Global Coffee Report January 2023

coffee.

FEATURES

8 ONE PLANET, A WORLD OF OPPORTUNITY

Coffee Planet Managing Director Jamie Brown on plans to double its growth, expand its franchise operations, and why his favourite customer is a repeat one 13

PRICE CRUNCH

Rising fertiliser prices are tightening the belts of coffee farmers. GCR looks at the current state of play, the impact of war, and why money talks 16

ASEAN ON THE MOVE

The International Coffee Organization explores ASEAN’s place in the world coffee industry and its dynamic contribution to the global economy 20

FUTURE PROOFING

World Coffee Research launches the first global collaboration on coffee breeding in 50 years to help accelerate climate resilience and build longterm coffee supplies 24

INDUSTRY PREDICTIONS

Industry leaders share their hopes, concerns and ambitions for their businesses and the global coffee market in 2023

A RE-EMERGENCE

New insights into the history of Liberica coffee, and the potential of excelsa coffee as a major crop plant in an era of anthropogenic climate change

ANNIVERSARY EDITION

MICE gets set to celebrate a decade of business and the many exhibitors that make the expo an international success

TECHNOLOGY

A NEW ERA OF ROASTING

Probat on the company’s first hydrogen-powered shop roaster for smart and sustainable process optimisation

MIDDLE EASTERN MOVEMENT

Eversys is set to increase its presence in the MEIA region with a strong growth trajectory, and a market ready to embrace super traditional machines 36 DRIVEN

BY EVOLUTION

Hemro Group explains the inspiration behind its renewed corporate identity as it enters the next phase of expansion 38

FORWARD-THINKING

Franke Coffee Systems on key developments for 2023 and how its product range can best meet market needs

GREEN BEAN FEATURE

BUILDING FARMER RESILIENCE

ECOM summarises its group-wide strategic approach to ethical and environmental trading

SMALL FOOTPRINT, MAXIMUM IMPACT

How Flavourtech helps customers reach sustainability goals with its manufacturing processes and engineering knowledge

IMPACT STARTS AT THE SOURCE Sucafina launches IMPACT responsible sourcing program to set common sustainable practices throughout the global supply chain

LAST

WORD

COMPOST COUP Nespresso unveils paper-based compostable capsules to give customers another sustainable choice

Brown Coffee Planet Managing Director

Coffee

Brown

importance

with

Middle East’s strong demand

Jamie

PURPOSE, PRAISE, AND POTENTIAL

ANOTHER YEAR IS upon us, and what I’m most excited about, is its potential. After three years of obstacles and restrictions, this is the first time where the path ahead is open for whatever we want it to be. I am excited to see how companies tackle market consolidation and plans for expansion, what technology will be unveiled to better equip coffee shop owners as they manage volume, and how sustainability will be embraced with carbon neutrality, climate change and deforestation at the top of the industry’s talking points.

Most of all, it’s promising to see how collaborative approaches will be used to tackle the industry’s biggest challenges. This applies to the International Coffee Organization’s International Coffee Agreement, which welcomes the global private and public sectors of coffee to discuss the long-term sustainability of the global coffee sector; and World Coffee Research’s new Innovea breeding project, where for the first time in 50 years, research and trials with other producing countries will be brought to the forefront for maximum impact.

It is a 30-year commitment. When I first heard this timeframe, and that the results of the new coffee crosses will be tested over the next three to seven years, it did spark a hint of fear in my mind. First, for the reality of how old I’ll be, and second, because we edge a little closer to irreversible climate change. We know irregular weather events are becoming more frequent and impactful, but we also know that we can’t afford to wait any longer. The issue of coffee resilience is not a matter of the future, it’s a matter of now.

When I see the way coffee is marketed in the media, the volume of coffee shops that keep popping up, and the way consumers embrace coffee, my mind goes to one question. How can the industry sustain this demand? When I proposed the same question to World Coffee

Research’s CEO Jennifer Vern Long, the short answer was “we cannot”. Unless more investment in breeding new varietals is taken, disease and climate resilience species are created, and new producing regions are found, the future of coffee consumption may look to be synthetic coffee alternatives.

Coffee has a lot of catching up to do. It’s one of the least resourced industries, yet oddly enough, I don’t see George Clooney marketing tomatoes and strawberries which are far more advanced from a breeding perspective.

It’s for this reason that the industry must invest in science and research and participate in radical collaboration if it wants a future. If you’re not already thinking about it, have a read on page 20.

This edition, I’m also excited to share the ambitious future plans of Jamie Brown, CEO of Coffee Planet, who has his finger on the Middle Eastern pulse of expansion. All eyes at set be on the MEIA region this year, but I also hope we find new regions to become excited about, and take this wonderful industry to more people who deserve to experience its joy and sense of community.

This year can be whatever we want it to be. Let’s be creative, bold, and brave about the decisions we make, and use it to make an impact for all the right reasons.

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 DESIGN Daz Woolley, Tom Anderson

ART DIRECTOR Blake Storey blake.storey@primecreative.com.au

DESIGN PRODUCTION MANAGER

Michelle Weston michelle.weston@primecreative.com.au

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AND MARKETING ACCOUNT MANAGER Courtney Walker courtney.walker@primecreative.com.au

CLIENT SUCCESS Ben Griffiths ben.griffiths@primecreative.com.au

PHOTOGRAPHY

Musthafa E.K Photography, Dr Aaron Davis, Charlie Tryon, James Thomas Photography

CONTRIBUTORS

Dr Aaron Davis, Georgina Jerums

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ARTICLES

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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.

NEWS DRIPBYDRIP

ASIA PACIFIC

As of 2021, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) accounted for 9 per cent of the world’s population and 3 per cent of both the world’s gross domestic product (GDP) and agricultural landmass. The GDP per capita at US$5026 in 2021 is at 40 per cent of the world’s level of US$12,473 according to IMF international monetary fund. However, ASEAN’s role within the global coffee industry is even greater. In coffee year 2021/22, the group’s shares of total coffee exports and production are 28 and 27 per cent respectively, with Vietnam being the second largest exporter globally and Indonesia the fourth.

See page 16.

Flavourtech is helping customers achieve their sustainability goals with its manufacturing processes and engineering knowledge. Its Rotating Disc Column can be inserted into the Integrated Extraction System for soluble coffee production, allowing a continuous flow of coffee slurry for high temperature extraction. The slurry is exposed to temperatures between 150° to 180°C for 20 minutes to enable

further hydrolysis to take place. The end result is a premium RTD or soluble product and enhanced aroma at the end of the line.

See page 42.

This year, the Melbourne International Coffee Expo celebrates a decade a business and networking opportunities, and the many exhibitors that make the expo an international success. MICE Show Director Lauren Winterbottom says the 2023 event has “20 per cent of international representatives expected to attend.”

See page 50.

EUROPE

Global Coffee Report invites nine leading industry figures to share their vision, goals and challenges of the global coffee industry in 2023, including Löfbergs CEO Anders Fredriksson, illycaffè Chairman Andrea Illy, Espresso House CEO Anssi Thureson, Gemini Espresso CEO Anton Mianovskyi, Buencafé General Director Cristina Madriñán Rivas, Caffitaly CEO Giuseppe Casareto, World Coffee Research CEO Dr. Jennifer “Vern” Long, Scooter’s Coffee Senior VP of Supply Chain Nick Jarecke, and ICO Executive

Director Vanusia Nogueira. See page 24.

Coffee processing technology giant Probat is launching its first hydrogen-powered shop roaster, the P05, for quotation and delivery from January 2023. Attendees of the Connecting Markets symposium at its headquarters in Emmerich, Germany on 21 and 22 September 2022, received the first look at its inaugural roaster.

See page 32.

In November 2022, Hemro Group expanded its production facility, moving its Italian production site to a new state-of-the-art Anfim factory, located just 10-kilometres from the centre of Milan in Italy. The 2400-square-metre facility marks an important milestone for Hemro Group as it reacts to increased global demand for Anfim with the brand now able to adapt to further global growth.

See page 36.

Franke Coffee Systems anticipates quality coffee and customisation of beverages to be the biggest trends in 2023. CEO Marco Zancolò says in most regions globally, coffee consumption in the Hotel, Restaurant

1500

The number of tonnes of private label coffee sales Coffee Planet produces annually.

Eversys has opened an Experience Lab in Dubai.

Creating new crosses through handpollination at WCR’s Flor Amarilla Research Farm in El Salvador.

and Catering industry is “back to prepandemic levels, judging by the volume of machines sold in 2022.”

See page 38.

For the past 19 years, ECOM has shared a strong partnership with the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development to develop and breed new hybrids. The diversified catalogue of coffee varieties produced, such as popular varietals Marsellesa, and CentroAmerica, offers an unmatched choice to clients and farmers in the ECOM SMS program, a core strategy developed to help manage ECOM’s clients’ sustainability needs.

See page 40.

Sucafina launched its new IMPACT program in Brazil in June 2022. It is designed to benefit farmers, traders, and roasters to create a fair, resilient coffee industry as more brands move towards becoming 100 per cent responsibly sourced between 2025 to 2030.

See page 44.

Dr Aaron Davis at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and colleagues from Uganda have identified the potential of excelsa coffee as a major crop plant in an era of anthropogenic climate

paper pulp from wood fibre, a natural renewable material, compressing it to a coffee capsule using high precision technology, creating another sustainable alternative for Nespresso lovers.

See page 58.

MIDDLE EAST

To date, Dubai-based roaster Coffee Planet produces private label coffee and consumables for more than 20 international and local clients across 59 countries, and sources coffee from more than 23 countries. It processes more than 1500 tonnes of private label coffee sales annually. Managing Director Jamie Brown says the company finished 2022 as its strongest year to date, and is confident business could double, if not triple in size, in the next few years.

See page 8.

Swiss espresso machine manufacturer Eversys has opened the Eversys Experience Lab in Dubai with the intention of boosting interactions with the evolving MEIA coffee community. Prominent coffee roasters to partner with Eversys in Saudi Arabia include Camel Step, The Coffee Address,

Bebax Coffee, and Caffeine Lab. By the end of 2022, Eversys sold upwards of 200 machines to Saudi customers, and in just one year, India has become its second biggest market. Further growth is expected in 2023 thanks to increased population growth in the Middle East.

See page 34.

STH AMERICA

Fertiliser price spikes “definitely affected” amounts and ratios used in farms, especially during first half of 2022 as prices went “through the roof”, according to coffee expert Albert Scalla from commodity brokerage StoneX.

Although the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture took great steps to secure more fertiliser in 2021-2022 than in previous years, as concerns from the looming conflict in Ukraine exacerbated global fertiliser prices during the initial months of the war, Scalla says it’s still a tough time for farmers in Brazil and other countries. Prices reached $1200 to $1400 metric tonnes, before easing down to the current figure of $650 per metric tonne as of 10 December 2022, but that’s still more than double from the lows.

See page 13.

World Coffee Research (WCR) has launched a new global breeding network that strategically brings together producing countries to transform coffee breeding. As part of WCR’s membership, more than 200 coffee companies worldwide are funding the Innovea network, estimated to be multi-million-dollar investment over a 30-year commitment. Depending on the performance of the material, some countries could release new varieties as early as 2033. Most however, will take several more years due to the breeding process lasting anywhere between 10 to 30 years for finished variety development.

See page 20.

90.8%

The proportion of green bean coffee exported from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations out of all forms of coffee in 2021, according to a market report from the International Coffee Organization.

Sucafina’s IMPACT program is designed to help create a fair, resilient coffee industry.

planet ONE

a world of opportunity

COFFEE PLANET MANAGING DIRECTOR

JAMIE BROWN ON THE IMPORTANCE OF BUILDING COMPANY CULTURE, EXPLORING NEW MARKETS, AND GROWING IN LINE WITH THE MIDDLE EAST’S STRONG DEMAND FOR SPECIALTY COFFEE.

By Sarah Baker

spiring actors travel to Los Angeles for their big break, while musicians make their fortune in New York, but for British-born Jamie Brown, it was Dubai’s melting pot of culture and creativity that he craved.

“Moving to the Middle East had been something I wanted to do for about 15 years. Dubai in particular is such a unique place. There are so many people here of different cultures and nationalities. People are still coming in, bringing their experiences from their home country, and wanting to create a home here. There is a rich blend of differences, and that’s what makes it an exciting destination,” Brown tells Global Coffee Report

Brown had actively watched the progression of up-and-coming roaster Coffee Planet via social media platforms and despite it being a smaller organisation than the companies he had previously worked for – Mars Incorporated, Selecta, and Lavazza Professional – he was attracted to its potential.

“Each company I’ve worked for has taught me values and ethics on how to make decisions as an organisation based on people principles,” Brown says.

“Even during my time in the British Army, one of the key lessons I took from the military into the corporate world, is the value of professionalism. [The Army] is all about teamwork and it’s the same in business. No one person can change the trajectory of the company. Everyone plays a part. People are the most important part of your business.”

Brown had a successful meeting with Coffee Planet’s Chairman at the start of 2020 in Cardiff, the United Kingdom. Wheels were set in motion to move to the company’s head office in Dubai until the global pandemic put those plans on pause. Brown finally made his long-time dream a reality at the start of 2022.

“COVID happened but it didn’t dampen my desire to join the business,” he says. “I looked at the company nearly three years ago to understand what Coffee Planet is and what it can do, and I look at it today and still see huge amounts of potential for where this business can go.”

