ensuring identical extraction time and consistency.

The RDC can be inserted into Flavourtech’s Integrated Extraction System (IES), a continuous, automated processing line that allows customers to produce premium aromas, extracts, and concentrates for RTD coffee and tea products, as well as soluble coffee and flavour industries.

“This allows a continuous flow of coffee slurry for high temperature extraction. The slurry is exposed to temperatures of between 150° to 195°C for just 20 minutes to enable further hydrolysis to take place. The end result is a premium RTD or soluble product in terms of quality and enhanced aroma at the end of the line. In a traditional process, extraction cells are set at high temperatures and pressure that could last for three to four hours instead of 20 minutes,” Ahn says.

FLAVOURTECH EXPLAINS HOW ITS ROTATING DISC COLUMN IS HELPING ROASTERS MEET THE DEMAND FOR SOLUBLE COFFEE OFFERINGS.

The Rotating Disc Column (RDC) is a continuous extraction device.

The internal volume of the RDC is determined by the desired product flow rate and holding time and is tailored to customer requirements.

“The RDC allows temperature, pressure, and residence time to be controlled precisely to obtain near identical conditions for all parts of the mixture being processed, ensuring consistency in processing and ultimately, contributing to a superior end product,” says Ahn.

“In contrast to batch tank processing, the RDC’s continuous and automated process means a superior product of higher quality and with consistency.”

Ahn says there are many benefits to this extraction process that allows the manufacturer to capture the unique roast and ground flavours of coffee beans.

“The RDC’s unique design ensures the materials flowing through it are maintained in a continuous, dynamic state, preventing settling and the formation of static pockets,” he says. “The risk of burning and the formation of undesirable burnt notes are greatly reduced as the RDC offers precise control of temperature and with a reduced residence time during the extraction process.”

He says the RDC is ideal as a continuous coffee extraction tank, feeding the extract to the next stage of a process.

“Typically, extraction is conducted batch-wise in large static tanks or cells and so requires a much larger footprint in the factory,” says Ahn.

Normally in the coffee industry, Ahn says flavour is recovered following the high temperature soluble solids extraction process by which point many of coffee’s desirable flavours have already been lost.

“Based on Flavourtech’s 40 years of experience in the flavour industry, we know that the best natural aroma comes from processing the raw material directly in our Spinning Cone Column (SCC), prior to the product being subjected to high temperatures,” he says.

As a result, Flavourtech designed the RDC to allow for high temperature extraction of coffee slurry post SCC aroma capture.

“In Flavourtech’s extraction process, the coffee slurry is first processed through the SCC to capture the natural fresh roast and ground notes. It is then sent to the RDC for extraction of the soluble solids. This means all the fresh coffee notes are preserved and can be added back later in the process to produce instant coffee that smells and tastes like it was freshly brewed,” says Ahn.

Flavourtech originally designed the RDC in the early 2000s with instant coffee producers in mind. The consumption habits of soluble coffee recently, however, would radically shift during the recent pandemic event.

“The demand for soluble coffee has gone up due to more people choosing to work from home,” he says. “Though, they are seeking better quality coffee in terms of flavours, something that is close to the flavours of freshly brewed coffee. We now see a category called ‘specialty instant coffee’ rise quickly.”

The final step in the soluble coffee process is to concentrate the extract before spray or freeze drying the product. Ahn says Flavourtech’s evaporation technique is unique in that the liquid remains in its Centritherm evaporator with a residence time of just one second with low operating temperatures, eliminating the production of burnt flavours in the final product.

“The whole process is continuous, automated, and designed to provide a premium product. With the IES, customers can produce a consistent product, day in day out, with minimal fuss and labour, and maximum flavour that is more in line with the flavour of a freshly brewed espresso,” Ahn says. GCR

For more information, visit www.flavourtech.com

The RDC holds a slurry flow of solids in liquid so the transfer of soluble components from solid particles to liquid extract is maximised.

The RDC allows a continuous flow of coffee slurry for high temperature extraction.

Barista bot

WMF PROFESSIONAL COFFEE MACHINES IS SUPPORTING A NEW WAY TO ENJOY COFFEE WITH ROBOTICS TECHNOLOGY IN SELF-SERVICE CAFÉS.

obotics technology is increasingly becoming a firm feature in the hospitality sector. There are ‘robochefs’ in the kitchen, robot-supported self-service cafés, and to WMF Professional Coffee Machines, it’s just the beginning.

“The greatest potential of digitisation lies in making communication between guests, service staff and coffee machines as efficient and convenient as possible through networking and automation,” says Benjamin Thurner, Vice President Digital at WMF Professional Coffee Machines.

“Businesses must consider the trends of modern customer experience such as contactless payments, fast communication and interaction channels, and customer individualisation. These aspects can be implemented efficiently and impressively with robotics concepts.”

To cater for this growing demand, WMF has partnered with South Korean coffee chain Coffeebanhada and Slovak start-up Rossum Café to supply their coffee machines and provide technological expertise.

“High-performance WMF 5000 S+ coffee machines are operated by high-tech robot arms in both Coffeebanhada and Rossum Café, which not only prepare the desired coffee specialties quickly and simply, but also provide a unique show effect for guests – a very special coffee experience,” says Thurner.

Since Coffeebanhada was founded in 2011, the café has focused on modern self-service concepts. In 2017, it presented a self-developed robot barista called Episode Marco, which is used in the café’s unmanned branches. Known as ‘smart cafés’, these Coffeebanhada venues account for about a quarter of more than 600 locations Coffeebanhada operates.

Coffeebanhada has combined Episode Marco with WMF automation since the collaboration began

in January 2021 through WMF’s local trading partner Dooree Corporation. Since January 2022, Coffeebanhada had equipped 85 smart cafés with WMF 5000 S+ machines.

“At Coffeebanhada, the first step was to examine how the Episode Marco robot could best connect to a fully automatic coffee machine. WMF engineers focused primarily on connectivity and interface programming, as both cashless payment methods via smartphone and credit card and additional devices were to be connected,” says Thurner.

“WMF project managers were able to draw on digital expertise and experience from comparable projects, such as Cafe X, the first robot equipped by our machines about 10 years ago, or MyAppCafé, one of the first autonomous coffee stations with a robot barista to be made in Germany.”

coffee machines and robot baristas, together with connected ice machines, now supply

The

Rossum Café is a self-contained coffee station.

Coffeebanhada guests with coffee around the clock that reflects the preferences of the South Korean market, such as Caffé Americano, Caffé Latte or Caffé Mocha.

“[The robots] are the centre of attention, showcasing that these futuristic self-service cafés are real customer magnets, even without personnel,” Thurner says.

Rossum Café in Slovakia has also used WMF’s high-performance machines since its first autonomous coffee bars were established in 2020 thanks to a relationship through WMF’s local partners in the Czech Republic.

“Like at Coffeebanhada, Rossum Café uses a high-tech robot arm to prepare delicious beverages with a WMF 5000 S+ professional coffee machine. Here too, the locations are unmanned and rely consistently on cashless payment options,” Thurner says.

“However, Rossum Café locations are not cafés in the classic sense, but self-contained coffee stations which can be compared to small kiosks. Due to their compact design and small footprint, they are easy to set up in busy places such as shopping malls, railway stations or airports, where they attract travellers and other customers with impressive technology and sophisticated design that serve them efficiently with fresh coffee.”

Thurner says the WMF 5000 S+ coffee machine was chosen because of its extensive configuration and customisation options.

“In both Coffeebanhada and Rossum Café, the fully automatic WMF 5000 S+ was the best machine for the job due to its high performance of up to 250 cups per day, variety of coffee specialties available, and the flexible technical integration capability into upstream and downstream customer systems,” he says.

Thurner adds that the WMF 5000 S+ machines were used in the first autonomous Rossum Café coffee bars but have since been individually modified for optimum customer experience.

“To allow the robot to activate these correctly, a remote API software interface was implemented and individually adapted,” he says.

WMF coffee machines have different networking options – both locally via a direct connection between the coffee machine and the control computer or robot, or via the cloud.

“After all, seamlessly combining robotics technology with coffee machines to produce innovative and comprehensive solutions is one of the core competencies of the developers at WMF,” Thurner says.

WMF believes digitisation is an innovation driver of the future, both in terms of business and customer loyalty and experience.

“From a customer’s perspective, the focus is clearly on efficiency and cost benefits, as well as lack of human resources. Particularly when we look at the shortage of skilled workers and employees that is prevalent in many industries, the digitisation of processes is crucial,” says Thurner.

“On the one hand, this relates to recurring work processes that have so far been performed manually. On the other hand, it involves the automation of data flows.”

According to Thurner, in many businesses today, company-relevant information is still managed in separate data silos, the consolidation of which causes high time and cost expenditures.

“If we look at the external view, or the customer and their enjoyment experience, digitisation allows completely new offerings, especially in the self-service area or contactless ordering and payment. The ultimate goal is always sustainable customer loyalty through positive experiences. This is why we have a clear focus on digitisation and view it as the right path for the future,” he says.

Thurner also believes ongoing digitisation will intensify the customer’s need to have access to information and services at all times.

“The desire for round-the-clock availability will further displace concepts like classic opening hours. Self-service solutions will benefit hugely from this development, above all unmanned stores but also robotic cafés with an experience factor,” he says.

“Another driver for increasingly digitised hospitality is the rising expectation of product quality. The demand for digital touchpoints, mobile payment offers, and the convenient integration of customer loyalty programs along the customer journey are a clear expression of this.” GCR

For more information, visit www.wmf-coffeemachines.com

Coffeebanhada uses high-tech robot arms to prepare coffee quickly and simply.

Coffeebanhada ‘smart cafés’ account for about a quarter of its more than 600 locations.