Coffee Planet launched in 2005 on the Arabian Peninsula at a time when the local coffee landscape looked very different to how it does today. Brown described its offering as “specialty coffee on-the-go to customers on their journey to-and-from work”, via convenience stores and contracts with two of the United Arab Emirate’s largest petrol station companies. The business grew, as did its volume, but a realisation also occurred – “it was running the risk of having all its eggs in one basket”.

“As a business we needed to diversify and bring in modern new channels to embrace a diversifying

Images: Musthafa E.K Photography

and digital world with changing expectations of customer experience. While we now have a footprint in multiple channels, I still see us as having quite a light penetration across the board. My goal is to build depth in each of the eight channels we operate across,” Brown says.

The channels include convenience stores, food service, office coffee supply, hotels, retail, international distribution, Coffee Planet coffee shop franchising, and at the heart of the business, its roasting facility, which has opened to private label partnering. It is capable of producing in excess of 300 tonnes of coffee and three million capsules per month.

“[Coffee Planet has] built a great story already, and there are multiple projects underway, but we have such a huge opportunity,” Brown says.

“We’ve got a great bunch of people and the skill levels we have across our organisation is fantastic. The next steps are about making sure the company has the right systems, processes, structure, and strategy in place to achieve the desired growth.”

COVID forced Coffee Planet to become “lean” through some tough decisions. It kept the talent it could, re-evaluated its strengths, and questioned who it wanted to be as an organisation so that when the time was right, it could “be ready to sprint out of the blocks”.

“When I look at the structure of the business, I look at the team that we have today, and the team we need tomorrow to deliver on the strategy. Then I need to make sure that we’re doing everything efficiently. It’s about continuous improvement. We’re not perfect,” Brown says. “The question is, how do we make ourselves stronger in every area of the business? How can we make every single element that we do better, and improve what we do? We want our customers to enjoy every moment with us. It’s our job to serve that experience perfectly.”

To honour that experience in a sustainable way, Coffee Planet launched its Green Team initiative in 2022, a clear plan for how it tackles environmental issues such as ethical sourcing and waste management. For example, through its most recent partnership with The Waste Lab, Coffee Planet aims to repurpose and compost organic coffee waste by diverting it from landfill where it generates methane gases.

CRITICAL CULTURE

Brown says while he can create the right strategy and structure within the company, and make efficiencies, culture underpins everything the company does.

“Through our growth over the years, we have evolved from being a successful family business to a prominent small and medium-sized enterprise. As we begin to enter the next phase of growth, we need to have the right structures and culture in place otherwise you can get left behind,” Brown says.

Critical to the fabric of Brown’s decision-making are his core pillars, best described as a “pyramid structure” divided into three sections.

The biggest piece of the pyramid is the base level, “talent and engagement”, which Brown believes is the foundation to everything that will help drive the business forward. It is based around investing and developing people and includes open communication, transparency, formal and informal training of staff, and evolving the identity of the organisation.

The middle of the pyramid is split into three areas: standards and expectations of staff, customers and consumers; recognition and reward; and accountability and ownership.

Top of the pillar pyramid, is growth. Put simply, Brown says if all the lower layers of the pyramid can be fulfilled, that’s when Coffee Planet will naturally excel and grow.

“If we get it right, we will deliver growth. We’ve built a great reputation here in the UAE and wider region, so now I am also looking at where else can we benefit from replicating our business model into other markets, and potentially roast in the markets where we already distribute and have a strong presence and reputation,” Brown says, noting Saudi Arabia’s “huge market potential” in line with its Vision 2030 strategic framework.

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS

A focus area for Coffee Planet is the growth of its franchise operations. In the UAE, Coffee Planet franchise stores have grown over the past few years in partnership with

Dash Hospitality Group. Key partners in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, the UK, and Egypt will contribute to further growth plans with more potential franchise partners poised to bring Coffee Planet to their shores.

“Our franchise coffee shops are a window to the business. It’s a selling tool. If we get it right, it then opens us up for distribution of products to hotels, food service and retail in different markets,” Brown says.

Coffee Planet’s ideal customer, quite simply, is a repeat customer, someone who wants to try the product again and again. If that can be achieved, Brown says he’ll know he’s on the right path.

“The build-up to 2019 was consistent growth each year throughout our history and 2019 was our strongest year ever. Then we got hit by COVID. I started [2022] thinking ‘let’s get back to 2019 figures’. I am excited to share that we finished 2022 as our strongest year ever. While this gives me encouragement, I’m already looking ahead at 2023 and beyond,” he says.

Brown credits UAE’s strong recovery from COVID and rising visitor numbers, which he says went “through the roof” in 2022. “It’s really bounced back as a region and a destination, which is having a positive knock-on effect to our hotels and food service channels,” he says.

Dubai has a rich coffee history dating back around 500 years. The city is saturated with coffee shop options and competitor brands, but the gamechanger, Brown says, has been the introduction of specialty coffee, and the demand for it.

“The coffee shop landscape is changing. While people still see it as cool and trendy to go to certain coffee shops, as time has gone on, people are really understanding and wanting more from their coffee experience. Consumers are expecting to have a great experience, perfect coffee, and exceptional customer service, and this is key to obtaining a repeat customer – my favourite type of customer,” he says.

As such, Coffee Planet has a bi-weekly meeting to discuss new product development and question how it can retain, grow, and attract new customers.

Because of Dubai’s growing reputation, Brown says there is also growing interest from international brands wanting to enter the region, such as those in the United States, UK, and Australia. Many are looking to set-up or build upon their presence in the UAE and are doing so through Coffee Planet’s private label business, and the support of its local roasting facilities.

“This is a very fast-growing part of our business,” Brown says. “[Businesses] see the quality of what we produce with our own brand and put their trust in us to make sure we produce it to the same high level for their brand, and in line with their needs.”

To date, Coffee Planet produces private label coffee and consumables for more than 20 international and local clients across 59 countries, and sources coffee from more than 23 countries. It processes more than 1500 tonnes of private label coffee sales annually.

While Brown alludes to the company’s “light footprint” in multiple channels, it’s here in the private label sector he sees depth to what the company does.

“If we get the right strategy and partners in place, and our core pillars right, I’m confident our business could double, if not triple in size in the next few years. I really do believe that,” he says.

SET TO SOAR

January 2023 marks Brown’s one-year anniversary in his role as Coffee Planet Managing Director, and he’s still smiling. He acknowledges there’s still lots to do, but what’s important, is that Coffee Planet now has the foundation to support the business in achieving its next steps of growth.

“I am confident about the opportunity here with the business as I was three years ago when I first had a conversation with my team about what we could do together,” Brown says. “I think as a region, not even as a business, we’re scratching the surface of where we can go, and it’s super exciting to see where it’s heading.”

“HOW DO WE MAKE OURSELVES STRONGER IN EVERY AREA OF THE BUSINESS? HOW CAN WE MAKE EVERY SINGLE ELEMENT THAT WE DO BETTER, AND IMPROVE WHAT WE DO?”

Jamie Brown Managing Director, Coffee Planet

Price crunch

FROM BRAZIL TO VIETNAM TO KENYA, RISING FERTILISER

PRICES ARE TIGHTENING THE BELTS OF COFFEE FARMERS. GLOBAL COFFEE REPORT EXAMINES THE CURRENT STATE OF PLAY, THE IMPACT OF WAR, AND WHY MONEY DOES TALK.

It has been a white-knuckle ride for coffee producers around the globe of late. Sky-high fertiliser prices – compounded by Latin America La Niña weather extremes decimating harvests, China curbing phosphate exports to protect its own agricultural industry, the global pandemic impacting shipping, and European Union sanctions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to New Europe reports – have tested the mettle of growers. So much so, that the fertiliser price spike has been dubbed by finance analyst Bloomberg as a “mega emergency”.

At the crux of the matter is that coffee farmers need to pay sustained above-average prices for fertiliser exports to create high nutrient soil to optimise bean yield.

The result? Financially struggling coffee growers – particularly small-scale ones in developing countries such as the world’s largest coffee producer Brazil, the world’s second largest coffee producer Vietnam, and Kenya – are using less or no fertiliser at all, translating to lower yields, smaller-sized plants, and poorer green bean quality for the next harvest.

PRICES “THROUGH THE ROOF”

Fertiliser price spikes “definitely affected” amounts and ratios used in farms, especially during the first half of 2022 as prices went “through the roof”, according to coffee expert Albert Scalla from commodity brokerage StoneX. “Costs have cut into their profitability, even with the sharp rise in coffee prices. Several origins report reduced use of fertilisers by coffee farmers, which inevitably will be reflected in the future in terms of yields and farm productivity.”

Scalla has seen this first hand, having returned from an extensive crop tour in Brazil in December 2022 with co-operatives, agronomers, and farmers.

Brazilian coffee producers, he says, are needing to look for ways to minimise costs associated with fertiliser price spikes by being more attentive to the exact needs of the farms. This means conducting “more extensive soil analysis, applying only the minimum needed doses of nutrients and

looking for substitutes such as more organic matter”.

Although the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture took great steps to secure more fertiliser in 2021-2022 than in previous years, as concerns from the looming conflict in Ukraine exacerbated global fertiliser prices during the initial months of the war, Scalla says it’s still a tough time for farmers in Brazil and other countries.

Reason being is that many farmers in developing countries don’t have funds to lock in prices and stockpile fertiliser supplies to buffer against future price hikes.

“Unfortunately, fertiliser price hedging is still a novelty in the coffee producing community; it’s hardly used at all,” admits Scalla. “When prices reached lows of $267 per metric tonnes – some of the lowest levels after the pandemic – neither producers, cooperatives or government entities took advantage to lock in prices, even with our multiple StoneX advisories and reports sent out. Prices have since reached $1200 to $1400 metric tonnes, before easing down to the current figure of

$650 per metric tonne (as of 10 December 2022), but that’s still more than double from the lows.”

WAR FALLOUT

There’s no quick fertiliser price hike fix in sight as the war drags on, which is not ideal given Russia is one of the world’s leading producers and exporters of fertiliser.

A report from the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations notes that in 2021, Russia ranked as the world’s top exporter of nitrogen fertilisers, the second leading supplier of potassic fertilisers, and the third largest exporter of phosphorous fertilisers.

As Josh Linville, Vice President for StoneX told The Washington Post “The Russia-Ukraine conflict is another black swan in a pond full of black swans”.

Yet, in an update to

in December 2022, Linville conceded the war in Ukraine had a lesser impact than previously expected. “When companies started pulling out of Russia in response to the invasion, it was feared that sizeable fertiliser exports would vanish. However, as Russia has played politics with their fertiliser exports, flows have continued and have helped lower price ideas,” Linville says.

As to how challenging it is to access fertiliser for coffee at the moment, he says “the situation is not as dire as it was in the fourth quarter of 2021 and the first quarter of 2022, but fears continue to persist. European nitrogen production issues continue today, and Chinese/Russian exports are questionable, going forward. The market has been more steady but is far from normal.”

Rising fertiliser prices for coffee continue to affect producers right now, Linville notes, because “simply put, it costs more to grow coffee and these costs are likely to be passed down to end users in the form of higher coffee prices”.

“Fortunately, phosphate and potash values have fallen steadily since late March/early April with phosphate down approximately a third and potash down 40 per cent. Nitrogen values have seen price pressure recently with Middle Eastern price ideas down approximately 25 per cent since early September,” Linville says.

“Our message to the industry has continued to be risk management in the form of locking in both inputs (fertiliser) and outputs (coffee sales). Securing only one side or the other of that equation causes more risk. Locking in both sides secures the value and helps to hedge an extremely volatile marketplace.”

João Moraes, Director of Food Chain and Global Key Accounts at Yara, a global Brazilian fertiliser company, acknowledges the European conflict and resulting sanctions has cast a long shadow.

“The war in Ukraine has negatively impacted businesses and industries worldwide. The gas price has skyrocketed, which has a direct impact on the European fertiliser industry. As a result, Yara and other ammonia producers have had to curtail some production in Europe,” he says.

Although Yara has been able to respond to the war by relying on its global production system, importing ammonia for fertiliser production to allow it to still serve customers worldwide, Moraes concedes there’s no question the war is adding to the threat to global food security: “We need urgent and massive investments in renewables to reduce dependency on Russia and to decarbonise the fertiliser industry and make it more resilient in the future.”

To do that, Moraes sees a strong opportunity for coffee producers to tap into demand for carbon reduction and regenerative agriculture practices.

“There are no ‘green’ coffee supply chains with farmers’ business in ‘the red’. Farmers can be the best environmental agents. Promote a positive ‘coffee ecosystem’ by working close to your coffee suppliers in order to secure [not only] farmer income, [but also to attain] coffee security of supply (volume and quality), [plus] fair distribution of wealth and development of relevant stakeholders to increase production safety, the research pipeline, technification and rural extension,” he says.

“Farmers can only make money at the peak of quotations if they have coffee fruits to harvest,” Moraes says. “Crop nutrition is responsible for short-term results in yield and quality. Lack of balanced nutrition can also incur yield and quality reductions that might impact farmer living income. The global average production is 16 bags per hectare while Brazil and Vietnam have averages of 30 and 40 bags per hectare respectively. There is no way to reduce carbon emissions

Lucia Ortiz of IWCA El Salvador.