Aim High, think global

IN AN ERA WHEN COMPETITION IS HIGH AND INFORMATION IS KEY TO UNLOCKING BUSINESS SUCCESS, A PARTNERSHIP WITH CONSULTANT HIGHPRESSO IS KEY TO POSITIONING BRANDS INTO THE MARKETPLACE OF TOMORROW.

hen clients approach Highpresso for the first time with an idea of what they’d like to conceive, quite often they aren’t sure how to achieve it. What they soon learn from working closely with the innovation and strategic management consultant, is that there are many opportunities to grow their brand by implementing new technologies and utilising data-driven strategies in a way that suits their vision.

“We assist clients on their innovation journey, all the way from building strategy and implementation roadmaps, to executing strategy, and commercialising novel processes and products,” says Highpresso Founder and Managing Director Adam Carr.

“What we like doing best is understanding the unique value proposition a company offers to its customers, and working alongside marketing, operations and research and product development to craft solutions and products that engage the marketplace of tomorrow.”

Since 2016, Highpresso has delivered a range of services to market, including competitor analysis and product benchmarking for dairy products, sustainability programs and strategy to government bodies, and product development for a new generation of coffee machines.

What binds all projects together, is the requirement to innovate in a way that is scalable and meaningful for each brand.

Highpresso has worked with many future-focused clients across multiple countries. It works with equipment manufacturers in Europe and the United Kingdom, distributors in Australia and the United

States, and global quick service restaurants and local government bodies to add vision and value to their portfolios. It has also developed contract manufacturing solutions for roasters and small distilleries.

“Some of the work we’re doing currently includes developing onboarding processes and implementation execution using telemetry systems, building new grinding and extraction systems for the domestic market, and assisting global manufacturers with product development and delivery,” Carr says. “We’ve also been assisting Australian government bodies in building scalable carbon reduction programs with a focus on building value for cafés, while tracking their carbon footprint reduction.

“We are building the future with clients who want to innovate and sustainably scale their innovations.”

Telemetry is used to monitor daily café behaviour, showing continuous correction over time to achieve the perfect cup profile.

Adaptation is Highpresso’s forte. The company predicts significant industry changes in the domestic and commercial markets over the next five years, and wants to help businesses adapt and thrive.

One such method is through modernising systems and processes at a café level through telemetry. Carr says there are multiple products on the market that can monitor how well a café is extracting coffee, and technology that shows users in-depth time-resolved data on every shot.

But how can this be integrated with existing systems and processes? What does a business need to change see the benefits of the new technologies? Carr says understanding the value of the information and implementing change in businesses to get the most from new technology is what Highpresso strives to deliver.

“It’s worth distinguishing between information and data. One can have an awful lot of data and still not have any information available to help understand what the next steps should be. The person with the most doesn’t necessarily win,” he says.

“That said, an awful lot of information can be gleaned from the right kind of data. A simple shot tracker can be used to count shots, forecast filter, and grinder burr changes.”

Accumulate this data in the right way, and one can start to visualise seasonality trends, the impact of different times of day to quality of service, even the way a simple blend tweak will impact the service life of a grinder fleet. Data can also be used to see when an operator is busy or not, which facilitates a better relationship with the customer by not interrupting during demanding hours.

“Understanding these trends, and eventually being able to forecast them, can change the way one does business. Opportunities begin to present themselves, such as remote training services, asset management and facilitating sale subscriptions to wholesale based on real-time feedback,” Carr says.

Highpresso is working with businesses to rollout such technologies and help them see the value on a broad scale.

“We want businesses to capture the right data, feed the right information back to the relevant stakeholders, and help build out further capability that technologies can enable,” Carr says.

While telemetry and automated tools can be highly effective if adopted appropriately, Carr says its value is determined by what each brand prioritises, and how the tool is implemented. And that’s where Highpresso is ready to help.

For example, if a roaster is focused primarily on quality, but has a desire to grow sales, Highpresso will help design a pathway focused on rapid expansion, but one that doesn’t compromise on taste.

“Being able to scale-up this quality is difficult without either having an army of trainers, or a way of measuring that quality remotely, processing the data, and succinctly reporting that back to the stakeholders in the business,” Carr says.

He says while roasters are well versed in this former method, Highpresso is well versed in the latter, which Carr believes is the more scalable approach.

“Our team is connected to a global network of manufacturers, engineers, and suppliers. We partner with global operators that we trust to deliver high quality outcomes, no matter the country,” he says.

“We believe we can connect like-minded partners to deliver an innovation portfolio tailored to each roaster and manufacturer that wants to make a true impact on the future.”

Highpresso is optimistic about the impact it can have, but its greatest challenge, will be benchmarking, integrating, and scaling automated and automatable tools and data within each customer’s chosen business specialty.

“Processing vast amounts of data to generate meaningful business insights will require expertise in not only the handling of that data, but how to transform it, and then drive meaningful change within the business,” Carr says.

“We feel prepared for this challenge, and prepared to help roasters and the broader industry thrive with the changes that are to come.”

Carr says such changes in this post-pandemic world include an out-of-home market that is stagnant or in decline, and a workforce with reduced skills, while growing at-home coffee solutions that deliver the café quality people expect.

“A wave of new technology is certainly coming that promises to automate and deliver all the data roasters and café owners need. [The key will be] how we integrate these technologies in a way that delivers both value and simplicity to our clients, and in a way that helps them deliver their values into the marketplace,” he says.

As the market evolves, Highpresso is committed to evolving with it. Its ultimate goal is to help roasters and manufacturers find their future.

“We are facilitators of change, from helping bring out the first idea, to building the first prototype, to deploying new technology across a business globally,” Carr says. “We would love to help businesses big, or small, in achieving their vision.” GCR

For more information, visit www.highpresso.com

Adam Carr is the Founder and Managing Director of Highpresso, a strategic management consultant.

Enter Artificial Intelligence

CROPSTER AIMS TO ENRICH THE COFFEE INDUSTRY BY DEPLOYING THE USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE INTO ITS PRODUCT SUITE AS A MEANS TO INTERPRET DATA AND PROVIDE ACTIONABLE INSIGHTS.

ropster Co-Founder Martin Wiesinger is on a mission to make the specialty coffee industry better and more efficient through the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology. When Wiesinger Co-founded Cropster 16 years ago as a roasting management solutionsbased company along with Norbert Niederhauser and Andreas Idl, it was an idea born from their passion and commitment.

“We met in Colombia at the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture, where we worked on a coffee project that aimed to link coffee farmers to the market. We were fascinated by the questions surrounding the growth of specialty coffee and the connection between producers in Colombia and the global market,” says Wiesinger.

“The project had the support of early specialty coffee industry players, and we collected vast amounts of data to derive insights and support. But when it came to an end, we saw the impact the information had on producers and their ability to make better decisions, so we took it upon ourselves to bring this to life in the form of Cropster.”

Wiesinger and his team have long recognised the potential of AI in their products, and in 2018, they dedicated resources to building their internal research team and hiring data scientists.

“We had reached a level where we had a lot of good information that we can use,” says Wiesinger. “All our tools help us collect data in a structured way that we can turn into insights. Now with AI, we can help find patterns and understand better what’s going on in a data set, but you need to have this data set first.”

“AI makes sense where there is a lot of data and can be overwhelming for humans to make sense of it. That’s why our platform aims to provide only the useful information and thus insights to our customers based on their data sets.”

The team at Cropster have set their sight on using the learning capabilities of AI to address an open

field of previously underutilised information. By collating and collecting data throughout each phase of the coffee production process and using AI to observe data patterns, it provides a new stage for which producers, roasters and café operators can base their decision-making.

“Good data is crucial to the success of our customers,” Wiesinger says.

Cropster’s central platform collects the data and its suite of products and data tools help disseminate the information to empower customers with digestible and translatable insights.

Cropster’s Roasting Intelligence is one such program that uses smart prediction capabilities to anticipate the roast outcome. It measures data variables such as heat mass and roast temperature. It also provides roasters with advice on how to prevent defects in real-time, and make preemptive decisions to ensure maximum coffee quality and minimum wastage.

“It’s always good to go back and attend to the data and say, ‘oh, I had a defect because I did

Cropster’s Roasting Intelligence is a program that uses smart prediction capabilities to anticipate the roast outcome.

something. And I tried to prevent it next time, but how can I actually prevent it?’,” Wiesinger says.

Wiesinger and his team are leveraging the adaptive learning abilities of AI with their collated data set to continually provide more accurate information to roasters.

“For example, we are looking to improve the process by feeding more information into the system, so it can understand the thermal mass and adapt its strategy to better replicate the desired outcome. This helps to maintain consistency during the roasting process,” says Wiesinger.

Cropster’s Green Coffee run rate prediction takes into account the many data variables that influence running a coffee roasting business, such as supply and demand, seasonality, bean quality, and patterns of coffee consumption. This information can help identify when coffee stock runs low, and aids production managers to deliver the highest quality coffee to customers.

“With our Roasting Intelligence, Green Coffee prediction, and central platform, we provide the confidence and insights that roasters need to produce the perfect cup, every time,” says Wiesinger.

Cropster Origin, a complete information management system for coffee producers and Cropster Lab, a quality control program, also enables coffee producers and green coffee buyers to make use of the information and data they are constantly generating.

“Our tools provide an intuitive interface for businesses to have more accurate predictions and solutions based on data collected, collated, and disseminated by Cropster,” Wiesinger says.

When it comes to applying high-tech, datadriven, cloud-based tools into everyday cafés, Wiesinger says there is still some work to be done. Cropster is addressing this roadblock by providing the hardware that older espresso machines need to take advantage of Cropster’s AI solutions.

Espresso machines from our partner La Marzocco that are enabled with Internet of Things (IoT) compatibility, are easily connected to Cropster’s Cafe product and provide insights into brew consistency and equipment use across their entire machine fleet in a central system.

“We also provide hardware for espresso machines that are not yet IoT ready and thus collect the data from older machines in the same central system. With an ever-increasing amount of data, we can use AI to not only pinpoint issues in specific locations but anticipate them preemptively.” says Wiesinger.