Carolina Mathies Hill of IWCA El Salvador.

Joao Moraes of Yara.

Albert Scalla of StoneX.

In El Salvador, rising fertiliser prices means some producers are only applying a small amount of fertiliser to plants, or nothing at all.

FEATURE Fertiliser focus

in coffee without filling yield gaps. Cutting fertiliser as an input means deforesting new areas to attend to the growing demand and keeping farmers in poverty.”

DEVELOPING COUNTRIES SNAPSHOT

The challenge, however, is that coffee farmers in developing countries struggle to afford the fertiliser they need to make their soil nutrient rich to ensure their crops thrive. You need to invest money to make money, in other words.

That’s the dilemma facing the International Women’s Coffee Alliance (IWCA), a network of 14,000-plus members working throughout the coffee value chain worldwide, who are feeling the pinch of higher fertiliser prices.

“Costs are so high that our budgets have been affected surpassing any profit-earning capacity. To keep our farms in proper conditions, with expected yields and to prevent layoffs, we’ve been forced to inject more capital knowing our return is far from a fair price,” says Carolina Mathies Hill from IWCA El Salvador. “The costs and commercial structure for most coffee farmers are a pressing matter, diminishing our country’s production and forcing the bankruptcy of many producers.”

Lucia Ortiz from IWCA El Salvador concurs: “Rising agricultural prices on fertiliser have affected a lot of our producers by only applying a small amount of fertiliser to the plants, not applying anything at all or having to look for other type of fertilisation more organic.”

This scaling back, she explains, has led to an increase in coffee rust, anthacnosis disease, and a need for producers to spend more money on traps and fungicides. Her tip for coffee farmers? Give the plant at least 50 per cent what it needs and then try to add some organic products like pulp, dry fruits or foliar. It’s another way to feed the plant and is not as expensive as the granulated products. Also, clean the farm so you don’t get too much competition between weeds and coffee trees, and allow both 50 per cent light and shade because if you have more sunlight, you need more fertiliser.

Meanwhile, in Guatemala, fertiliser prices have risen over 70 per cent since the war began, notes IWCA Guatemala representative Ana María Bonifasi.

“Not only does this affect the bottom line of farmers, but it’s also causing many smaller

or financially-strained farms to abandon fertilising altogether,” Bonifasi says. “This affects nutritional quality of the soil, creating poorer coffee cherries in the long run.”

She says it will disenfranchise already struggling farms in countries where mechanical production isn’t possible, like Guatemala, furthering the gap between mega coffee farmers at low altitudes and higher altitude smaller producers who rely on high quality coffees to find buyers who will pay more for their crops.

“Most fertilisers use natural gas in their creation and since the war sanctions heavily include natural gas, not as much fertiliser is being created, lowering supply and raising prices,” says Bonifasi. “Not only is fertiliser more expensive to produce, but there’s less of it. It’s in low supply, but since fewer farms are buying it, it’s still somewhat accessible. You need the capital to buy it though: something many farms simply don’t have.”

Bonifasi’s final advice to coffee farmers is to be more efficient with fertiliser, making sure it’s being precisely applied. And embrace the worm route: “get into more affordable vermicompost as soon as possible.” GCR

Global Brazilian fertiliser company Yara says the European conflict and resulting sanctions has cast a long shadow on fertiliser access and prices.

A lack of balanced nutrition can incur yield and quality reductions that might impact farmer living income.

ASEAN on the move

THE INTERNATIONAL

EXPLORES ASEAN’S PLACE IN THE WORLD COFFEE INDUSTRY AND ITS DYNAMIC CONTRIBUTION TO THE GLOBAL ECONOMY.

s of 2021, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) accounted for 9 per cent of the world’s population and 3 per cent of both the world’s gross domestic product (GDP) and agricultural landmass. The GDP per capita at US$5026 in 2021 is at 40 per cent of the world’s level of US$12,473 according to IMF international monetary fund (see figure 1). However, ASEAN’s role within the global coffee industry is even greater. In coffee year 2021/22, the group’s shares of total coffee exports and production were 28 and 27 per cent respectively, with Vietnam being the second largest exporter globally and Indonesia the fourth.

Despite these stellar indicators, the main features of the ASEAN coffee industry are relatively unknown, especially on the demand side of the global coffee industry, with the focus continuing to remain on the mature markets of the European Union (EU), the United States (US) and Japan, despite the global base of coffee consumption having significantly broadened within the past three decades. ASEAN’s coffee consumption, comprising 10 member countries – Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam – stands at 13.9 million 60-kilogram bags, or 8 per cent of the world’s consumption, according to 2021/22 ICO statistics (see figure 2). These figures are likely to continue rising within the traditionally tea-consuming countries providing new market opportunities for coffee producers.

ASEAN’S RISING CONSUMPTION

Changes in global coffee consumption when broken down into two groups – ASEAN and the rest of the world – are significant (see figure 3). Coffee consumption in ASEAN has grown at a faster average annual growth rate (AAGR) of 15 per cent compared to the rest of the world, which grew at only 3 per cent annually between coffee years 1990/91 and 2021/22. This has led ASEAN’s coffee consumption to increase by more than five-and-half folds as compared with just under two folds for the rest of the world. As a result, ASEAN’s share of global coffee consumption has increased to 8.1 per cent in 2021/22 from 2.8 per cent in 1990/91 according to ICO data.

A closer look at individual markets over the past decade shows that four markets together (Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam) account for a 90 per cent share of total consumption of the region in coffee year 2021/22. Meanwhile, corresponding to the period between coffee years 2010/11 and 2021/22, the four countries have seen their coffee consumption increase at an AAGR of between 5 and 8 per cent (see figure 4).

The combined coffee consumption of the four countries has increased by 4.7 million bags in the past 11 years. In other words, ASEAN countries are now drinking an additional 645.5 million cups of coffee per day.

Over the same period, the increase in daily cups of coffee consumed in India and Japan has increased by only 2.2 million cups and 3.6 million cups respectively. Furthermore, the AAGR of ASEAN compares remarkably well with that of mature markets – 0.6 per cent of the same period for the European Union and 2.3 per cent against the rest of the world.

In macroeconomic terms, coffee consumption is dependent upon two main factors: population and wealth. The former

COFFEE ORGANIZATION

Figure 3

2 Figure 4 dictates the basic level of demand, while the latter dictates the intensity of that level of demand and, for both cases, the relationships are positive. The bigger and higher the population and wealth, the greater the coffee consumption. The relationship between population level and absolute volume of coffee consumption is clearly apparent with the four aforementioned markets also being the four most populous ASEAN countries. For example, Indonesia and the Philippines, with a consumption of 5.0 million and 3.3 million bags respectively, for coffee year 2021/22, are the fourth and 10th largest markets in the world. Vietnam is the 13th largest coffee consumer in the world, with Thailand further behind in 22nd position.

Coffee consumption per capita is diverse within ASEAN, with Brunei and Singapore at the upper spectrum of 8.2 kilograms and 5.3 kilograms respectively, and Cambodia and Myanmar at the lowest at 0.13 kilograms and 0.1 kilograms. For these countries, the population-volume of coffee rule does not apply. Instead, the wealth-volume of coffee rule applies. The former two countries had the highest GDP per kilogram at US$31,545 and US$72,789, respectively in 2021, while the latter two had the lowest at US$1662 and US$1217, respectively.

The consumption per capita of ASEAN’s four largest consumers ranges between 1.1-1.8 kilograms, with an average GDP per kilogram at US$4724. ASEAN’s consumption per capita encapsulates the interplay between wealth-population and coffee consumption.

It is thus apparent that a convergence of consumption per capita among the ASEAN nations is more than likely to occur. It is, however, unlikely to reach the level currently attained by Brunei or Singapore in the medium-to-longer-term.

Coffee consumption per capita for ASEAN is 1.2 kilograms and looking to its Northeast neighbours might offer a better indication of the region’s future (see figure 5). South Korea had a GDP per kilogram of US$35,041 and coffee consumption per capita at 3.2 kilograms, while Japan’s numbers were US$ 39,301 and 3.5 kilograms respectively, in 2021. Attaining these levels will increase ASEAN’s per capita coffee consumption by almost three-folds, or, in absolute terms, increase to approximately 27 million bags.

As a region, ASEAN has surplus production, with an average 24 million bags of green beans available for export beyond its boundaries over the past seven years. Unsurprisingly, in coffee year 2021/22, Vietnam had the biggest surplus production, followed by Indonesia, while the Philippines had the largest deficit at just over 3.0 million bags according to ICO data.

IMPORT PENETRATION

Despite the large surplus, the region is subject to a relatively large import penetration from outside its boundaries, averaging 2.3 million bags over for all forms of coffee since 2015 (see figure 6). The fact that the region is subject to import penetration is no surprise, especially for a consumable product such as coffee. Tastes and preferences for food vary by person, within a country and even within a single family. The taste of an agricultural product, furthermore, is subject to microclimates, including soil conditions and type, all of which lend a unique taste to a specific location-product. Thus, consumers within ASEAN will seek to drink coffee that originates from outside its boundaries and therefore imports of such

coffees are not surprising.

The main form of coffee imported into ASEAN from beyond its boundaries is soluble coffee, despite the region being home to a part of the most vibrant soluble coffee industry and investments (see figure 7). Local taste, especially for the three-in-one mix coffee for at-home-drinking, is reflected in soluble coffee’s majority share of coffee imports by forms, despite ASEAN being a coffee producing region and having a thriving local coffee culture built around the “kopi” and coffee sock. It is noteworthy that the Philippines and Thailand are net importers of soluble coffee, the former importing 2.1 million more bags than its exports. In fact, the Philippines is the single largest importer of soluble coffee in the world, with the average volume imported in the past three coffee years to 2020/21 at 2.48 million bags, slightly higher than the US’s average imports at 2.4 million in second place, and Russia’s at 2.2 million in third spot.

A clear majority of green beans are sourced from Central and South America (average of 2016-2020), although even within the top 10 the origins of the coffee are scattered from all

around the world, including North America (see figure 8). Within the soluble coffee category, the preponderance of non-coffee producing countries in the top 10 is immediately apparent, despite Brazil and India, coffee producing countries, taking up the top two positions and holding a 77 per cent share of soluble coffee imports (see figure 9). Of course, the positions of Brazil and India are a reflection of their standing as the first and third biggest exporters of soluble coffee among all coffee producing countries, while South Korea’s third spot and 7 per cent share of the imports is perhaps a reflection of the country’s status as the inventor of the three-in-one mix coffee – Dongsuh Food in 1976 – and 25,400 tonnes output of instant coffee.

EXPORTS OF GREEN BEANS

Green beans are the main form of coffee exports from ASEAN, accounting for 90.8 per cent of all forms of coffee in 2021 (see figure 10). However, it is clearly noticeable that the share of green beans has been steadily declining. In fact, the share had fallen by over six percentage points from 2010 to 2021, losing to soluble coffee.

Green beans from ASEAN were exported to 116 countries in 2016-19 (see figure 11). The top 10 destinations accounted for 75.7 per cent of the total exports, and are populated by noncoffee producing and mature coffee drinking countries. Within the ASEAN region, the EU has concluded free trade agreements (FTA) with Singapore and Vietnam which entered into force in November 2019 and August 2020, respectively. The EU officially launched negotiations with Indonesia on 18 July 2016, and 11th round was held from 8 to 12 November 2021. These FTAs are sure to help to increase coffee exports from ASEAN to the largest coffee market in the world.

ONE TO WATCH

The coffee industry of ASEAN is a dynamic one, punching above its macroeconomic weight in regard to production and export, with a substantial surplus with which it supplies the world with coffee. It is also, however, underdeveloped in terms of consumption, with a consumption

per capita that is significantly below its more developed north-easterly neighbours, in relation to coffee consumption. This offers a tremendous opportunity for origins within ASEAN, and for origins outside the region.

To further highlight the importance of ASEAN to the global coffee market, the International Coffee Organization and the ASEAN Coffee Federation signed a joint declaration on 11 December 2022 in Hanoi, Vietnam to reinforce the cooperation between the federation and the organisation towards a sustainable and prosperous coffee sector in the ASEAN. This cooperation will take place under the sign of a strengthened participation of all key regional actors in the sector transformation process of the ICO Coffee Public Private Task Force. This will help ensure the inclusivity and the sustainability of the coffee value chain within the coming years. GCR

ABOUT US

This article was prepared by the ICO Statistics Section: Dock No, Statistical Coordinator, a commodity industry expert with more than 20 years of experience; and Alexander Rocos, ICO Associate Statistician.

Future proofing

COLLABORATION

ON COFFEE

BREEDING IN 50 YEARS. GLOBAL COFFEE REPORT EXPLORES THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE INNOVEA GLOBAL COFFEE BREEDING NETWORK AND HOW IT WILL ACCELERATE CLIMATE RESILIENCE AND LONG-TERM COFFEE SUPPLIES.

ake a second to think about the world’s coffee supply in 30 years’ time. What will it look like? Will the market’s dominant players remain dominant? How will the impact of climate change alter coffee production? Will we be drinking real coffee at all, or will synthetic coffee take over?

With an urgent need to accelerate the pace of genetic improvement in coffee on a global scale, World Coffee Research (WCR) has launched a new global breeding network that strategically brings together producing countries to transform coffee breeding.

Titled Innovea, a portmanteau of “innovation” and “coffea”, the program’s unique collaborative design will enable nine participating countries – Costa Rica, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Peru, Rwanda, Uganda, and the United States – to tackle the challenges of climate change together while maintaining their individual competitive positions.

“Accelerating the development of better varieties is absolutely essential for tackling climate change,” says WCR CEO Dr Jennifer “Vern” Long.

“Coffee faces a crisis of innovation that makes the industry’s sustainability, quality, and supply assurance goals impossible to achieve if we stay on the path we are on. But as we have seen with COVID-19, incredible solutions to urgent, global problems are made possible with scientific collaboration.”

As part of WCR’s membership, more than 200 coffee companies worldwide are funding the Innovea network, estimated to be multi-million-dollar investment with a 30-year timeline.

“Developing varieties and variety improvement programs are fundamentally the most highleverage investment you can make, and when undertaken at a global scale, we achieve the maximum amount of value for everyone across the network,” says Long.

“We’re enabling sharing and collaboration, facilitating meetings, bringing partners together to talk about techniques and priorities, and having conversations that haven’t happened before.

We’ve got breeders in Kenya who haven’t met breeders in Uganda – neighbouring countries – and they are very keen to learn from each other, not to mention India and Costa Rica.”

The network gives participating countries unrestricted access to new genetic materials, training in modern breeding approaches, and shared tools, while also connecting researchers across national boundaries to achieve results that would be impossible for programs working in isolation.

Long says one of the most important reasons Innovea is a global initiative opposed to a national one, is because of the value it drives and resilience it allows.

“This is the kind of model you need to actually be climate resilient,” she says. “No country knows what the future holds for them. There’s tremendous uncertainty 50 years out from now. Any variety we develop in this program is going to be going in the ground 10 to 20 years from now, and then it’s going to be producing coffee for 20 to 30 years after that. The choices we make today will, to a

Creating new crosses through handpollination at WCR’s Flor Amarilla Research Farm in El Salvador.

large degree, determine coffee supply in 50 years’ time.”

Long notes that Southern India’s current rising temperatures, humidity levels and shade methods, for example, could be the reality of other producing countries such as Peru or Indonesia in the years ahead.

“By having the material tested in India now, you have confidence that this material is going to succeed if the country’s [climate] changes. That’s why a global program like this drives value. Even if you had the smartest people and all the money in the world, working in a small country like Guatemala, you only have limited environmental variation. Working in only one country, you can never achieve the variability you get from a global network – or the resilience that comes from that,” she says.

AN INDUSTRY IN NEED OF DEVELOPMENT

Innovea’s launch marks the first global infusion of new breeding materials to coffee producing countries in more than 50 years.

In the late 1960s, coffee researchers at Centro de Investigação das Ferrugens do Cafeeiro (CIFC) in Portugal developed and distributed plants that were resistant to coffee leaf rust disease, to all major breeding programs around the world. These materials became the basis for most coffee breeding over the next half century, creating billions of dollars of benefit for farmers and helping sustain global supply in the face of multiple cycles of epidemic disease.

Today, WCR says that most Arabica origins globally continue to lean heavily on this single, 50-year-old program of innovation, alongside other fragmented national breeding efforts, which also often lack funding, training, and access to better genetic material.

“Each country has been doing their own

thing in isolation, and what that’s amounted to in many cases is one breeder, a small collection of material they work with, and doing a few crosses in very traditional ways,” says Dr Tania Humphrey, WCR Director of Research and Development. “These breeding programs are bare bones in terms of capacity and technology application, and they’re not really operating at a level that will ensure a stable supply of coffee for the next 100 years given the urgency of climate change. We don’t often realise it, but the future of coffee depends on these programs thriving, and they are not thriving right now.”

Prior to working with WCR, Humphrey spent the past 13 years working in the horticultural sector, observing fruit and vegetable breeding programs in developed countries where there’s lots of investment in technology and high-capacity output.

“In many cases breeding takes place to service consumers in the country. Wine grape breeding for example happens in developed countries where there’s lots of resources to do it. In coffee, it’s not the case,” she says. “You have consuming countries where all the money and resources are and producing countries where the farming happens. The investments in farming, agriculture, and variety development are happening in producing countries that don’t have the resources. This structural separation in the industry has been a real barrier to investing in innovation.”

It’s for this reason that Humphrey recognises coffee as one of the least resourced industries. “Apple breeding is not using 100-year-old agricultural techniques, neither is strawberry breeding.

Every other commodity market is making foundational investments. It’s a routinely normal thing in agriculture, but unfortunately coffee has a lot of catching up to do, largely because of the separation between coffee consumption and production,” she says.

Thankfully, WCR is the bridge attempting to join the pieces together and help flow resources, investments, and coordination to the whole coffee breeding process.

Humphrey says previously, it’s been difficult to move coffee varietals between country borders but thankfully in negotiating this new network, the doors have opened to a pre-competitive solution.

“In any plant breeding space people like to lock down and own their varieties, and in coffee that’s layered with all kinds of cultural pieces as well, so there hasn’t been much movement of material. But we’ve been able to navigate that and the network partners have stepped up to share material, as well as work together and use combined efforts for the common good,” she says.

The network is designed to be both collaborative and competitive, where individual countries can pick and choose and finish-off their varieties according to what they see as their market advantage, or their specific farmer needs.

“Coffee is consolidating worldwide. You’ve got three top producers in the world and other countries not keeping up, partly because of innovation and access to the right technologies, such as in agronomic practices, and fertiliser technology, even automation. Access to the [right] varietals is critical to increase and maximise production, and for some producing countries, they’ve maxed out what they can achieve with their resources, so there’s a real need to keep the diverse supply of coffee across many more countries other than the top three or four producers,” Humphrey says.

To change this long-standing pattern, WCR is infusing many new resources to give lessequipped producing countries the opportunity to step up.

“We need to develop varieties that are more competitive for these countries and can adapt to

WCR’s Flor Amarilla Research Farm in El Salvador, one of 11 sites globally where Innovea plants will be tested.

new pests and disease pressures, climate change, shifting environments, increased frost events, droughts, and higher temperatures,” Humphrey says.

“If we keep growing the same varieties, you’re not going to get the best performance out of these agricultural systems.”

MANY NETWORKS, ONE COMMON GOAL Innovea has been about two years in the making, but for the past decade, WCR has laid the groundwork with its partners to build trust and drive science-based agricultural solutions to secure a diverse and sustainable supply of quality coffee.

“We couldn’t have done this coming fresh out of the gate. It’s really been a process of building those relationships, figuring out what the needs are, and how we pull this together,” Humphrey says.

Through the Innovea network, WCR will create new, improved breeding populations using modern genomic selection approaches that participating countries can use without restrictions. Depending on the performance of the material, some countries could release new varieties as early as 2033. Most however, will take several more years due to the breeding process lasting anywhere between 10 to 30 years for finished variety development, depending on the breeding approach used. After that, new varieties can be released in a country as often as every three to five years.

To date, two technical workshops of participating countries have already taken place. The first crosses for the network have been completed, with the best commercial varieties from Africa, Asia, and the Americas breeding with the “best of the best” to develop new combinations and new material.

The crossing plan brings together high-priority traits such as yield, disease resistance, and cup quality. These seeds from these original crosses will then be collected and distributed in 2023 to all network partners (national research institutions or delegate bodies) to germinate and plant in individual countries.

Data on plant performance and genetic information will be evaluated over the next few years. WCR will aggregate, analyse, and send the results back to each country to allow them to choose the best material to work with for commercial release.

Multiple improved crosses and cycles are expected to be made every six years at WCR’s

Flor Amarilla research farm in El Salvador, and the Center for Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education (CATIE) in Costa Rica. “We’re really just starting this journey,” Humphrey says.

The good news is that in the next two decades, multiple countries will have a basket of improved varieties that are more productive and climate resilient, better tasting, and more diverse than all of today’s current varieties.

“If we keep going without action, individual breeders trying to keep up with production for their country are not going to be able to achieve it. They’re not now, and it’s only going to get worse. Brazil, Colombia, and Vietnam are just going to become the world’s coffee producers and we’re not going to be able to compete in all these other diverse origins,” Humphrey says.

WCR CEO Long points to Vietnam as a successful example of a country that was once “completely outside coffee production in the ‘80s to now a dominant economic source”.

“Vietnam is proof that targeted and dedicated investment in technology and its farmers can succeed,” Long says.

She notes however, that the trend towards the market’s three dominant producers has been concerning for well over 20 years. The total volume of production and exports in Brazil and Vietnam continue to grow year-on-year. Consolidation is happening. Twenty years ago, 10 countries produced 80 per cent of the world’s coffee, today it’s just seven.

“It’s a trend that’s going to continue. If we don’t provide farmers with better options, the only way to provide enough coffee to meet demand is to either increase land use in the countries that are successful, which has climate consequences, or turn to synthetic alternatives, of which there is a lot of interest as an alternative product in the beverage category,” she says.

RIPE FOR THE TAKING

Because so little has been done in coffee breeding over the years, Humphrey says playing ‘catchup’ offers enormous potential to make large impacts.

“Other crops that have been breeding for years can only make little incremental changes and gains, but in coffee, we can make huge leaps on some really basic things like yield, disease resistance, coffee leaf rust, and frost, which we can address through breeding, and will then enable farms to increase productivity and remain profitable,” she says.

Breeding can also complement and support

Celebrating the launch of Innovea at the site of the Innovea breeding factory (located at CATIE, in Turrialba, Costa Rica), with members of WCR’s board of directors, guests, and participating countries.

creative approaches and targets such as crop architecture, optimisation for automation systems, product differentiation, targeting flavour profiles, and different harvest windows, which Humphrey notes is already fairly routine in other crops.

“None of this has been tackled in coffee. We’re still just trying to get yield up. All that potential is exciting. The whole realm of possibilities is open,” she says.

The greatest challenge from here, is the coordination of the Innovea program and ensuring data quality with the implementation of good traceability systems, data tracking, and storage.

For roasters who want to supply their customers with coffee from diverse coffee origins long-term, their support of Innovea is crucial. This program should appeal to not just large industry players, but small and medium-sized roasters.

“The industry can choose its path. I really believe that if [roasters] don’t invest in this program, they will be selling synthetic [coffee] in 20 years. The 216 companies in 32 countries that are members of WCR have put both feet into this agenda because they want

to continue having a diverse offering in their product line-up. It’s a very efficient investment for the industry to reduce their risk and meet sustainability and business goals,” Long says.

“The stewardship and governance of WCR comes from the companies funding our work. We’re really looking at what the highest leverage investment is that we can offer to help our member companies deliver origin diversity for their consumers. It’s really about that fundamental supply objective. Participation in this work is the kind of radical collaboration and collective investment the industry needs if it wants to have a future.” GCR

For more information, visit worldcoffeeresearch.org

WCR’s growing breeding team at the new site of the Innovea breeding factory. From left: Nick Muir, breeding manager; Dr. Tania Humphrey, research director; Julio Alvarado, breeding technician for Latin America; Jorge C. Berny Mier y Teran, research scientist for plant breeding and genomics.

Industry Predictions

ANOTHER YEAR BRINGS FRESH OPPORTUNITIES AND NEW CHALLENGES, BUT WHAT WILL 2023 HAVE INSTALL? GCR INVITES INDUSTRY LEADERS TO SHARE THEIR HOPES, CONCERNS AND AMBITIONS FOR THEIR BUSINESS AND THE GLOBAL COFFEE MARKET.

ANDERS FREDRIKSSON

CEO, LÖFBERGS

Looking back, one understands how difficult it is to predict the future. If someone three years ago would have described a near future with a pandemic, heavily increased commodity prices and a chaotic shipping situation, we probably wouldn’t have believed them. But it happened and it affected the whole world, us in the coffee industry as well.

Although the last few years have been challenging, I’m confident that a lot of what has happened has made many in the value chain stronger and that we will see results of this in the coming years.

The development and what we have in front of us has strengthened my faith in Löfbergs’ purpose to contribute to a world where people and coffee can grow. I would even say it’s more important than ever. Our perspective has always been to build for coming generations. It means

we have a clear focus to meet global challenges, not least in the sustainability field, in producing countries, as well as on our home field.

cannot be underestimated. One example is International Coffee Partners, where we, together with some other family-owned coffee companies, strengthen small-scale coffee farmers and their development possibilities. Another example is connecting to Era of We, a digital end-to-end platform which aims to shift the value of coffee brands back to coffee farmers and consumers.

have changed somewhat, but we still drink coffee to the same extent. So even in times of uncertainties, we can be sure of one thing, we have a product that will be in demand in the future as well.

thing we know about the future is that it will be different’. Together with others, we at Löfbergs will do our very best to make different mean better. And I believe the chances for this are good.

ANDREA ILLY CHAIRMAN, ILLYCAFFÈ

In the short term, coffee production is expected to increase and prices to stabilise. Inflation in Europe and United States is not expected to significantly impact on consumption. So, what’s new in the coffee scenario?

The focus is on sustainability, particularly with regenerative agriculture but also sustainable packaging, like recyclable or compostable portioned systems. Surging prices of fertilizers raised interest for sustainable agricultural practices based on soil organic carbon enrichment and biostimulants, with interesting results both in term of productivity and environmental impact.