Predictive maintenance and automated staff training saves time and resources for small businesses and allows them to focus on what they do best, producing the best product possible.

Despite the input of AI, Wiesinger emphasises the crucial role that the human mind plays in the roasting process of coffee.

“The roaster holds the key to creating the perfect profile for their customers. AI can support the process, but the actual transformation from green coffee to a suitable product is human-driven and requires a lot of cognitive skills,” says Wiesinger.

With the increasing use of AI and technology in the coffee industry, Wiesinger says it’s important it’s used to “complement and enhance our lives, not take away from it”.

“Our goal is to make organisations more efficient and help small companies operate effectively while making a profit. We are here to help roasters, not replace them,” he says.

Wiesinger says by empowering small businesses with AI-powered tools like Cropster Cafe and Cropster Roast, it enables them to thrive and rival the cost-cutting and efficiency practices of larger companies.

“AI provides small coffee businesses with the ability to surface historical information and make better, data-driven decisions, like never before, which leads to increased profits, and better margins,” he says.

“The Cropster AI suite can gift small coffee businesses with a competitive edge to make smarter choices, resulting in a more successful and efficient business,” Wiesinger says.

Wiesinger sees the technology as a way to bring the industry to new heights, both economically, and practically.

“We should strive to take away those things that are just unnecessary work and that a computer can do way better,” he says. “It’s ensuring that the things that are keeping businesses profitable are built upon and made stronger. Our job is not to come in and take away roaster’s jobs, our job is to help roasters to enjoy the process and ultimately make their life better.”

Wiesinger says the future of Cropster is focusing on improving automation tools and reducing waste potential everywhere throughout the coffee production chain with the power of AI.

“It’s really important for us to remove repetitive work and freeing up time for to focus on work that is not just relevant, but that we as humans thrive in. Our focus is on making better automation tools, but also seeing how we can reduce waste,” he says. GCR

For more information, visit www.cropster.com

From left: Cropster Co-Founders Norbert Niederhauser, Martin Wiesinger, and Andreas Idl.

Straight to the source

ALMACENA PLATFORM DISCUSSES ITS SUSTAINABLE AND TRANSPARENT APPROACH TO CONNECTING THE GLOBAL COFFEE SUPPLY CHAIN.

lmacena Platform believes the best thing about coffee isn’t the smell, the taste, or the caffeine, it’s the ability to bring people together.

In the business-to-business agricultural marketplace, Almacena Platform connects coffee producers with buyers directly and efficiently.

“Almacena Platform aims to add more transparency and traceability in the supply chain process and eliminate a few of the middlemen in the trade,” says Almacena Platform’s CEO Dimo Yanchev.

Yanchev says although Africa has the longest tradition of growing coffee, local farmers are some of the least competitive, as most farms are small and family owned. He says passing the craft through generations contributes to further fragmentation of the land, while the inability to invest and improve farming practices results in very low yields for coffee farms.

“In certain years, when coffee prices are lower, farmers are unable to cover the cost of production. Since farms lack scale and are often located in remote mountainous areas, they rely on aggregators, traders or cooperatives to process and sell their produce, leading to too many intermediaries present in the value chain,” Yanchev says.

“It is striking that nothing has changed in hundreds of years. The value kept by the farmers who actually do the hard work in the fields is too little. One of the reasons is the lack of affordable finance alternatives to the local agriculture business and therefore the pressure to sell the production and export raw commodities as soon

Yanchev says the income of African coffee producers is a direct reflection of the international prices which are very volatile. Growers and small traders typically have no means to sell directly to buyers or reach final consumer markets.

“On the one hand, producers are obliged to sell locally at low prices, have no visibility at the end market, and lack the expertise to export directly. The buyers, on the other hand, pay too much to middlemen, have no access to the origin market, and lack transparency and traceability in the

Almacena Platform offers a new ‘Trading as a Service’ model to challenge and disrupt this paradigm and empower African coffee producers to unlock their potential. The platform aims to increase farmers’ income and create new brands.

The ‘Trading as a Service’ model allows participants to discover counterparts and determine prices online on the Almacena marketplace. All elements required for the trade fulfilment are made available via integrated services on the Almacena Dashboard, including finance, logistics, insurance, and warehousing in

“An estimated 30 per cent of the value [reaching

Almacena Platform is a business-tobusiness agricultural marketplace.

the farmers’ cooperatives] is lost to middlemen, whereas Almacena Platform charges a fee of one to five per cent depending on the services provided, allowing a better price for both sellers and buyers. By using devices like NFC tags, Bluetooth-enabled scales, thermal printers and more, it creates digital IDs of the coffees, immutable data records of the producers, and the provenance and route of the coffees in full transparency to all supply chain players. It uses data records to build farmers’ IDs to unlock microloans and enable financial inclusion in rural Africa,” says Yanchev.

Almacena Platform shortens the supply chain to create efficiencies for both sides on the commodity trade. It brings producers out of anonymity and facilitates relationships. It creates higher income, promotes sustainable practices, and rewards a gender balanced approach to business, with the goal to impact 800,000 smallholders across East Africa by 2025.

Currently, Almacena Platform has more than 160 cooperatives with over 300,000 farmers that supply 12 per cent of the African coffee supply registered on its platform. It facilitates sales to 11 European countries, and Yanchev says it is just the beginning.

“We’re now present in five countries in East Africa, including Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). We provide not only the physical realworld services, but also digital tools that help our clients, the producers, to become more efficient,” says Yanchev.

One of those digital tools is the Almacena Origin application, a mobile application that allows producers at origin to digitalise their operations from cherry purchases to green coffee lots.

“The collected data will allow end buyers to have full traceability to the single farmer who contributed to the production of the coffee beans. As a producer you will be able to add the basic details for your farmers and enrich them with additional information about their household and farm, creating a digital record of the farmer and insights about the farmers and overall business performance,” Yanchev says.

The platform now has almost 15,000 African coffee grower profiles in DRC, Rwanda, and Burundi and will be expanding coverage with the addition of more East African cooperatives.

“The coffee purchased from the farmer on a daily basis is recorded in the system with the relevant quantity, quality and the amount paid to

the farmer. Then the purchased coffee will be combined in batches and lots with specific quality, taste, and flavours to be exported and sold to the end buyers. All the information is digitised by Almacena Origin and the coffee trade can be managed in the Almacena Dashboard,” says Yanchev.

Although technology plays an important part in the company’s business model, Almacena Platform’s Head of Impact, Arthur Karuletwa, says there is a common misconception among consumers that technology and innovation is inoperable in remote areas.

“There’s a lack of understanding about how the supply chain works and how far these products come from. Because of issues with internet connection in isolated areas, people assume technology is not useful there. We have a solution for that, with Bluetooth devices like thermal printers that operate independently without the need for a direct Wi-Fi connection,” Karuletwa says.

Karuletwa says Almacena Platform is working to debunk this notion by proving that it is possible to operate technologically in East Africa.

“We’ve added thousands of farmers to the platform who are now exchanging commodity via mobile phones and are accustomed this efficient process,” he says.

Karuletwa adds that it is important for Almacena Platform to provide farmers with this technology and the opportunity to develop.

“We love the industry and want to help farmers grow their business and become successful. There’s also a real risk of specialty coffee quantities reducing thanks to climate change. We are on a mission to create some upward economic mobility to make the business worthwhile for the farmers. At the end of the day, sustainability means nothing if there’s no upward social mobility,” he says.

CEO Yanchev believes this digital solution allows for a practical way of managing data, completing payments, and connecting devices in a seamless way.

“With such a versatile and user-friendly experience, one could say this is the future of transactions and communication in a world that is ever more connected,” he says.

By making responsible sourcing possible, Almacena Platform hopes to create a fairer and more efficient supply for agricultural products that empowers rural African communities to overcome existing structural barriers and connect to buyers.

“Our vision is that agriculture in general and coffee production in particular can provide farmers in origin countries with opportunities to live and develop in their communities,” Yanchev says. GCR

For more information, visit www.almacenaplatform.com

Almacena Platform has helped Dedessa Coffee Farm in Ethiopia export coffee to a number of West European buyers.

Image: Dedessa Coffee Farm in Ethiopia.

In the past 50 years, Madriñan says Buencafé has grown alongside important clients in the coffee industry, providing them with an exceptional product and service that has been valued by the market and has allowed all to grow together.

“For many years we have worked with important industry players who have found in Buencafé the right

partner to complement their portfolio,” she says. Madriñan says these client relationships have allowed Buencafé to become a global representative

“First, we use the 100 per cent Colombian coffee seal which identifies our origin and also all the coffee growers’ stories behind it. Our clients and their consumers know that 100 per cent Colombian coffee has a recognised quality

“Secondly, we add sustainable value for the industry. Today, consumers are more conscious of the products they purchase, they have a greater interest in contributing to a better and more equitable society. They want to know where their products are sourced from and that Buencafé’s

The Buencafé headquarters in Chinchiná, Colombia.

profits are invested right back into Colombian coffee growers.”

Over the past five decades, the soluble coffee factory has had four expansions, including during 1983, 1997, 2008 and 2019. Madriñan says the production of Buencafé has significantly improved with each development.

“Production has increased, diversifying and innovating the product portfolio and our commercial scope has expanded. We’ve achieved national and international certifications for our products, quality, safety, environmental management, occupational health and safety management systems, and more. Buencafé was the first Colombian business certified in ISO 14001 and now has 25 different quality and sustainable certifications,” she says.

Madriñan adds that Buencafé has also acquired some of the best technology in the world, adapting it to its own needs and those of its clients, improving progressively until accomplishing some of the best premium coffee available on the market.

“We have also committed to developing the local industry, bringing knowledge and knowhow to local technology suppliers who have been working by our side for many years,” she says.

In the last five years, Buencafé launched Sensoria by Buencafé technology to diversify and have a more flexible portfolio. Through this technology the company can obtain flavour profiles it never thought possible in the soluble

“Our portfolio is now more premium than ever thanks to the Lineage and Coffage categories elaborated through this impressive technological set. We continue to work with our research and development team in order to continue taking advantage of all the possibilities offered by the technology,” Madriñan says.

In addition to these accomplishments, Madriñan confesses she is proud of the brand’s “outstanding reputation” and her team.

“I am very grateful for the trust of our clients and their consumers, the high-quality standards of our products and the innovation through all our processes,” she says.

“I am also definitely proud of the team. I have the honour of leading a team of more than 1000 committed professional and talented people that make dreams happen. Thanks to our employee talent, every hour we produce a million cups of coffee.”

Buencafé will celebrate its 50-year anniversary the entire year, with visits from the factory owners, the Colombian coffee growers, and special events with collaborators and suppliers.

“We will also have a day of celebration with the community of Chinchiná, the town where we are located, so that everyone can enjoy our coffee,” says Madriñan.

After working as General Director for three years, Madriñan says the most rewarding part of being a leader of Buencafé is watching its unstoppable growth.

“Every time I know that a coffee consumer drinks a cup of coffee from Buencafé I feel a tremendous satisfaction. This is possible because of the trust of our clients, for whom we are the first option and constantly work to surprise,” she says.

“It is an inspiration to know that the daily work we do at Buencafé translates into future opportunities for the 540,000 Colombian coffee-growing families, our employees and their families, our communities, our customers, and our suppliers. It is very inspiring to see the scope of the impact we generate on a regional, national, and global scale.”

This impact is a result of Buencafé producing 24 million cups of Colombian coffee daily, exporting to around 40 countries, reaching 60 markets, and delighting new consumers with 100 per cent Colombian coffee.

In addition, Buencafé’s main commitment for the year is consolidating sustainability in all aspects of the business, tackling the creation of sustainable value in the three essential pillars, economic, social, and environmental.

“We’re currently preparing an exciting proposal for our clients regarding our sustainability projects. We are very excited to push our sustainability scope further and will let our partners know how. Through these 50 years of history, together we will continue to transform the future of coffee,” Madriñan says.

She is inspired to continue Buencafé’s market progression with optimism and teamwork.

“I am driven by the desire to contribute to the wellbeing of 540,000 coffee-growing families and create a better country. I am also challenged to surprise our customers with innovative and trend-setting proposals that take freeze-dried coffee to new heights,” she says.

Madriñan hopes to carry that same optimism into Buencafé’s future endeavours, with a strategy to remain relevant through sustained growth in the premium coffee market.

“We will achieve this by being closer to the final consumer through brands that offer a value proposition based on sustainability, contributing to the dynamisation of the Colombian economy, and job generation,” she says.

“We believe the global coffee community appreciates the efforts the Colombian company has done to bring the best coffee to every corner of the world for 50 years, knowing that this would lead to helping the coffee producers.”

According to Madriñan, Buencafé has contributed to the industry at every angle, not only because of the quality of its products, but also because, being part of the FNC, it is committed to sharing best practices, expertise, and innovation.

“As a sustainable coffee company, we have brought value to the industry, and we will continue to do so in the years to come. We hope we have served as an example of excellence and commitment to our valuable customers, employees, suppliers, even our competitors, and of course, our coffee growing families,” Madriñan says. GCR

For more information, visit www.buencafe.com

Cristina Madriñán is the General Director of Buencafé.

A green attitude

or Rancilio Group, sustainability is a responsibility which involves every part of the business worldwide.

To improve its environmental footprint and the services it offers the global coffee industry, the espresso machine manufacturer is targeting three key impact areas: environment, people, and governance.

Rancilio Group Marketing Manager Simona Sordelli says the company is integrating the principles of a circular economy into its daily business to help reduce its impact on the environment, and society.

“We are involving all our stakeholders in our plan towards sustainability and working to create innovative solutions throughout our value chain. In order to do so, we have started to follow the three principles of sustainability: reduce waste and emissions, reuse materials, and recycle resources,” says Sordelli.

Since 2020, Rancilio Group headquarters have been powered by 100 per cent renewable energy sources, using 70 per cent solar power, 10 per cent hydroelectric power, 7 per cent wind power, and 13 per cent from other renewable energy sources.

“From 2022, Rancilio Group also offers modern charging stations for electric vehicles. Now, 25 per cent of our company cars are electric, and we aim to increase this value gradually in the next few years,” says Sordelli.

Inside the factory, more than 100 kilograms of spent coffee grounds extracted from field testing machines are used as natural fertiliser in the company garden.

“Coffee grounds are an excellent natural fertiliser. They contain essential nutrients for plant growth such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and magnesium. This green corner grows with us and, thanks to the time we spend taking care of it, it gives us back seasonal fruit and vegetables every day. Thanks to this garden where nutrients are efficiently utilised and then returned to the cycle, we are able to significantly reduce waste disposal costs,” she says.

Sordelli says the company’s goal of a circular economy business comes from a strong desire to make its processes more efficient and environmentally friendly.

“We discovered that the real strength of these

RANCILIO GROUP EXPLAINS ITS RENEWED COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABILITY WITH A NEW DEVELOPMENT MODEL CAPABLE OF BALANCING ECONOMIC, FINANCIAL, ENVIRONMENTAL, AND SOCIAL INTERESTS.

Rancilio Group is committed to operating sustainably.

Rancilio Group headquarters is powered by 70 per cent solar power.

initiatives lies with synergies. It is the cooperation with companies which share our values and world view, that led to the realisation of concrete projects,” she says.

Rancilio Group is also pursuing three distinct areas involving health, education, and company identity, to further contribute to the wellbeing and development of its staff.

“This includes a look over their physical and mental wellbeing, their personal and professional growth, and to help build their strength and identity as part of a large, heterogeneous team,” Sordelli says.

To put its plan into action, Rancilio Group has partnered with health care fund Metasalute to offer supplementary services to the National Health Service.

A ‘speed date’ health and safety training day comprising of four different workshops has also been organised for staff. The event is organised in partnership with Aristea Legnano, a diagnostic medical institute in Lombardy, Italy, specialising in occupational medicine, environmental hygiene, safety, training, and quality.

“Our priority has always been safety. We take serious interest in our team’s working conditions and share ergonomics and safety guidelines periodically. Our team will be able to learn more about the importance of at-work wellbeing, healthy nutrition, individual behaviour in terms of safety, and teamwork,” Sordelli says.

To improve education, Rancilio Group has developed training centres where all employees are encouraged to expand their knowledge of products and technologies. This includes the Rancilio Training Centre to learn about Rancilio Group’s espresso machines and grinders, and an Egro Training Centre dedicated to Egro’s fully automatic coffee machines.

From September 2021 to August 2022, Sordelli says staff participated in 1320 hours of training.

“We organise training courses to motivate professional growth and invest in social activities aimed at encouraging teamwork and mutual knowledge to create a healthy working environment,” she says.

“Considering the positive feedback received from past webinars, Rancilio Group’s goal for 2023 is to increase online training for the team and technicians to give more people access and to help limit carbon dioxide emissions even more.”

To improve company identity, Rancilio Group hosts a series of events to increase team building and sense of community within the Italian-based

team, and those of its international workers.

“Rancilio Day was organised with various team-building activities to encourage socialisation and mutual knowledge to strengthening our teams. The Rancilio Group Global Summit is also an annual meeting with Rancilio Group representatives from all our branches to share ideas, developments, and technologies,” Sordelli says.

To further improve Rancilio Group’s processes to ensure accountability and proper governance, the company utilises the Kaizen approach with “inspiring principles” to create customer value, target zero waste, follow the action, empower its people, and be transparent.

“The Japanese word Kaizen is the composition of kai (change, improvement) and zen (good, better). [It] means to change for the better. More precisely, Kaizen means slow and continuous improvement in personal, family, social and working life,” she says.

Putting the Kaizen approach into practice, Rancilio Group holds weekly meetings that bring together different department managers, operators, and all production channels to help increase empowerment, transparency, and better communication.

“We examine our past efforts and work to do better in the future,” Sordelli says.

Rancilio Group has also implemented a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study. It analyses the carbon footprint generated by the production of coffee machines to identify critical issues in terms of environmental impacts, and support future improvement strategies.

“In 2020 we carried out a product LCA on our Classe 5 USB. In 2023, we hope to expand this study further, as this will be pivotal to better understand our generated carbon footprint and outline our future sustainability strategies.”

Sordelli says having this long-term vision for investing in sustainability will eventually contribute to reliable company strategies and cost savings.

“To operate sustainably for us means creating resource-efficient products, meeting customers’ needs and caring for our environment. Our company and all our stakeholders can benefit from a more sustainable approach, as it responds to different needs and goals with one solution,” she says.

Rancilio Group hopes with time, every business will be able to see the environmental, technological, and economic potential of a sustainable approach through the company’s success story.

“We are very proud of the efforts done so far. We know we still have a long way to go, but we have now a better understanding of our future goals and challenges,” Sordelli says. GCR

For more information, visit www.ranciliogroup.com

Rancilio Group has training centres where all employees are encouraged to expand their knowledge of products and technologies.

Increasing the SPECTRUM

oasting plant manufacturer Neuhaus Neotec has sold roller grinders for coffee and chemical products for more than 50 years.

Though its grinders have been continuously developed, Neuhaus Neotec Head of Marketing Lars Henkel says it was time to give its grinders a general overhaul and bring core elements of the machine up to date.

“The former grinder series WMK was successfully introduced to the coffee industry in the early 1990s and has been further developed as the ‘working horse’ for continuous operation and large capacities. The new SPECTRUM grinder series will continue this successful story,” says Henkel.

The first machine of the new series will have a roll length of 1000 millimetres and two grinding sections. Henkel says this size is one of the most sold models thanks to its capacity.

“Most of the filter fine grinders work with this specification, followed by a compactor for the densification of the coffee. This feature is also available with the new grinder,” Henkel says.