The medium term expected trend continues to be de-commoditisation of the category, triggered by the shift of the coffee value proposition from functional product to experiential occasion.

On a longer-term perspective, talks resumed at the International Coffee Organization on the opportunity to create a ‘coffee resilience fund’ for increasing investments in adaptation

limit the usage of chemical defense agents and forbid importing coffee cultivated in land which has been deforested. This makes clear that the way ahead for ensuring coffee security is increasing productivity through agronomical practices improvements and plant renovation with enhanced varieties. Current expenditures

ANSSI THURESON

CEO, ESPRESSO HOUSE

Espresso House recently hit 500 outlets and has now 7000 employees over five markets. Up till today, Espresso House has grown organically in the Nordics and Germany. For 2023 to 2024, we have expansion plans for both existing and new geographies, and therefore, there will be a shift in our business model to include local partners, such as licensing. One important cornerstone is finding the right partners who are committed to shared values, quality, as well as employee and guest experiences. The preserving of our Nordic heritage is also important, I believe there is something unique about our Nordic approach to coffee and hospitality with service and work that sets us a part. We see our guests and they all get a friendly ‘hi’ from our baristas.

I took office in May 2022 and spent my first 100 days as CEO of Group travelling and listening to our people. I strongly believe that good leadership starts with listening, and our employees are the heart of Espresso House. In

status quo. Upgrading plantations, increasing quality and productivity and de-risking coffee production would create attractive returns for blended finance funds raised from public private and philanthropical investors and, if necessary, collateralised by roasters, traders, and retailers from consuming countries.

my meetings I have seen so much passion and pride but also challenges in daily business. I want our people to feel valued for the amazing work they do, so for 2023 we are increasing salaries for our coffee shop employees as an add-on per hour. We want Espresso House to be an attractive workplace, invest in our people and see them grow with us. We believe the pay rise will take us in the right direction to build a sustainable brand long-term.

In our industry we see a continued strong market for plant-based options, both within food and drinks. We will continue to build on our offer and inspire guests to try products from our assortment that are both very tasty and friendly to our planet. Another prediction for 2023 is a continued development of digital services in the industry. With the aim to reach guests beyond our current business model, our digital and incremental sales were turbo charged during COVID for a smooth and fast “on-the-go” experience. Today, our app has more than two million users and digital sales channels remain a strategic objective for our onward journey.

ANTON MIANOVSKYI

CEO, GEMINI ESPRESSO

An extremely serious challenge awaits our company, Gemini Espresso, at the beginning of 2023. We are in an active faze of the war against Russia. With temporary occupied territories, more than 20 per cent of the population was forced to leave Ukraine, all having a negative impact on the consumption of coffee.

Compared with the end of 2021, when the entire world only had to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, we saw high growth of coffee consumption in Ukraine, especially premium specialty coffee and blends with higher Arabica content. But now, we have the opposite situation. We see a decrease of coffee consumption. Customers are preferring cheaper blends compared to those of good quality. However, coffee remains very popular, even indispensable for most people, considered a necessity.

Aside from all the war-related problems we face, is one more dreadful issue – power blackouts after Russian missile attacks. It was,

CRISTINA MADRIÑÁN RIVAS

GENERAL DIRECTOR OF BUENCAFÉ

Last year, consumers were known for being flexible and adaptable to packaging solutions because of the global supply crisis.

In 2023, we expect to see consumers supporting and contributing to climate change mitigation initiatives in the face of the global difficulty to achieve the millennium goals. This consciousness is driving consumers to be more demanding, seeking eco-packaging and biodegradable materials, as well as products with sustainability seals. As such, we will begin to see consumers who are truly conscious of their actions to preserve the planet. This trend will –at some point – help extend the biodegradable materials offer and eventually bring down their prices.

In addition, the rise in extreme high temperatures in the summer season will drive the consolidation of cold coffee consumption and the continuous growth of the cold brew category. Creativity and innovation in this industry will

and remains, a challenging experience to build sales strategies when there is no electricity in restaurants, coffee shops and other food establishments. The main solution (a real rescue)

for us, has become filter and portioned coffee, such as drip and coffee pods. During the short intervals when there is electricity – we use coffee makers to brew dozens of litres of coffee filter into a thermos, which is sold throughout the day. This strategy has increased coffee consumption several times.

In regards to the global coffee market, I have a positive vision for its future: the pandemic has finished, and the exchange prices for Arabica and robusta coffee have started to stabilise and decrease.

Closer communication between coffee farmers and producers has created significant contribution to the development of the coffee industry, and is directly affecting the quality of processing coffee, and helping to gain the best “cup of joe”. It is impossible not to admit the growth of quality coffee and the customer’s demand of it. More often, customers are taking interest in coffee, not just as a basic product, but to understand its taste, and try something new and delicious. Lastly, I want to say that coffee business is one of the sufficiently stable and strong in such difficult circumstances as war and pandemic.

flavours, and a large gastronomical versatility in the market looking to present refreshing and exquisite options to end consumers.

In 2023, soluble coffee will continue with sustained growth rates thanks to the rise in household coffee consumption. The postpandemic consumer has discovered that freezedried coffee can be a high quality and tasty

product that is easy to prepare, making it product part of the consumer’s daily habits at home. This additional demand will also be the focus for the industry to continue increasing the freeze-dried coffee offer.

Overall, in 2023 we expect to see how the coffee industry responds to climate change by offering delicious, sustainable, and planetfriendly alternatives to the consumer.

DR. JENNIFER

“VERN” LONG

CEO, WORLD COFFEE RESEARCH

In recent years, the industry has explored horizontal collaboration models to address our industry’s shared challenges. In 2023, the Innovea Global Coffee Breeding Network for Arabica will be underway, introducing a “coopetition” approach to coffee agricultural research. Innovea harnesses the urgency of competition and the creativity of collaboration. Through this program, national coffee research programs will collaborate on key elements of the breeding process where a global scale of effort delivers significant value, while supporting competitive country-specific efforts that respond to farmer priorities.

Given the growing gloom confronting coffee agriculture, coopetition models offer optimism. The climate crisis is undeniably here and is putting unprecedented pressure on coffee production. Competition among companies and among exporting countries leads to fragmented, isolated responses. There’s a reason a major global breeding collaboration like Innovea hasn’t happened in 50-plus years. These programs are expensive

and technically challenging when undertaken alone, yet collaboration can be threatening in a competitive environment. This has resulted in a disparity in agricultural innovation relative to the economic significance of coffee, which leaves us deeply vulnerable to future supply shocks and unable to meet our business and sustainability objectives. While there is a clear role for science and technology to address key aspects of the climate crisis, it took innovating a new network structure to offer a way forward.

In the year ahead, World Coffee Research (WCR) will build on this concept of coopetition to support coffee agricultural research. Multifaceted global challenges require us to think differently, especially given that other crops have far deeper technology toolkits to draw from as they confront the challenges on our doorstep. The COVID-19 pandemic reminds us that “necessity is the mother of invention”. COVID-19 vaccine development has shown us that specific network structures and focused, collective public and private investment can solve complex challenges at breakneck speed. Given the urgency of our need to drive sciencebased solutions for coffee agriculture, there is much coffee can learn from collaboration-withincompetitiveness models, and how they can drive outcomes with profound real-world relevance.

GIUSEPPE CASARETO

2023 will undoubtedly see the consolidation of the attention to sustainability. Our research shows that consumers are increasingly looking for products with a reduced environmental impact, such as compostable and recyclable capsules, and energy-efficient machines made with recycled materials. It is precisely in this direction that we will continue to move, with significant investments in research and development to offer highly recyclable or compostable capsules and machines with low energy consumption.

Then, we expect there will be greater attention to psycho-physical wellbeing, to which we are responding with a new range of I Funzionali Caffitaly

. An increasingly advanced request for service has also led us to develop a platform for increased performance with fast, compact, silent machines with different functionalities to obtain the best taste experience possible. Another special consideration is design.

The structure of collaborative networks is consequential in how we will catalyse and accelerate innovation in the years ahead. At this time of incredible necessity in our industry, we’ll continue to embrace WCR’s core values: to be nimble, agile and curious and to embrace kaizen as we explore new pathways and approaches to orient our industry towards a more hopeful future.

A crucial issue will be the quality-price ratio. Consumers are looking for high-quality standards but are moving towards larger (and cheaper) formats. Therefore, we are introducing new packs of 30 and 48 capsules, alongside the classic 10-piece box, and expanding collaborations that can help us offer ever higher quality standards and strengthen our presence on different channels.

Indeed, the return to post-COVID normality will continue to slow down domestic consumption, which grew significantly during the pandemic, to the advantage of out-of-home and office-coffee-sector. Consumers who have long shopped online are now returning to physical channels. This is why we are diversifying our distribution strategy, strengthening our presence with flagships and multi-brand stores, and entering specialised channels, while always feeding our and third-parties’ online channels. High-profile partnerships with roasters including Caffè Borbone, Caffè Cagliari, Chicco d’Oro, and Kimbo; other producers such as Foodness, Ricola and Twinings; and retailers, will also be key in our strategy for growth in Italy.

NICK JARECKE

SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF SUPPLY CHAIN, SCOOTER’S COFFEE

In 2023, Scooter’s Coffee expects to see continued rapid growth of our drive-thru kiosk model that delivers high-quality coffee and speed of service. We are well on our way of achieving our company goal of opening 1000 stores in the United States by 2024. We operate five distribution centers and hope to open more to further strengthen and optimise our supply chain.

While the drive-thru arena will continue to be highly competitive, there’s momentum of our brand in destinations where it’s needed and desired. Having a fast and friendly drivethru concept resonates with our customers, and we realise people are our most important asset. We nourish strong emotional ties with talented leaders, coffee growers, franchisees and employees who embrace the company’s core values of integrity, love, humility and courage.

Cultivating farming relationships based on mutual respect is where it all begins. We couldn’t be more grateful for our friends located on family farms across the globe. Our direct trade model allows us to support entrepreneur farmers by investing in their future as they grow specialty graded coffee beans. As we

VANUSIA NOGUEIRA

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL COFFEE ORGANIZATION

Talking about trends is never simple. To do so, we need to carry out several analyses and to be clear about our responsibility as sector leaders and representatives, so that we do not give rise to false expectations or downturns. 2023 will be no different from other years, as we face another very challenging 12 months ahead.

I took over the position of Executive Director of the International Coffee Organization (ICO) in May 2022. In my first few months, I’ve been trying to engage with our Members, as well as partners, stakeholders, and producers. On my trips, I have been making contact with all kinds of people involved in the coffee sector and talking to them about the challenges we face and what to expect in the future. On every

grow, and as they grow their business, we have a commitment to being a good steward to ensure sustainability, productivity, and economic viability.

Being vertically integrated supports us in delivering a high volume of specialty coffee straight from the farm to our internal roasting division, Harvest Roasting, and then to our stores. This process guarantees quality, consistency and supply while differentiating us by ensuring our coffee is roasted and distributed to our stores in a matter of weeks.

continent, I have come across increasingly professional producers or producers striving for greater professionalisation in the management of their farms. However, they were also increasingly apprehensive about climate change, generational change, and the regulatory processes that are becoming more and more present in consumer countries.

We started the coffee year with extremely serious hailstorms in the Brazilian coffee belt, but with interesting harvests in other regions. Export logistics are no longer under such pressure and all the signs point to a slightly easier 2023 in this regard. However, pressure due to input prices, inflation and labour costs are once again driving up production costs, as are climate change-related requirements and measures. We will talk more and more about the circular economy, regenerative agriculture, carbon emissions, traceability and land protection, never ceasing to focus on prosperity for producers and the resilience of the sector.

We anticipate growth in our franchisee model due to this concept of connecting people with a holistically owned and integrated supply chain that provides opportunities, such as the opportunity to meet farmers at origin.

As Scooter’s Coffee celebrates its 25th birthday in March 2023, we are excited about the opportunity to expand the usage and

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE MOMENT

IT’S ALL ABOUT THE MOMENT

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when your coffee makes your guests feel at home.

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There is nothing better than waking up with a delicious coffee after a good night’s sleep. Our fully automatic coffee machines are easy to use, even as a self-service station for your guests. They deliver consistently high in-cup quality, so your guests can enjoy the perfect coffee experience to complement their pleasant stay. Because the better the coffee tastes, the more you will make your guests feel at home.

There is nothing better than waking up with a delicious coffee after a good night’s sleep. Our fully automatic coffee machines are easy to use, even as a self-service station for your guests. They deliver consistently high in-cup quality, so your guests can enjoy the perfect coffee experience to complement their pleasant stay. Because the better the coffee tastes, the more you will make your guests feel at home.

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A new era of roasting

PROBAT CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER THOMAS KOZIOROWSKI DISCUSSES THE COMPANY’S FIRST HYDROGEN-POWERED SHOP ROASTER FOR SMART AND SUSTAINABLE PROCESS OPTIMISATION.

hen coffee processing technology giant Probat held its Connecting Markets symposium at its headquarters in Emmerich, Germany on 21 and 22 September 2022, invited guests received the first look at its inaugural hydrogen-powered shop roaster, the P05.

Probat Chief Technology Officer Thomas Koziorowski says the hydrogen roaster attracted the greatest attention and triggered enthusiastic reactions from spectators.