The grinder is able to produce approximately 2500 kilograms per hour and filter fine ground coffee, though the maximum capacity strongly depends on the required fineness of the ground product.

Henkel says this is the first size of a wide range of grinders to follow.

“Further versions will include one to three sections and different roll lengths. The largest version is expected to be able to produce up to six tonnes per hour of ground coffee,” he says.

Neuhaus Neotec has designed the SPECTRUM grinder for clients worldwide with a required capacity of at least 1000 kilograms per hour.

“For smaller capacities we provide the grinding series WMS, which is the next grinder series to be updated. Neuhaus Neotec is happy to provide sophisticated roller grinders for all capacities from 300 kilograms per hour up to 6000 kilograms per hour, and a wide range of applications,” he says.

Aside from the coffee industry, the machines are also used in the chemical industry due to its “high technical standard and continuous quality in the grinding result”.

Henkel says the new model counteracts the current trend towards price increases.

“The higher amount of standard components and reduction and harmonisation of parts within

The SPECTRUM 102 will be introduced at the Interpack trade fair in Düsseldorf, Germany.

NEUHAUS NEOTEC DISCUSSES THE LAUNCH OF ITS NEXT GENERATION OF ROLLER GRINDERS, THE SPECTRUM GRINDER SERIES, AND THE IMPORTANCE OF RELIABLE MACHINERY.

the grinding machine has led to reduced costs without compromising on quality,” Henkel says.

In a competitive market where roasters must meet demand fast and efficiently, Henkel says reliable machinery that provides continuous flow is a key consideration for large-scale operators.

“Every stop for maintenance or unexpected trouble leads to an interruption of a complete production chain. For that reason, our design team focused on a robust design and safe functionality, which has been developed for more than 50 years,” he says.

“On the other side, customers want to avoid larger stock of spare parts, which waste funds and require storage space. It was our aim to maintain and develop our high-quality standard known from the previous series, integrate the latest control and software solutions and to optimise the maintenance requirements.”

UNDER THE SPECTRUM

The SPECTRUM grinder series has many new key features, including a product feeder with a newly designed pull-out bar magnet unit.

“The magnet unit avoids the transit of ferromagnetic metal parts through the grinder. In order to provide an easy cleaning solution, the complete magnetic unit is removable for easy separation to catch metal impurities during maintenance,” says Henkel.

“All cover segments are easily removable for full access to all interior parts. The first grinder in the series has an integrated terminal box to cover the control units of the sensors to keep the cable ways short.”

The new cardan shaft, a component for transmitting mechanical power, torque and rotation, has been designed to reduce procurement costs.

“In the past, we have used more customised elements, which led to increasing costs. One important target for the new series was the reduction and standardisation of parts, as well as the use of mechanical elements which are well established for high stress application,” Henkel says.

“This led to a design change of a universal cardan shift, which is a typical element in several heavy-duty applications and is known for its high reliability in this design.”

The SPECTRUM 102 features a single drive for each section instead of belts and belt wheels, meaning less parts to be installed and to maintain.

“The gear which connects the rolls at each section is also absolutely wear-free and easy to

assemble. Each section contains a single maintenance door, meaning less weight than having only one door for two or three sections, which would make it difficult to handle manually. There is also an easy and prepared plug for cooling water and central lubrication,” he says.

The grinder has pneumatic cylinders that press the rollers together and the electric spindle drive pulls the rollers apart to the desired gap against the contact pressure. Henkel says the great advantage of pneumatics are the adjustable contact forces of the grinding rollers and the possibility to open and close the gap during machine start-up and shutdown.

“With an intuitive operation and process visualisation, all machine parameters are displayed on the Human-Machine Interface,” Henkel says.

The grinder’s exterior is painted blue and grey, the same colour combination as the roaster series, and an identifying feature for Neuhaus Neotec machinery.

“We are also increasingly implementing the new Siemens control system based on the TIA platform (an integrated digital platform) in our machines, or an alternative automation control by factory automation equipment manufacturer Allen Bradley, which we will mainly offer in the United States market,” Henkel says.

“It’s a great step forward in terms of system control technology. The new interface in the corporate design of all Neuhaus Neotec software interfaces enables intuitive operation and quick orientation in the operating menus.”

According to Henkel, in the past, Neuhaus Neotec grinders were named by shortcuts, without any emotional connection. But with its new model Spectrum, that mould has changed.

“As we invest a lot of passion in the development of our grinders, we wanted to emphasise this care in the name of the product. The name SPECTRUM gives an idea that this series is developed for a wide range of applications, from fine espresso grinding up to coarse grinding for soluble coffee processing,” he says.

Henkel looks forward to the opportunity to expand the configuration of the modular machine design.

“The SPECTRUM grinder series will have a wide range of options to meet all demands for an efficient coffee grinding. It is our target to provide the complete range of this grinder series by 2024,” he says.

The first model of the new commercial grinder series, the SPECTRUM 102, will be introduced at the Interpack trade fair from 4 to 10 May in Düsseldorf, Germany. Henkel says it will be available worldwide where large coffee producers look for a reliable machine made in Germany.

“We are excited to get the first customer feedback for the initial grinder size when we present it at INTERPACK,” Henkel says. GCR

For more information visit www.neuhaus-neotec.com

A preview of the operator surface and machine parameters.

Turn up the heat

BRAMBATI S.P.A EXPLAINS THE BENEFITS OF ITS HEAT RECOVERY SYSTEM FOR ROASTING EQUIPMENT AND WHY SUSTAINABILITY IS A KEY FOCUS IN 2023.

oasting coffee beans requires a lot of heat. Well known solutions, such as cyclones and afterburners, can to some extent reduce heat loss or recycle a part of the residual heat. However, according to Brambati S.p.A President and CEO Fabrizio Brambati, Brambati can now rely on an improved technology, the heat recovery system, which significantly enhances the energy efficiency of Brambati’s coffee production plants.

“The heating recovery system is based on an air and water heat exchanger which allows a stream of water to be heated by a stream of hot air,” Brambati says.

“The heat exchanger allows the heat of the air leaving the roaster to be recovered and used to heat water and cool the air before it is discharged into the environment.”

Brambati says 90 per cent of wasted heat from flue gases can be recovered and the heat deriving from other processes, such as cooling of the roasted beans, can be used to dry the green beans before entering the roasting hopper.

“The heat can be used in absorption coolers where the roasted beans are cooled. With the heat recovery system, the process heat is recovered and stored in a buffer tank for later use, when and if

“The recovered heat does not necessarily need to be used in the roasting process. It can also be used for heating and cooling tasks throughout the facility, such as for cleaning, bathing, and utility water, and heating offices, warehouses,

Brambati says the centrifugal pump and its accessories allow water to circulate in a closed circuit without water consumption, which arrives cold and exits hot from the recovery system.

“Therefore, the system controls the flow and temperature of the water, as well as ensuring safe operation and transmission of signals for a proper diagnosis. The heat recovery system can simply be plugged in and receive water to be heated and distribute heated water from and to the water

“It also includes related accessories such as a flow meter, temperature probes, safety valves, and other safety and monitoring devices, designed to flexibly relieve excess pressure from vessels or equipment at all times and under any

The heat recovery system has an automatic control system for the temperature of hot water and the air circuit is equipped with its own

“The purpose of the booster is to guarantee the

Brambati’s heat recovery system enhances energy efficiency by recycling wasted heat.

roasting process the same operating conditions, avoiding any potential interference with the quality of the coffee. This is indispensable when applying heat recovery in existing plants,” Brambati says.

The ventilation system also features butterfly valves on the flue air exhaust duct that are engineered to prevent the closing of the roaster exhaust.

“The circuit never closes, even when the valve is closed, as there is no impediment to the circulation of air through the heat exchanger and back into the chimney. At most, a slight increase in pressure may be produced, which poses no risk to the roasting quality,” says Brambati.

“In the event of a pneumatic or electric fault, the butterfly valve on the roaster stack automatically opens up and the valves going and coming from the heat exchanger close, preventing any pressure build-up upstream of the system.”

The system is also equipped with a continuous supervision and monitoring process, which allows for the early detection of abnormal running situations, so that any need for maintenance work can be predicted in time.

The heat recovery system allows for the recovery of about 450 kilowatts of thermal power. This is equivalent to saving about 45 normal cubic metres of natural gas in a 300-kilogram batch roaster.

Brambati says the heat recovery system can be

utilised with all roaster sizes, equipped with a flue gas burner and reduces machine consumption and emissions during the hot air recirculation.

“The heat recovery system in no way affects the roasting process. This system is dedicated to recovering heat from the roasting fumes that would otherwise be wasted and dispersed into the atmosphere. The environmental benefit includes reducing atmospheric heat and the amount of energy purchased, which is recovered,” Brambati says.

Brambati is in the process of decarbonising its operations and the use of its machinery for end-users, called Scope 3.

“Recovering heat makes coffee production more environmentally sustainable as it reduces global warming and the operational cost of production, making it economically beneficial for the coffee producer through a quick payback of the investment,” says Brambati.

At Brambati, sustainable practices don’t just apply to the manufacturing of equipment but are integrated in the company’s 360-degree sustainable philosophy.

“We are completely self-sufficient. We use solar panels to harness energy to power our facility and have implemented many controls to ensure there is no waste,” Brambati says.

“We started from the measurement of consumption and waste and then, during the redesign [of our machinery], we have reduced the number of components used and the working waste.”

Brambati’s commitment to sustainability earned the company a Gold Certificate in November 2021 from EcoVadis, an independent company that evaluates sustainability and the corporate responsibility in global supply chains.

“At Brambati, we recognise the importance of adopting a sustainable approach for civil society, including local communities, associations and authorities, and we’re working to leave a durable environmental legacy for future generations,” says Brambati.

The Italian roaster manufacturer has always looked for roasting innovations to help drive the company’s sustainability goals forward during its long history in the roasting business.

“We have constantly focused on the environment and sustainability, so for us, all the developments we have made to the roasting system have always been in this area. We are always looking for ways to improve our roaster’s emissions reduction results,” says Brambati. GCR

For more information, visit www.brambati.it

Brambati’s factory in the Province of Pavia, Italy, has always invested in the development of new technologies to improve the efficiency of its plants.

Instant revival

THE BRAZILIAN INSTANT COFFEE INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION ON WHY ITS WHITE PAPER AND SENSORY ANALYSIS PROTOCOL MAY BECOME AN IMPORTANT TOOL TO EXPAND THE CONSUMPTION OF INSTANT COFFEE.

razil may be the world’s largest coffee producer, the second largest consumer, and world leader in the production and export of soluble coffee, but there is one misconception the Brazilian Instant Coffee Industry Association (ABICS) wants rectified: that instant coffee is not a singular product of low quality.

Rather, it’s a complex category of varied qualities, profiles, and applications to suit the taste preferences of different consumers and markets.

“Contrary to popular belief, soluble coffee has several options for quality and applications,” says Eliana Relvas, Cafeologist and ABICS consultant.

“For a long time, coffee consumers had, and many still have, this perception that instant coffee is a unique quality. But that has changed in recent years, with new products with different blends of arabicas and canéforas, different qualities of raw material, manufacturing processes that can be spray or freeze dried, and different combinations of temperature and pressure of extraction.”

However, despite the wide spectrum of qualities available, there has not been a common or standard methodology for sensorial analysis of instant coffee, like there is for green coffee.

With the realisation that instant coffee should be graded differently to ‘roast and ground’ coffee, the ABICS, together with the ITAL Food Tech Institute, a governmental body and a reference in research and development and technological innovation in Latin America, developed a methodology to identify flavour attributes specific to instant coffee.

A series of 14 cupping tests with different instant coffee samples was conducted, with tasters asked to group samples by flavour and similarity, and describe the characteristic flavour of each group. The resulting data was organised according to their similarity matrix. A sensory lexicon was then developed and refined for instant coffees, based on key differentiating attributes. Some of the lexicon’s attributes are shared with roasted and ground lexicons, such as sweetness, acidity, and body. Others were exclusive to the instant coffee category, such as ‘over-extracted coffee flavour’.

Rather than adopting a five-point intensity scale, it was determined that one coffee is not necessarily better than the other, and that coffees with certain attributes are more suitable to certain applications.

Further definitions to describe three grades of instant coffee were decided to be ‘excellent instant coffee’, ‘differentiated instant coffee’, and ‘conventional instant coffee’.

It is hoped the adoption of a common system of quality assessment, grading, and communication to consumers will open the door to differentiation opportunities in the instant category, which the ABICS says is already diverse but currently lacks communication to consumers.

The results of the findings were published in an ABICS White Paper during International Coffee Week in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, in November 2022, titled, ‘Quality Assessment of Instant Coffee: A Sensory Science Development’.

In a special launch event, representatives of the Coffee Quality Institute, Specialty Coffee Association, United States National Coffee Association, European Coffee Federation and All Japan Coffee Association, gathered to learn about ABICS’ new standardised methodology.

Relvas, who coordinated the preparation of the White Paper, says the document emphasises the several levels of distinct qualities present in instant coffee.

“As the standardised protocol of sensorial analysis is applied to evaluate the different quality profiles, more knowledge is added to allow the continuous improvement of the quality and countless possibilities of combinations of the raw material and production process to create and discover new ones and beverages,” Relvas says.

Eliana Relvas, Cafeologist and ABICS consultant, says the newly-released White Paper emphasises the several

Fabio Sato, Chair of the ABICS Board, says the next step in enforcing the new standardised methodology is to train professional cuppers.

Fabio Sato, Chair of the ABICS Board, says the next step in enforcing the new standardised methodology is to train professional cuppers to create the ‘so-called Instant Coffee Graders” (IC Graders) and to calibrate them to use the new methodology.

“We plan to first and foremost train professionals from the Brazilian instant coffee industries and thereafter the main brand owners present in Brazil. In a second stage, we plan to extend the calibration to importers of Brazilian instant coffee, and lastly baristas and other professionals in the coffee business,” Sato says.

“In so doing, we can bring to consumers a clear identification of the category and attributes of the products so they can choose the ones that better suit their taste.”

The ABICS aims to have the new protocol accepted internationally. It will share the methodology with companies, experts, and entities around the world, and with ABICS customers in more than 120 countries.

“We welcome cooperation and partnerships with entities that can help improve this protocol and so we can follow the steps of roasted coffee, which has its sensory evaluation protocol, developed by the Specialty Coffee Association in the 90s, today recognised and used worldwide,” Sato says.

Once industry professionals are fully calibrated and IC Graders are certified, the ABICS will develop a quality seal program for its domestic market. The seal will be applied to product packaging, which will indicate the best applications and quality attributes, and identify its characteristics.

In addition to the new protocol, which will help position instant coffee to a new global standard, Sato says instant coffee is experiencing a revolution in the consuming market thanks to its reinvention and use of innovation to enhance its quality.

“Different qualities and blends, types of packaging, ways of preparation, applicability and versatility of uses are being reflected in consumption growth indicators in Brazil and in the world,” he says.

“Just observe how the space for instant coffees

on supermarket shelves has increased. Our ability to grow is linked to our strategies and ability to communicate with consumers, and ABICS’ White Paper and its protocol will contribute to them. We are confident that if consumers try instant coffee, they will like it.”

BRAZIL, THE INSTANT COFFEE NATION

The ABICS was created in 1972 to institutionally represent the soluble coffee industry in Brazil. It represents seven Brazilian instant coffee manufactures, which together, have the largest instant manufacturing capacity in the world, including Cacique, Companhia Iguacu de Café Soluvel, Nestlé, Cocam, Realcafé and Café Campinho, and Olam Food Ingredients.

ABICS’ work is focused on expanding markets for the Brazilian soluble, in addition to efforts within the sector to make improvements on quality, sustainability, and technological innovation.

Brazil has been a leader in the production and export of soluble coffee since the 1960s.

According to 2020 figures from Cecafé – the Council of Coffee Exporters of Brazil – and ABICS, Brazil produces 117,000 tonnes of soluble coffee each year. It exports 4.1 million bags of instant coffee per year, estimated to be worth US$600 million, and distributes 0.95 million bags to Brazil’s domestic market.

Currently, instant coffee corresponds to nearly 25 per cent of total coffee consumed globally and has grown by 2.5 to 3 per cent per year, a percentage higher than roasted coffee, according to the ABICS.

In Brazil, only 5 per cent of coffee is consumed in the form of instant, but the ABICS says “its growth has been strong and continuous” at 3.6 per cent per year on average over the past five years.

“The positive numbers in Brazil and in the world are a consequence of the improvement of quality, with numerous blends such as 100 per cent Arabicas, single origin, certified coffees and organic, packed in various types of packaging, which enables various forms of application and preparation,” Sato says.

Instant coffee is the foundation of the popular three-in-one format, as well as ready-to-drink coffee, and other applications. As such, Sato says its varied use of applications is how the ABICS plans to stimulate its increase in consumption.

“We believe that consumption can continue to increase at least at similar rates we witnessed over the recent years. ABICS’ White Paper and protocol can hope-fully help expand these growth rates,” he says. GCR

For more information, visit www.abics.com.br

A series of 14 cupping tests with different instant coffee samples was conducted.

Melbourne International Coffee Expo

Book your stand to take part in the Southern Hemisphere’s largest dedicated coffee trade show.

GROWERS ROASTERS

CELEBRATING 10 YEARS OF EVERYTHING COFFEE

A decade of connections

GLOBAL COFFEE REPORT SHARES 10 REASONS WHY MICE IS A MUST-ATTEND EVENT FOR THE GLOBAL COFFEE COMMUNITY.

lot can be achieved in a decade: company growth, personal development, career succession, and more. It’s a timeframe of reflection, and one that evokes a sense of achievement and pride. In the case of the Melbourne International Coffee Expo (MICE), it’s 10th edition in 2023 will be a celebration of the business partnerships that have been created over a handshake, and the growth of a product that has gone from ‘new’ to ‘mature’ status. For many coffee professionals, MICE signifies the beginning of a career path and open doorway to endless possibilities.

It’s for these reasons, and many more, that the world will descend on MICE from 17 to 19 August.

1. ONLY DEDICATED COFFEE EXPO IN THE OCEANIA REGION

MICE is now known throughout the Asia Pacific as the largest and most exciting coffee event with about 10,000 coffee professionals and fanatics attending each year.

Last year, a record 15,056 attendees visited the expo over four days at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, with 15 per cent international attendees from 71 countries.

“MICE is the biggest coffee family reunion of them all,” says Lauren Winterbottom, MICE Show Director. “We are excited to bring together this special community of largely talented, inventive, and quality-based individuals and companies representing the best of the industry. We can’t wait to show the world why MICE is truly one of the most unique coffee expos in the world and pull out all the stops for our 10th birthday celebrations.”

As the only coffee conference in the Oceania region, MICE2023 will feature more than 200 exhibitors showcasing the latest and greatest in roasting, manufacturing, green beans, cup packaging, dairy and dairy alternatives, ancillary suppliers and more. One of those exhibitors is Germany-based automatic milk frother Latte Art Factory.

Latte Art Factory Director of Marketing Lindsay Buescher describes MICE as “the most important coffee event in the Oceania region”.

“It is a great platform to learn about the newest innovations and developments in the coffee industry. From new brewing methods and equipment to the latest trends in coffee production and processing,” says Latte Art Factory’s Buescher.

2. MELBOURNE COFFEE WEEK

The Melbourne Coffee Week is a week-long celebration of all things coffee in the lead up to, and including MICE. Many industry players celebrate the Australian coffee scene by holding or participating in registered events, such as new product celebrations, coffee cuppings, showroom events and industry talks from international guests.