“Visitors were able to see for themselves that coffee roasted with hydrogen – which was served throughout the whole event – tastes just like coffee traditionally roasted with gas or electricity,” Koziorowski tells Global Coffee Report

The outer appearance of the roaster is the same as a gas or electrical roaster. Where the shop roaster differs, Koziorowski says, is inside the machine.

“Looking internally, you can see that the burner is different and therefore requires another heating furnace. The gas route of hydrogen also differs from that of natural gas because the valves and materials used must be approved for hydrogen,” he says.

The P05 shop roaster will be ready for quotation and delivery from January 2023.

“The software was specially designed, as hydrogen is mixed with air. Therefore, the burner has to be controlled differently. For the customer, however, all this is irrelevant because the roaster’s mode of operation is the same, as is the required heating capacity. You get a complete solution from us,” Koziorowski says.

Koziorowski says the installation of the hydrogen roaster is quite easy for customers to implement into existing infrastructure.

“For shop roasters, it is relatively simple because you can work with bottled hydrogen or with

a tank that is filled by a hydrogen provider at regular intervals. In both cases, a separate pipeline network must be installed within the roastery, including monitoring sensors to identify any leaks straight away,” he says.

He adds that Probat is also in the process of transferring to a hydrogen-powered industrial roasting infrastructure at its own roasting site. However, completely different requirements must be met to operate a roasting machine permanently and reliably with hydrogen.

“A tank or pipeline system and a corresponding supply network is needed. This is not a problem where a hydrogen network already exists, such as in regions with chemical industrial plants, or areas where hydrogen is expendable and has already been used for decades. Everywhere else, a corresponding infrastructure must first be built,” Koziorowski says.

“In areas with plenty of wind energy, such as coast lines, there are currently approaches to setting up hydrogen networks to produce

Probat has launched the first hydrogen-operated P05.

green hydrogen for local use. In individual cases, it may also make economic sense to build an electrolyser (a system that uses electricity to break water into hydrogen and oxygen) for your own use.”

Adaptations of the burner technology in the P05 for use in industrial roasters is underway.

“We are currently in the test phase of retrofitting burners, as we have already received many retrofit inquiries from customers with shop roasters in the P series. We will provide them with an adequate retrofit package in the near future, very likely in the first quarter of 2023,” says Koziorowski.

According to Koziorowski, the development of hydrogen-compatible roasters is a paramount step in the long overdue transition to green energy and the decarbonisation of the coffee industry.

“Green hydrogen remains far off from being a significant contributor to global energy supply. The hydrogen available today is mainly produced from fossil fuels with carbon dioxide release, merely shifting the emissions. Direct electrification would still be the best solution as everything else includes an intermediate step where energy is lost,” he says.

“Therefore, electricity is always the best option for the smaller roasters of the P series, as the efficiency of useful energy is much higher. For industrial roasting processes, grid stability poses a problem, so here, we concentrate on green hydrogen as it does not emit polluting gases.”

Koziorowski says the issue of an alternative energy supply remains prevalent in the production industry worldwide.

“Indeed, the supply of renewable energy in sufficient quantity is the true challenge. The amount of green hydrogen needed to power large roasting plants is huge as opposed to shop roasters,” he says.

“The more hydrogen you need, the more renewable energy must be obtainable for producing the green variant. And beyond that, there are only three or four companies in the world capable of building huge large-scale electrolysis plants.”

What’s more, Koziorowski says new regulations and growing consumer pressure for more sustainable practices has caused a sharp rise in the demand for alternativelypowered roasters in recent years. T his demand

contributes to Probat’s ongoing thoughts on new environmentally friendly technologies.

“The availability and current price development for natural gas has now led to a strong request for temporary answers on the way to carbon-neutralise roasting processes,” Koziorowski says.

As such, Probat has looked into adequate alternatives and now offers its customers Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG)-compatible adaptations of burner technology.

“LPG is produced during oil refining or is extracted during the natural gas production process. With higher availability on the markets, LPG has much potential as an alternative to natural gas. Also, with manageable effort, roasting machines previously operated with natural gas can also be converted to LPG operation,” says Koziorowski.

“The Probat experts derive the actual technical steps required, such as LPG-compatible adaptations of installed burner equipment, on a case-by-case basis.”

Koziorowski says this is an interim solution to help customers overcome the natural gas shortage.

“That is why we are now offering retrofits to make burners LPG-compatible. However, the carbon-intensive nature of traditional roasting is hampering the coffee industry’s ability to reduce its environmental impact. Therefore, we’ve been looking into the issue of fossil fuel replacement for years now,” he says.

“We’ve tested nearly all viable alternatives, such as biogas, electricity, and green hydrogen, which we consider the future of coffee roasting. Our whole engineering team made a concerted effort to develop roasting technology that can be operated with this highly combustible gas.”

Koziorowski says customers are welcome to test hydrogen roasting on the P05 at its research and development centre.

“Together we must find workable solutions to innovate ourselves out of this fast-approaching climate disaster. Driving down the costs of electrolysers and developing significantly greater renewable generation capacity is the solution,” he says.

Koziorowski says the company will continue to promote the scalability of green hydrogen as an energy carrier while the international coffee industry eagerly awaits the P05 market launch and adaptations for industrial roasters.

“We will also be launching a hydrogen-powered P12 shop roaster in the foreseeable future, very likely within the course of this year, and our customers can look forward to the first hydrogenpowered Px 120 drum roaster, which we will present at [processing and packaging trade show] Interpack this year,” Koziorowski says. GCR

For more information, visit www.probat.com

The hydrogen roaster was created as a more sustainable solution to roasting.

Middle Eastern Movement

EVERSYS IS SET TO INCREASE ITS PRESENCE IN THE MEIA REGION WITH A STRONG GROWTH TRAJECTORY, AND A MARKET READY TO EMBRACE SUPER TRADITIONAL MACHINES.

Swiss espresso machine manufacturer Eversys has embraced quality design and technology since its establishment in 2009. It shares this ethos with customers through its presence in Switzerland, the United States, United Kingdom, China, Singapore, and with partners worldwide. And now, it has the opportunity to do the same with businesses in the Middle East, India and North Africa (MEIA). Federico Ortile, Eversys Business Development Director – MEIA, has been based in the United Arab Emirates since 2008. One of his core objectives was to open an Experience Lab in Dubai, with the intention to boost interactions with the evolving MEIA coffee community, and as of November 2022, that goal became reality with the opening of Eversys’ new regional office.

“Dubai was a natural choice to put the Eversys Experience Lab. There is a vibrant business ecosystem here where we can host all our partner distributors for training. We want to become a point of reference in Dubai, to enhance knowledge of our brand, and share the values, technology, and DNA of Eversys with future generations in the region,” Ortile says.

Coffee Planet was Eversys’ first customer in the Middle East. The Dubai-based specialty roaster started its partnership with Eversys in 2011, which helped advance its local presence, but now the new regional office intends to expand its interactions even further.

“In the past, the Middle East has been quite traditional in its use of espresso machines. But now, the youth – a very tech savvy generation – have discovered automation thanks to its close monitoring of other regions’ trends and their experiences in the United States, where many start their coffee drinking experience, learn the culture, develop a passion for coffee, then bring it back to the Middle East,” Ortile says.

While artisan and specialty coffee operations embrace Eversys, its technology caters well to a large volume of international coffee chains that are scaling their business in the region.

“The only way they can really control quality, consistency, and productivity, is to work with Eversys. I believe we are on track to cover this niche in the market,” Ortile says.

Culturally, Ortile says coffee shops in the Middle East are celebrated as a meeting point, a destination for friends to gather and socialise. In some regions, extended operating hours into the evening means coffee replaces alcohol as a party beverage.

“It’s a social drink, even more than what we know it to be in the Western world. If you go to a coffee shop in the evening, you will see a queue of people lining up, and a lot of young people sitting outside,” he says. “This is a dominant culture in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, which have very big specialty coffee scenes.”

One of the first specialty coffee roasters to open in Saudi Arabia was Camel Step. Founded in 2013 in Riyadh, Camel Step Chairman Abdulkarim Alharbi says the company transitioned from a passion project to a business when its three founders realised

Eversys exhibited at Gulfhost 2022, the Middle East and North Africa’s largest hospitality expo.

there was a gap in the Saudi Arabian market for specialty coffee.

The company of 200 employees has 10 dedicated shops scattered across the country, and a five-year plan to be present in every major Saudi Arabian city with an effective business model of serving only coffee.

“Camel Step is unique in the market because of our passion, and our employee’s passion for coffee. Our baristas are called coffee ambassadors and they talk to customers about direct trade, the relationships we have with farmers at origin, and the work we’re doing to improve our relationships. Coming to our shop is an experience,” Alharbi says.

Camel Step was first introduced to Eversys in 2020. As a market leader, it saw an opportunity to manage the rapid growth of the specialty market through automation.

“We saw that Eversys was offering the technology the market needed. It’s always developing new tools and advancing its technology to make the lives of baristas easier, and we’ve been using the Cameo and Enigma machines for some of our to-go venues, called WAY branches” Alharbi says.

Camel Step is also an Eversys distributor, where sales have exceeded Alharbi’s expectations.

“This year (2022), we’ve grown significantly on sales compared to last year, attributed mainly to the Enigma machine because of its superior use of automation. It provides a great selection of beverages, has great milk frothing technology and espresso consistency. For shops that want to keep training to a minimum but still maintain their quality, this is the machine they need,” Alharbi says.

“We did initially fear that the baristas would resist the automation concept, but they have really adopted it and love using it. They know it not only helps their workflow and manage volume, but also reduces errors and increases quality output. Now our customers have access to the best quality coffee, and that’s what I’m excited about.”

Other prominent specialty coffee roasters in Saudi Arabia to partner with Eversys include The Coffee Address, Bebax Coffee, and Caffeine Lab. Eversys’ Ortile says they all used traditional machines before falling in love with Eversys’ Enigma machine range, which can produce up to 350 espressos per hour. He adds that customers also enjoy the Eversys 1.5-Step

milk foam dispensing, which helps keep up with the market’s high volume of milk-based coffees, which Ortile says accounts for 70 to 80 per cent of customer orders.

“In 2021, Eversys sold just a few machines to Saudi Arabia. By the end of 2022, the orders exceeded 200 machines. That volume is exponential,” Ortile says. “After COVID-19, coffee companies tried to catch up on their growth. This trend may continue into next year then normalise, but there’s a strong movement from traditional to super traditional or automated machines, like Eversys offer.

“People working in specialty coffee can be very sceptical about automatic machines, but when we do a demonstration with them, they reach a point where they see no difference in cup quality between a traditional machine and Eversys. Their eyes widen, they become excited, then they tell their friends.”

The first Eversys Shotmaster machine landed in Saudi Arabia in November 2022, with strong uptake expected in 2023.

“Innovation is very well received in Saudi Arabia. They really love it and strive for the best, including their coffee equipment,” says Eversys Commercial Director Christian Haueter.

“Saudi Arabia is heavily invested in technology, innovation, and new industries, with the country building solar parks, new city ecosystems, and investing in electric cars. The Saudi Arabian government strongly supports the growth of the country’s coffee culture, at shop and farm level, with the intention to invest in coffee production.”

Huge growth is also anticipated in the Indian coffee market, a country in which Eversys had zero presence in 2021.

“In just one year it’s become our second biggest market, and we are only just touching the surface. We are working with the most important specialty coffee shops there, whereby from just a few stores, they are now opening hundreds. Compared to Saudi Arabia, India’s coffee scene is much less developed, so the potential is incredible,” Ortile says.

He adds that increased population growth in the Middle East is likely to continue over the next five years with the majority of the population in Saudi Arabica below 34 years of age, according to Euromonitor reports. As such, it’s a prime opportunity for Eversys to connect with the expanding market.

“It’s a really an exciting time for coffee in the Middle East. I really believe the region’s growth will accelerate Eversys’ presence here. I think everybody in the future will be looking at the Middle East as an interesting opportunity to grow their business,” Ortile says.

“We want to help young coffee professionals, encourage their passion, and continue to develop the future of the coffee community.” GCR

Eversys machines are predicated to have accelerated growth in the MEIA region in 2023.

Driven by evolution

HEMRO GROUP EXPLAINS THE INSPIRATION BEHIND ITS RENEWED CORPORATE IDENTITY AS IT ENTERS THE NEXT PHASE OF EXPANSION.

hen Hemro Group saw the exponential growth of all four of its brands in 2022 — Mahlkönig, Ditting, Anfim, and HeyCafé — in a continually challenging market, it decided to refresh the company’s corporate identity to symbolise Hemro Group entering a new era of operation.

A new, modern logo and fresh colour scheme with contemporary typography complements the company’s commitment to growth and attracting a new audience.

“Hemro growth is driven by evolution – our new corporate identity reflects that products and technologies have reached the next level today and continue shaping the future,” says Hemro Group CEO Dr. Marcel Lehmann.

Hemro Group combines grinding expertise in each of its four internationally renowned brands that cater to all market needs.

“Mahlkönig offers premium filter and espresso grinders for coffee shops and home baristas. Ditting presents retail and filter grinders for roasters, retailers, and labs. Anfim offers commercial grinders for coffee shops. HeyCafé provides entry level filter and espresso grinders for cafés. Each brand has a very different role to play in the industry,” says Lehmann.