“For us, Melbourne Coffee Week is our best opportunity to meet with both important players in the Australian coffee industry and the consumers who enjoy the fruits of our labour at the end of the coffee value chain,” Buescher says.

3. PRODUCT INNOVATION AWARDS

The MICE Product Innovation Awards recognise the best innovations from exhibitors in 2023. The Awards offer the chance for exhibitors to showcase their newest products to the wide-ranging MICE audience. An independent panel will critique the products based on creativity, industry need, and how well it will support the global industry, in order to deem the winner.

“It is an unmissable opportunity to not only showcase our innovative products, but to be active with participants in the community and gain valuable insights into regional trends and customer preferences,” says MICE Show Director Winterbottom.

4. INTERNATIONAL COFFEE PRODUCERS

International coffee producers exhibit at MICE to showcase their coffee with the wider industry of coffee professionals, in the hope of forming business relationships. According to 2023 exhibitor, the Brazil Specialty Coffee Association (BSCA), on-stand cuppings are a great way to fasttrack learning about taste and flavour.

“Australia is a very important market for Brazil and one of the best markets in the world of Brazilian specialty coffee, and specialty coffee in general for that matter. As such, MICE is the best opportunity for us to showcase our coffees to current and potential clients,” says Chris Allen, BSCA Head of Business Intelligence.

5.

A SHOWCASE OF AUSTRALIAN ROASTERS

Coffee roasters from across Australia attend MICE annually as a platform to display their craft to café operators looking for new partnerships and product offerings. MICE visitors will find the majority of roasters in Roasters Alley, a designated

area for roasters to celebrate and contribute to the vibrancy of Australia’s coffee culture – in the one space.

“Over the years I’ve visited MICE as both an attendee and an exhibitor. I’ve been very impressed by the dynamism of the Australian coffee market, especially at MICE itself. It’s an excellent opportunity to have some unique coffee, meet great people and watch outstanding baristas perform,” says BSCA’s Allen.

6. PRODUCT RELEASES

MICE is an opportunity for the global coffee industry to present the latest in new products, partnerships, and technology to the Asia Pacific market.

For automatic packaging machine manufacturer

ICA S.p.A, MICE2023 will be an opportunity to display its now established partnership with Australian sales representative and service support LACO Automation & Service.

“In our opinion, MICE is the best chance to meet with the most interesting coffee players and discover the latest technological advancements in the Australian, New Zealand and Pacific Island market,” says ICA S.p.A Export Sales Manager Sergio Vecchietti.

“This year we are excited to invest in an even bigger booth. We invite all coffee players to stop by because we will present some very interesting packaging innovations.”

7. BENCHMARK AND BE INSPIRED

MICE is a platform in which visitors dream big and map their career progressions thanks to the people and products they become exposed to.

Equally, MICE and its reputation in the discerning Australian market has become a place that exhibitors look to benchmark their products. ICA S.p.A’s Vecchietti says the automatic packaging machine manufacturer is constantly striving to improve its machines because of Australia’s high standards.

“MICE is the most recognised and easiest way to keep up to date with all of the innovations and new trends characterising the coffee industry in Australia. You can meet and network with coffee

industry stakeholders, coffee roasters, coffee beverage producers, and equipment manufacturers,” says Vecchietti.

8. AN EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE

For coffee industry veterans and newcomers alike, MICE is a chance to learn something new, whether it be developing sensory tasting skills, an understanding about green coffee, or roasting techniques.

“MICE is not only a great place to sharpen our skills and deepen our knowledge as coffee professionals, but also a lot of fun meeting new people, catching up with old friends and drinking a lot of coffee,” Vecchietti says.

9. GCR SYMPOSIUM

The Global Coffee Report Symposium will return to Melbourne in 2023, in a fresh format designed to encourage discussion and debate around the industry’s most pressing topics. This high calibre event will provide a forum for open and frank exchange of knowledge that will send many delegates away with fresh ideas about the future of the industry.

“It’s back,” says MICE Show Director Winterbottom. “The last GCR Symposium took place in 2013, and feel the time is right to reconnect this wonderful forum with a knowledge-craving market of roasters who will benefit from the wisdom of our international guests.”

10. THE VIBE

MICE is well and truly established on the global coffee event’s calendar. While it’s a wonderful business opportunity, visiting Melbourne is an opportunity to explore what makes this unofficial coffee capital so prominent. Take the time to visit the city’s iconic laneways filled with hole-in-the-wall coffee shops, be exposed to the craft of coffee making in the suburban fringes and walk away with a greater appreciation of why this largely consuming nation celebrates quality in every cup. GCR

For more information, visit www.internationalcoffeeexpo.com/leaders-symposium

MICE gives coffee industry veterans and newcomers alike a chance to learn something new.

WHAT’S BREWING?

A WRAP UP OF THE LATEST APPOINTMENTS IN THE GLOBAL COFFEE INDUSTRY.

Samuel Hadorn, European Chief Executive Office, UCC Europe

Samuel Hadorn will lead UCC Europe, a total coffee solution to retail and out of home partners, as its new European Chief Executive Office.

Previously UCC Europe Chief Financial Officer, Hadorn takes on the CEO role from Paul Molyneux, who steps down having led the business since 2018.

The change of leadership coincides with a new organisation structure, transitioning from a regional organisation to European commercial Business Units, including Retail, Out of Home, and Ueshima supported by Functions including operations, marketing, sustainability, finance, HR, and IT.

“Our new structure will enable us to unlock the full potential we have within our business, improving customer experience across Retail and Out of Home,” says Hadorn.

Christian Bothe, CEO, Bernhard Rothfos

Christian Bothe, former COO of German trading company Bernhard Rothfos (BR), has become CEO. With more than 10 years at Neumann Kaffee Gruppe’s (NKG), Bothe brings the talent, skills and mindset to successfully take over the responsibilities from Jens Janecki, who led the company since 2011.

“We are convinced that these steps are an excellent base for driving the success and development of the Hamburg-based trading operations of NKG forward while setting new accents to enhance the great history and performance records for our suppliers and customers alike,” says NKG Group CEO David M. Neumann.

Inacio Teixeira, CEO, InterAmerican Coffee

Inacio Teixeira has been with InterAmerican Coffee (IAC) for many years and is ready to bring the company to the next level together with his team and in cooperation with Bernhard Rothfos and Neumann Group (NKG). InterAmerican Coffee is a part of NKG, which includes 49 companies across 27 countries that exclusively focus on green coffee.

NKG’s global strength and breadth helps the company consistently acquire coffees its customers love, and to keep discovering new ones. According to IAC, decades of experience have refined and strengthened its logistics operations, and the expertise and passion the IAC team brings to work each day helps it to positively impact the supply chain, both locally and globally.

Kim Ellis, Chief Development Officer, Scooter’s Coffee

Kim Ellis joins Scooter’s Coffee as Chief Development Officer to accelerate the company’s growth in new and existing markets nationwide. According to Scooter’s Coffee, she is a proven, passionate, and goal-oriented leader with over 30 years of development experience that will enhance the successful Scooter’s Coffee drive-thru kiosk franchise model.

Ellis is committed to providing high-level support and service to Scooter’s Coffee franchisees. She looks forward to helping it succeed through various development phases, including market feasibility and planning, site selection, real estate, construction, design, and architecture. Ellis will support franchisees in building high performing teams that deliver exceptional results while staying committed to the company’s core values of integrity, love, humility, and courage.

Marco Gadola, Board of Directors, Bühler Group

Marco Gadola has been unanimously elected to Bühler Group’s Board of Directors. Gadola is a Swiss and French national who started his career in banking and later worked at Novartis International Ltd., Basel, Switzerland, as Audit Manager.

Gadola serves as President of the Board of Directors of DKSH, President of the Board of Directors of WS Audiology and Medartis Holding AG, Vice President of the Board of Directors of MCH Group AG and Member of the Board of Directors of Straumann Group.

He holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration and Economics from the University of Basel, Switzerland.

“With his appointment, Bühler’s Board is gaining an accomplished and proven executive with nearly three decades of experience in the tools, medical, and logistics fields,” says Calvin Grieder, Chairman of the Board of Bühler.

Stephen Fern, Managing Director, 200 Degrees

Stephen Fern will become the Managing Director of Nottingham-based roaster 200 Degrees. Having held the position of Financial Director with the coffee roaster since 2019, Fern takes on the role from co-owner and CEO of the business, Rob Darby.

As Managing Director, Fern will oversee the company’s operations, growth, team, and customer experience.

“I am incredibly honoured to be trusted with this position, at a company with such a fantastic culture and ethos for delivering great products and services to our customers, as well as its support of not-for-profit, grass root causes,” says Fern.

“I will continue to learn from co-owners Rob and his business partner Tom Vincent, while also building the culture and driving continuous improvements across the business.”