“Continuous development is at the heart

The Mahlkönig mobile application allows users to create, edit, and save grinding settings as recipes.

of our Hemro DNA. 2022 was truly a year of enormous development for the Hemro Group.”

In November 2022, Hemro expanded its production sites, moving its Italian production site to a new state-of-the-art Anfim factory, located just 10-kilometres from the centre of Milan in Italy.

“The new production facility will house our offices, factory floor and soon a beautiful showroom to showcase all Hemro brands,” Lehmann says.

The 2400-square-metre facility marks an important milestone for Hemro Group as it reacts to increased global demand for Anfim with the brand now able to adapt to further global growth.

“This space will be a huge leap forwards for Anfim and will unlock exciting possibilities for the company and the team moving forwards,” says Lehmann.

The brand also opened its first Hemro United States office in Seattle, United States, to be closer to its North American partners and the American coffee scene.

The new office space is located in the historic Rainier Brewery Bottling Plant building and includes a training lab, product showroom, and demonstration space for Hemro Group’s brands.

ALL HAIL THE HERO

In keeping with the spirit of brand evolution, Hemro Group launched a new Mahlkönig product in 2022.

“Our latest technological breakthrough, the Mahlkönig E80S GbW, adds true grind-by-weight technology to the already fastest speed on the market, at 2.5 seconds per 20-gram shot with the highest volume output of 10 double shots a minute,” says Lehmann.

Hemro also introduced a limited edition EK43 S grinder, the ICON, available in the first quarter of 2023 from local Mahlkönig distributors as a tribute to its iconic EK43 that Lehmann says remains a benchmark grinder for high extraction espressos.

“The coffee industry admires the EK43 as a game-changer in grinding, known for unlocking uniformity and high-extract potential without bitterness. All the power and precision that made the Mahlkönig EK43 a global icon, now features in an exclusive design that exists only in EK43 S grinders,” he says.

After celebrating the one-year anniversary of the Mahlkönig X54 Allround Home Grinder in May 2022, Hemro Group decided to narrow its marketing focus to suit the current postpandemic climate.

“We see big potential in the at-home market given the massive uptake in consumers now craving great quality coffee at home. In November 2022, we launched our first home baristatargeted campaign for the Mahlkönig X54,” Lehmann says.

With so many positive changes taking place for the company in 2022, Lehmann is eager to continue riding the wave of product development and is excited for the year ahead.

Despite the desire to constantly evolve in an increasingly saturated global coffee market, Hemro never forgets its brand promise to create quality coffee moments above all else.

Coffee experts and coffee enthusiasts around the world agree on grinding being a key part in the coffee making process,” says Lehmann.

“At the start of every cup of any coffee beverage is the ground coffee bean. We are part of a global coffee movement in creating quality coffee moments for more people in the world.” GCR

For more information, visit www.hemrogroup.com

Hemro Group’s new Anfim factory in Milan, Italy.

Hemro Group’s limited edition EK43 S grinder, the ICON.

Forward-thinking

FRANKE COFFEE SYSTEMS DISCUSSES WHAT DEVELOPMENTS ARE IN STORE FOR THE INTERNATIONAL COFFEE INDUSTRY IN 2023, AND HOW ITS PRODUCT RANGE CAN BEST MEET MARKET NEEDS.

Despite a strong return of coffee consumption in the Hotel, Restaurant and Catering industry (HoReCa) and in-person socialising after two turbulent years during the global pandemic, many consumers have retained their new at-home routines.

While many still enjoy the coffee shop experience, Franke Coffee Systems CEO, Marco Zancolò, says customer expectations on personalised beverages and coffee quality has increased.

“People prepare high-quality coffee at home, and this impacts how consumers now understand and value coffee. That means they are looking for convenient, high quality coffee experiences in every location out of home,” Zancolò says.

As such, Jessica Zoehner, Head of Global Marketing at Franke Coffee Systems, anticipates quality coffee and customisation of beverages to be the biggest trends in 2023.

“We’ve watched personalisation of coffee drinks gain even more traction as consumers choose their favourite coffee shops based on their offering of coffee specialties, such as dairy alternatives or beverage flavourings during self-service operations,” says Zoehner.

“Consistency is another factor that will remain important, as consumers want their choice of beverage in the same quality [they experience from] their preferred café or coffee chain, regardless of whether they buy coffee in Zürich or London.”

Zoehner also expects to see a rise in demand for cold brew coffee, plant-based milk alternatives, and self-service.

“If café operators know their customers’ needs and demands, they will have an advantage. Especially if they can act on trends and demands swiftly and creatively,” she says.

“New menu ideas and recipes paired with a self-service machine that is easy to use can be a real advantage, as consumers want their personalised coffee beverage fast and conveniently. Once they’ve found what they’re looking for in a café, they will come back for more.”

Already, Zoehner says, in most regions globally, coffee consumption in HoReCa industry is back to pre-pandemic levels, judging by the volume of machines sold in 2022. However, she says inflation and staff shortages are likely to continue hampering the hospitality sector in the new year.

“The decrease in consumer purchasing power will certainly have an impact during 2023. A segment of consumers will likely enjoy coffee more consciously, more like a treat, a luxury,” Zoehner says.

“That group of consumers will be even more keen to purchase their coffee at cafés which offer their personal beverage choice.”

Zoehner says the personnel shortage will create challenges for operators, like how to sustain a high-quality beverage level without compromising on speed or variety.

“Cafés also face a higher demand for digital ordering. Consumers would much rather order digitally than wait in a queue for a coffee, only to receive an incorrect beverage,” she says.

CEO of Franke Coffee Systems Zancolò adds that the market is becoming more competitive as petrol stations and convenience stores now also offer specialty coffee.

“This will further increase the consumer expectation of quality coffee to be available everywhere,” he says.

To help cater to such market needs and consumption trends in 2023, Franke Coffee Systems

will be focused on producing equipment that delivers personalised options, requires minimal training, and a quality output.

“The rising consumer demands are a great opportunity for us to win over even more customers to invest in state-of-the-art fully automatic coffee solutions,” Zoehner says.

“The increased consumer expectations on both coffee quality and all-time availability match well with Franke`s mission to offer consistently high quality, personalised coffee moments, both for our customers that offer the coffee and for their customers.”

Marco Zancolò is the CEO of Franke Coffee Systems.

Zancolò says the machine manufacturer provides a solution to staff shortages with its A line of fully automatic machines.

“With the same ease of use and baristaquality coffee, the A line range enables customers to switch from one machine to another, without having to re-train staff,” he says.

“We design our products with our customers in mind, so we made them easy to use, clean and maintain without compromising on quality or variety. All of this will help our customers to overcome the challenges of today, and tomorrow,” says Zancolò.

Zancolò adds that Franke Coffee Systems meets customer demand by listening to and observing the market and its customers, developing innovations based on customer feedback, and new products in line with the latest trends.

“In the last few years, we have invested heavily in how to offer even more beverage variety. Our solution to this demand is the Specialty Beverage Station (Franke SB1200), the only fully automatic machine in the market today that can produce purely vegan coffee-based beverages with plant-based milk,” he says.

“We focus on fully automatic machines and bring out the best of this category, not only in coffee beverages, but also when you look at the design and ease of use of our products.”

Zancolò says a key pillar of Franke is, and will always be, its products, investing in sales and marketing to ensure its product range is in the minds and hands of consumers. As such, it has recently opened offices in China and Japan to further invest in growing its market presence and being closer to customers and market trends there.

“The launch of our new branding is also intended to strengthen our focus on customers and enhance their coffee experience. That’s why we invest in market research and intelligence, because we believe being close to the market and consumer trends will make us a better partner for our customers. For us, that is the key to success,” Zancolò says. GCR

For more information, visit coffee.franke.com

The Specialty Beverage Station SB1200 can produce purely vegan coffee-based beverages with plant-based milk.

Sustainability

FEATURE

Resilience Building farmer

ECOM SUMMARISES ITS GROUP-WIDE STRATEGIC APPROACH TO ETHICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL TRADING FOR THE GOOD OF COMMUNITIES AND SHARED ENVIRONMENT.

Whether it’s finding new ways to grow coffee, collecting better data for farmers and customers, or supporting communities at origin through education and female empowerment initiatives, ECOM aims to take coffee forwards and help secure its future.

To achieve this, ECOM has established three overall commitments to improve farmer prosperity, protect nature, and manage supply chain traceability.

“We can’t afford to ignore the environment considering coffee supplies are being threatened by long-term challenges such as climate change, and we can’t afford to let farmers cope with more costs of production, as they will readily switch to replacement crops. We need to make [producing] coffee attractive, and the only way to do that is by operating sustainably,” says ECOM’s Asia Pacific Regional Sustainability Manager Laurent Bossolasco.

“With our entrepreneurial mindset and broad global network, ECOM is proud to pave the way for coffee’s next stage.”

To improve prosperity, ECOM is helping farmers invest in secure, resilient businesses that empower them, their families, and their communities to lead dignified and prosperous lives.

ECOM Sustainable Management Services (SMS) Coffee Global Manager Benjamin Rimaud says the farmer prosperity commitment is divided into two components: economic and social.

“Economically, we want farmers to achieve financial empowerment and profitability,” he says.

Socially, ECOM is eliminating breaches of human rights through proper risk identification and remediation.

“We believe that farmers can and should be given the support to uphold globally recognised human rights, including safe and fair workplaces,” Rimaud says.

To protect nature, ECOM utilises regenerative agriculture, providing farmers with quality seedlings and training on climate-smart practices.

“This is being achieved by optimising natural resource management practices, improving farmer resilience to the effects of climate change, and our efforts to become a Net Zero emissions company in our Scope 1, 2 and 3 by 2050,” says Bossolasco.

Bossolasco says setting ECOM’s Net Zero target has been the culmination of a long process and a commitment to be fully in line with the Paris Agreement.

“Most of our emissions as a commodities trader come from our Scope 3 operations. However, in order to achieve our goal of being a Net Zero organisation by 2050, it’s vital that we look at how we can reduce the Scope 1 and 2 emissions produced in our factories and warehouses,” he says.

ECOM will reduce its carbon footprint through sustainable operations in energy, water, and waste, including the use of fossilfuel alternatives. Already, it uses solar power and biogas as alternative power sources at facility level, as well as sophisticated techniques to treat wastewater and recycle waste.

ECOM promotes farmer resilience through investment and education.

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“Reducing emissions is our responsibility but also an opportunity to change how we do business, how coffee is farmed and produced. It’s an opportunity to find new economic benefits for producers and small holders to be compensated for the climate and receive access to a premium market to sell net zero coffee,” says Rimaud.

Farm management is one means by which ECOM is helping promote farmer resilience. The other is investment in the development of new hybrid varietals. For the past 19 years, ECOM has shared a strong partnership with the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD) to develop and breed new hybrids.

“The two partners have long wanted to find solutions to the major challenges facing coffee growing, namely selecting varieties that are more productive and resilient to climate change and distributing them to as many producers as possible, and finding solutions for pesticide-free coffee growing,” says CIRAD Arabica breeder Jean-Christophe Breitler.

“ECOM group was immediately aware of these issues and was ready for this long adventure. A formal agreement was signed 20 years ago at the Paris Agricultural Show in February 2002.”

CIRAD researcher and co-coordinator of Breeding Coffee for Agroforestry Systems, Hervé Étienne, says ECOM and CIRAD have selected F1 hybrid varieties whose agronomic performance currently places them among the best varieties in the world. He says they are more productive, more resilient to climatic stresses and diseases and have exceptional cup quality.

“The popular varietals that have had the most impact are the Centroamericano, Mundo Maya and Starmaya Arabica F1 hybrids. In addition to its interesting agronomic performance, Starmaya has the advantage of being distributable in seed form,” says Étienne.

“Much progress has been made for the large-scale dissemination of these new hybrid varieties, and the industrialisation of the production through different multiplication techniques is underway. ECOM and CIRAD are aiming for a market of about 100 million Arabica hybrids on the different continents within five years.”

The diversified catalogue of coffee varieties

produced, such as popular varietal Marsellesa, offers an unmatched choice to clients and farmers in the ECOM SMS program, a core strategy developed to help manage ECOM’s clients’

“By implementing tailored programs and providing tools and solutions to producers, SMS can support smallholder farmers in sustainable practices while being productive. It also provides clients with increased traceability in their supply chain,” says Rimaud.

“We promote a sustainable way to foster farms’ renovations and to mitigate the impact of climate change.”

To accomplish the final commitment to manage traceability, ECOM is ensuring responsibility in its supply chains.

“When we understand something, we can improve it. That is why having traceable supply chains is crucial to sourcing responsible produce,” says Bossolasco.

“Supply chain management is at the core of ECOM’s activities as a commodities trader. But with many farmers living in remote areas with reduced access to tools and resources, responsible practices can sometimes come second to simply reaching markets for produce.”

In addition to geographical remoteness, Rimaud says the complexity of the supply chain poses challenges, with many different intermediaries at each point along the chain.

“Traceability is a vital tool in helping us achieve supply chain oversight. ECOM is working with different actors in the supply chain to digitise every step of the product’s journey,” he says.

“Together with new technologies and our commitment to certification, ECOM is continuing to achieve greater visibility of our activities, even across the most complex and indirect supply chains.”