Global coffee:

Coffee Fest

JAVITS CENTER, NEW YORK

5 — 7 March

Coffee Fest is a specialty coffee event that attracts owners, operators, and anyone interested in growing their specialty coffee and tea business career. Coffee Fest and its network of resources brings expert advice to help evolve businesses, discover what’s trending and relevant, and help the industry evolve. Visitors can attend Coffee Fest to get the start-up education, resources, and access to companies they need to make a smooth café or restaurant opening. Seasoned coffee professionals will attend Coffee Fest to network, deepen their existing supplier relations, find new products, and services.

www.coffeefest.com

Producer & Roaster Forum

SAN SALVADOR, EL SALVADOR 16 — 17 March

The Producer & Roaster Forum (PRF) brings roasters and producers together in producing countries, resulting in strong, long-term relationships, conversations about the real issues and innovations in the industry, and green bean sales. All PRF events brings together industry leaders from across the globe to present on a wide range of topics. Speakers come from Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Oceania, and the Americas. The event includes workshops, panels, cuppings, and other relationshipbuilding activities.

producerroasterforum.com

The London Coffee Festival

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM

20

— 23 April

The London Coffee Festival celebrates London’s bustling and vibrant coffee scene. In its first year in 2011, more than 7000 visitors and 100 exhibitors took part, and this year, 30,000 creative urbanites and industry professionals are expected to attend. The event, entering its 11th year at the Truman Brewery, will feature more than 250 artisan coffee and gourmet food stalls, tastings, and demonstrations from world-class baristas. It will showcase interactive workshops, street food, coffee-based cocktails, live music, DJs, art exhibitions, and more.

londoncoffeefestival.com

Specialty Coffee Expo

PORTLAND, OREGON

21 — 23 April

The Specialty Coffee Expo has everything for everyone in the coffee world. Attendees will have the opportunity to connect with the latest in innovation and design from more than 400 exhibiting companies. Participate in cuttingedge research, learn at SCA workshops and lectures, form new business relationships, and connect with the global coffee industry. Coffee enthusiasts of all professional backgrounds can participate in or watch the coffee competitions, mingle with like-minded attendees at receptions and lunches, or learn about the art of cupping, brewing, or roasting in educational programs.

www.coffeeexpo.org

events around the globe

Melbourne International Coffee Expo 2023

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA

17 – 19

August

MICE is known throughout the Southern Hemisphere as the largest dedicated coffee event. A record crowd of 15,056 attendees visited MICE2022 with 15 per cent of attendees international visitors from 71 countries. Established in 2012, MICE has become a mustattend event to connect buyers and sellers, featuring café owners, roasters, equipment manufacturers, service suppliers and more to facilitate real business opportunities.

internationalcoffeeexpo.com

International Coffee & Tea Expo SINGAPORE, ASIA

25

— 27 May

The International Coffee & Tea Asia series is Southeast Asia’s largest trade and consumer exhibition that caters to the needs of the café, coffee, and tea communities in the region. Visitors to the 10th instalment of the event will find an expansive showcase of raw materials ranging from specialty coffee beans, premium tea leaves, roasting and grinding machines, top-of-the-range barista equipment, bakery supplies, premium ingredients and more.

International Café and Beverage Show

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA

25 – 27 May

After its debut in 2022, the International Café and Beverage Show offers the trade a unique opportunity to interact and network with over 200 top quality brands from all over the world, some of whom will be new to market. Underpinning the high-end trade show will be the Malaysian National Coffee Championships, giving the community the chance to see the best of Malaysian Baristas competing for a place in the World Championships. This is the national meeting place for the café community.

GCR Symposium

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA

16

August

For the first time in eight years, the Global Coffee Report Leaders Symposium will take place in Melbourne on 16 August. The oneday event is designed to bring together key industry executives and roasters from around the world to share insights on topics that impact the global coffee market. Across four panel sessions, top industry experts will examine the economy and share market trends, discuss industry sustainability, the future of flavour, and the role of automation across the value chain. The event will take one day prior to the start of the Melbourne International Coffee Expo. www.gcrmag.com

Alcorn Café Engineering Shot Timer

Alcorn Café Engineering (ACE) has manufactured a new Shot Timer variant that is ‘Plug and Play’ for a newly released small commercial model. ACE relied solely on customer feedback to assist with the development of the Shot Timer without a machine to test for. Armed with this information, ACE built six handmade samples and shipped them around the world for testing, receiving positive feedback from all. The units are now in production and can be ordered from the ACE website by searching for the model.

ACE has been developing and manufacturing niche retrofit parts for espresso machines, including shot timers, for more than 10 years.

Egro QuBe

Buencafé presents its new lid for coffee jars made from avocado pits. The new lid is the result of the work at Buencafé with strategic allies from its supply chain –Riduco and Biofase Colombia – who together seek to add to sustainable proposals producing ecological packaging. With this biodegradable material, Buencafé ratifies its commitment to sustainable packaging and reduction of plastic usage. The lids contain a bio-based resin formulated by Biofase in Mexico, reducing the environmental footprint. Each lid contains 60 per cent organic biomass. It takes two years for each lid to decompose. One dried processed avocado pit can be used to make two to three lids. This solution is a pioneering process for Colombia and will be the first of its production at industrial scale.

For more information, visit

QuBe is a fully automatic coffee machine, ideal for the hospitality and office coffee service sectors, as well as offices and coffee corners with low daily consumption that requires a varied coffee menu. QuBe is available in three versions: Pure Coffee, Quick Milk, and Pro Milk. It offers up to seven different configurations with one or two coffee grinders, and up to two powder hoppers, and fresh milk. The 7” HD touchscreen makes it easy to select the drink to be dispensed and navigate the screens. Through the interface, users can program up to 27 drinks and adjust the dosage and temperature for up to three different hot water doses. QuBe is easy to use and maintain, reliable, convenient, and compact, thanks to the built-in hoppers for coffee beans and powders.

For more information, visit www.ranciliogroup.com/egro/qube/

Buencafé Avocado Seeds Lid

Eversys Cameo C’2m/ST

To Eversys, the Cameo Super Traditional is the pinnacle of the Eversys Cameo range, catching attention anywhere it is placed and belongs in the specialty coffee scene. The C’2ms/ST is committed to producing 175 cappuccino per hour as well as 175 espressos. This machine is equipped with Eversys’ Electronic Milk System, providing hot drinks with perfectly textured milk.

For more information, visit www.eversys.com

Flavourtech Rotating Disc Column

Australian manufacturer Flavourtech has developed a coffee extraction process where the desirable coffee roast and ground flavours are naturally captured upfront and safely stored before the high temperature extraction step occurs. The latter is through a Rotating Disc Column, a specially designed continuous flow contacting device that allows precise, predictable control over the extraction process. The coffee is in the column for only 20 minutes (compared to many hours through other processes), which equates to a higher quality of extracted coffee solids. The captured intact and desirable flavours can then be placed back into the coffee extract for spray or freeze-drying, producing an instant powder full of flavour.

For more information, visit www.flavourtech.com

Franke A300

Minimalist and powerful, the A300 is Franke’s most compact coffee machine. It is designed to fit anywhere, even in small restaurants, boutique hotels or a workplace.

Equipped with the trusted FoamMaster milk system and the automatic cleaning system EasyClean, this premium fully automatic coffee machine provides unforgettable coffee moments for customers and guests. With a wide range of up to 100 different beverage specialties, it creates the perfect drink for every taste. Thanks to the patented heating system, different brewing temperatures can be set for different beverages. The A300 is a coffee machine to rely on as it delivers high in-cup quality coffee every time. Because space should never get in the way of a good cup of coffee.

For more information, visit coffee.franke.com

The sweet spot

THE COFFEE SCIENCE FOUNDATION IS LAUNCHING A NEW RESEARCH PROJECT TO DETERMINE WHERE THE SWEETNESS IN COFFEE REALLY COMES FROM.

ccording to the Coffee Science Foundation (CSF), many specialty coffee consumers and experts agree that a key part of coffee quality is the natural sweetness in coffee flavour.

However, CSF Executive Director Peter Giuliano says a recent research paper titled Sensory and monosaccharide analysis of drip brew coffee fractions versus brewing time, published by the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, has confirmed that the sweetness in coffee does not come from sugars in the bean.

“The research paper states, ‘the mass spectrometry measurements firmly established that the total concentration of all the sugars present, in any fraction, was well below the sensory perception threshold for sugars, meaning that human tasters are not capable of perceiving the sugar in the coffee we tested’,” says Giuliano.

“It is not an exaggeration to say that the specialty coffee industry is built on flavour. [The fact] that the cause of a major coffee flavour is unknown is a big gap in our knowledge. The Coffee Science Foundation is dedicated to filling these knowledge gaps with high-quality research, for the benefit of the whole industry.”

As such, the CSF is conducting its own sweetness research project, ‘Sweetness in Coffee: Sensory Analysis and Identification of Key Compounds’, with the aim to help plant breeders, cuppers, roasters, and farmers produce higher quality coffees. Giuliano hopes it will improve tools for the industry, such as better cupping forms and roasting devices.

“We hope to develop improved ways of training cuppers to detect sweetness, and furthermore help agronomists and plant breeders develop better techniques and materials for the specialty coffee industry,” Giuliano says.

“More than anything, I hope that this research helps us create higher-value coffees at the agricultural level, so coffee producers can benefit from advances in coffee science.”

The project began in December 2022 in collaboration with the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) and Flavor Research and Education Center (FREC) in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES) at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.

According to Giuliano, the FREC has developed “untargeted” chemical fingerprinting methods to advance the understanding of stimuli that contribute to flavour, termed flavouromics. These methods are well suited to define complex flavour perceptions, such as sweetness, that can originate from multiple sensory systems such as smell (olfactory) and taste (gustatory), or by flavour modulators.

“We are excited to apply these new methods of flavour discovery in collaboration with the FREC to improve our understanding of this key attribute of coffee quality,” says Giuliano.

“Just a glimpse at FREC’s recent project list, such as understanding the source of bitterness in wheat bread or the flavour of hazelnuts, makes it clear that they have a unique set of tools and insights to help with this investigation. Specifically, they have a state-of-the-art chemical laboratory and sensory panellists, which are key to this research.”

The SCA provides key support for the CSF, as well as serving as a platform for research dissemination and education for a variety of topics.

Simonelli Group also provided an unrestricted grant to the CSF which helped support this research.

Research results are expected in late 2023. In the meantime, Giuliano has his own theory on coffee sweetness, which suggests ‘cross-modal perceptions’, that involves interactions between two or more different sensory modalities, may be the cause of sweetness associated with sugars in coffee beans.

“Over the years, I’ve learned a lot about ‘crossmodal perceptions’ and it could be a combination of a cross-modal effect and some new chemical. Or it could be something completely different, I can’t wait to find out,” Giuliano says. GCR

The CSF is conducting research to help breeders, cuppers, roasters, and farmers produce higher quality coffees.

Buencafé is one of the world’s leading premium soluble co ee suppliers, we are dedicated to providing high-quality, 100% Colombian freeze-dried co ee and co ee extract for private label brands and ingredients for the food industry.