ECOM is dedicated to conducting business in an ethical, legal, environmental, and socially responsible manner. With a mindset of continual improvement, the global commodity trader regularly assesses policies to ensure alignment with best practice in ethical business conduct.

“We’re an origins-based business, driven by people. For our farmers, we’re there on the ground to create shared value and help where it counts. For our customers, the reach and expertise of our global network creates supply chains they can rely on. And through constant innovation, we find solutions that help us and our partners meet their sustainability goals,” Rimaud says.

Bossolasco agrees, saying the future of coffee starts at origin.

“As experts at origin, with exceptional global coverage, true depth of knowledge and an innovative, entrepreneurial mindset, ECOM supports farmers, forges alliances, and finds sustainable new ways to grow, harvest and mill,” says Bossolasco.

“Because we’re there at the beginning, we help shape what’s next, allowing roasters big and small, mainstream and artisan, to anticipate and master change. We make the connections that help give coffee its next kick.” GCR

For more information, visit www.ecomtrading.com

ECOM and CIRAD are breeding new hybrid varietals that are resilient against environmental challenges.

Sustainability FEATURE

Small footprint maximum impact

Flavourtech has designed its systems and processes to assist in minimising its environmental impact.

lavourtech has been pioneering the development of aroma and flavour recovery technologies to improve the production of instant and ready-to-drink (RTD) coffee for 35 years.

Flavourtech Global Sales Manager Paul Ahn says its unique process involves capturing the flavour of coffee as early as possible, storing, and protecting it, and utilising much shorter times in the machinery to reduce the thermal impact, thereby maintaining quality throughout.

“We do this by using the 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,” says Ahn.

The IES feeds the raw material, such as roasted coffee beans or tea leaves, into the milling and extraction system. The materials undergo milling in a blanket of water to capture the light, floral, and fruity characteristics of beans or tea, typically lost in traditional methods of RTD or soluble manufacturing.

“The stream of water then gently carries the flavour notes into Flavourtech’s Spinning Cone Column (SCC). The SCC extracts, captures, and protects the natural aromas and volatile compounds using steam at a low temperature of around 100°C in just 25 seconds. This shorter time in the machine differs dramatically from that used in traditional extraction techniques,” Ahn says.

What’s more, Ahn says, is that these systems also assist manufacturers in reducing waste, and the associated impact on the environment.

“Our business is in maintaining what is important to the consumer – the natural flavours, colour and active aromas– that may be normally lost or damaged during the manufacturing process, usually

when elevated temperatures are involved,” says Ahn.

Flavourtech technology can help reduce wastage by extracting more of the flavours or essential oils from the waste stream or process water during beverage manufacturing.

“For example, in extract concentration, the evaporate or condensate contains the light aroma volatiles that can be captured by the SCC, which can then be used to fortify beverages that require that extract boost. Furthermore, the water stripped of the volatiles is cleaner and can be reused or recycled,” Ahn says.

Ahn says when it comes to cold brew coffee, the process typically involves coffee grounds being steeped in cold or ambient water for many hours, releasing the light, volatile aroma compounds.

“The spent grounds are thrown away, but we know there is still good and usable coffee

XPLAINS HOW CUSTOMERS CAN ACHIEVE THEIR SUSTAINABILITY GOALS WITH ITS MANUFACTURING PROCESSES AND ENGINEERING KNOWLEDGE.

aromas left, and with solids to be extracted. Why not capture it through the Flavourtech IES?” Ahn asks.

Flavourtech’s Rotating Disc Column, (RDC), can be inserted into the IES for soluble coffee production, allowing a continuous flow of coffee slurry for high temperature extraction. The slurry is exposed to temperatures between 150° to 180°C for 20 minutes to enable further hydrolysis to take place. The end result is a premium RTD or soluble product and enhanced aroma at the end of the line.

“To concentrate the extract before spray or freeze drying the product, the liquid remains in its Centritherm evaporator with a residence time of just one second in the system, eliminating the production of burnt flavours in the final product. The aroma captured upfront can then be added back before spray drying to provide a soluble coffee from the spent cold brew grounds,” Ahn says.

The Centritherm evaporator utilises spinning cone technology (centrifugal force

Sustainability

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Flavourtech’s

Spinning Cone Column extracts, captures, and protects the natural coffee aromas.

producing thin films) to safely concentrate solutions to higher levels, while maintaining the integrity of the feed material.

“This is important in the RTD market where the bottling plants are located some distance away from the extraction plant, so transporting concentrates are far more cost effective and environmentally friendly than transporting the whole product, which is basically transporting large volumes of water,” says Ahn.

Another way the Centritherm evaporator assists in reducing Flavourtech’s impact on the environment, is in the production of instant coffee, where there is a dependence on an energy intensive spray dryer to form the powder.

“Usually, this energy is derived from the burning of gas or other material to evaporate the water from the coffee extract. More water in the extract means more energy is required to remove it,” he says.

“By concentrating or reducing the water content in the extract as much as possible, while staying within the limit to avoid introducing any damage to the extract, such as to the antioxidants, the colour or flavour, it is possible to lower the energy consumption from the spray dryer and reduce the impact on the environment.”

According to Ahn, Flavourtech engineers have designed its systems and processes to assist in minimising its environmental impact.

“The soluble IES coffee line has a small footprint, the smallest compared to other extraction lines in the market. We have designed and installed systems in areas where it would have been a difficult task due to the limited space, but we have done it,” he says.

“If we can obtain more from a raw material or capture more of a valuable component that’s lost during the manufacturing process, then that’s a win for the environment, allowing consumers to reuse and recycle waste material.”

Ahn says customers can rest assured that with Flavourtech’s 35 years of flavour experience, a step into the RTD or soluble market with Flavourtech’s advanced equipment will be a sustainable experience with quality emphasised every step of the way.

“Flavourtech will continue to help customers provide the best means to improve the quality of products, improve the natural flavours, reduce waste, and recycle where possible. To do this, we will listen to market needs and our customers and work with them to provide solutions that benefit us all,” says Ahn. GCR

For more information, visit flavourtech.com

Flavourtech technology helps reduce wastage by extracting more flavours from the waste stream.

Sustainability FEATURE

Impact starts at the source

The IMPACT program was designed to benefit farmers, traders, and roasters to create a fair, resilient coffee industry.

GLOBAL

COFFEE REPORT SPEAKS TO JUSTIN ARCHER, HEAD OF SUSTAINABILITY AT SUCAFINA, ABOUT IMPACT – A NEW RESPONSIBLE SOURCING PROGRAM IT’S ROLLING OUT WORLDWIDE.

hree years ago, when multinational coffee merchant Sucafina looked ahead to determine what sustainability would mean for the business in 2030, it gave birth to a new program that would act as a vehicle for its sustainable goals. The focus? Responsible sourcing.

Sucafina is a farm to roaster coffee company with a family tradition in commodities that dates back to 1905. Now with more than 1200 employees in 32 countries, it is one of the few coffee trading houses in the world focused entirely on coffee. Sucafina’s supply chains span from producer-facing export operations to destination sales offices worldwide.

Its IMPACT program was designed to benefit farmers, traders, and roasters to create a fair, resilient coffee industry as more brands move towards becoming 100 per cent responsibly sourced between 2025 to 2030.

“Primarily, IMPACT is Sucafina’s way of embedding a set of common sustainable practices throughout our global supply chain. At the same time, there is a tremendous growth in the demand for goods that are responsibly sourced and traceable; and IMPACT is going to address those needs,” says Sucafina Head of Sustainability Justin Archer. “Many of our clients are looking to become 100 per cent responsibly sourced by 2025 or 2030. As a trader, we have to react to those signals and help our business partners work towards the fulfilment of their ambitions.”

Through a six-month process, Sucafina researched what really matters to farmer groups, roasters, and non-government organisations it works with. A vision was formed, and that led to the next logical step – embedding a set of responsible practices and clearly communicating them in a homogeneous way to farmers and trade partners.

“Once it became apparent to us that we needed to have this level of ambition and this kind of tool in our business, we were quick to commit the resources and put a team together to work on developing a program that, ultimately, became IMPACT,” Archer explains.

Comparable to certifications like the Rainforest Alliance, IMPACT’s Sustainability Standard was modelled on the Global Coffee Platform’s Sustainability Reference Code. Based on that, Sucafina ensured everything it designs is constructed around industry best practice. To be classified as ‘sustainably sourced,’ all farmers and facilities must comply with 10 Critical Indicators – mostly designed to eliminate human rights abuses – and attain a pass rate of at least 50 per cent on a further 70 improvement indicators, with an agreement to improve the score over time. A third party will audit supply chains every three years during harvest season, and all IMPACT-verified coffee will be fully traceable to the farmer level.

Further than that, Sucafina set five goals around key sustainability challenges that weave a common thread across the industry.

“At the core of IMPACT is compliance, but in addition we have committed to five IMPACT goals, which are: reducing carbon emissions, reducing deforestation, encouraging farmers to adopt regenerative agriculture practices,

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improving human rights for farm workers, and improving farmer livelihoods across our supply chains,” Archer says.

With supply chains in multiple countries, the company ambitiously plans to address these challenges by going to the heart of the issues in each region and uncovering what needs to change to make progress. While Archer admits this is not a unique ambition, Sucafina’s IMPACT program sets out to build systems to extract tangible data to share with stakeholders, then engage in meaningful conversations around co-investment.

“Sucafina is trying to raise the bar in terms of standards,” Archer says. “If we can come up with measurable, tangible data, which gives stakeholders visibility on the health of their supply chain, then we’ll have a better framework to collaborate on remedial solutions. Our experience is that many roasters want to participate in sustainability but the industry often lacks data points to inform smart project design. When we are able to present factual data about our supply chains, to point out, for instance, what is happening with deforestation, or farmers’ real living incomes, then the engagement with roasters is much higher.”

Collaboration is key for Sucafina in meeting its five sustainability goals. Through discussions with local stakeholders about what needs to be prioritised for each country, the trader wanted to avoid becoming too prescriptive. Archer uses the example of reducing carbon emissions.

“In a place like Uganda, it might be largely based on a program to promote agroforestry –plant more trees on land that’s been denuded of forest as a way to sequester more carbon, and of course, all the benefits that brings,” he explains.

“But the same objective in a place like Vietnam might be about optimising fertiliser usage, because the over-application of fertiliser is actually the main driver of carbon emissions. We want to be very flexible about the paths we take, but we want to arrive at the same destination and measure the same outcomes, which will require some innovation, cocreation, and local adaptability.”

IMPACT was launched in Brazil in June 2022, and those first supply chains are currently being inspected. According to Justin, each of the origins Sucafina works with has

received instructions to begin rolling out the IMPACT program where farmer supply chains have been put in place.

“It takes several months to work on the ground and implement all the practices that are needed, and it will be global Sucafina coverage – so whether it’s in Southeast Asia, East Africa Brazil, or Colombia, we’ll have it rolled out everywhere,” Archer says.

“While we’ve already made some sales of IMPACT-verified coffee in the last couple of months, which is really encouraging, I expect we will see most of the coffee coming online between Q2 and Q3 [in 2023].”

With the compliance part of the IMPACT program up and running, Sucafina is now seeking to effectively define and then publicly share its methodologies for tackling its five ambitious goals.

“I think to properly assess carbon emissions around the world, it needs to be based on good methodology that is simple, repeatable, and easy to roll out in the field everywhere. So that’s a big focus,” Archer says.

“But another focus is credibility and inviting industry partners who are willing to engage with us on sustainability to reach out.”

Archer says that in a way, IMPACT could be viewed as an open source program by working in partnership with other sector players.

“I think an aspect of IMPACT that seems to appeal to the marketplace is the fact that there is a space for co-creating projects around those goals,” Archer says. “The focus for the next six to 12 months is really working hard on the fundamental methodologies, making sure we can roll them out in a similar way with every single sector, to come up with actual data, and then communicate with clients to explain how the program will work in practice.”

Sucafina’s IMPACT program was launched in Brazil in 2022. The first supply chains are currently being inspected.

A re-emergence

DR AARON DAVIS AT THE ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS, KEW, AND COLLEAGUES FROM UGANDA, REVEAL NEW INSIGHTS INTO THE HISTORY OF LIBERICA COFFEE, AND THE POTENTIAL OF EXCELSA COFFEE AS A MAJOR CROP PLANT IN AN ERA OF ANTHROPOGENIC CLIMATE CHANGE.

iberica or Liberian coffee (Coffea liberica) is often dubbed the “third coffee crop species”, after Arabica (C. arabica) and robusta (C. canephora). A commonly misquoted statistic is that Liberica constitutes around 1 per cent of global coffee supply, but production output of this species is miniscule compared to Arabica and robusta. However, during the latter part of the 19th century, Liberica stood alongside Arabica as the second most important species of coffee trade.

Liberica was introduced with remarkable scale and efficiency from the early 1870s onwards, initially as a response to the coffee leaf rust epidemic that was devastating Arabica plantations in Ceylon (then Sri Lanka). Soon afterwards, it was used to extend coffee production to low elevation tropical areas where conditions were too hot and too wet for Arabica. Scientists, government officials and growers were particularly impressed by the size and robustness of Liberica: all parts of the plant are larger than Arabica, and it appeared to grow easily and quickly, even in poor, depleted soils. By the early 1880s, it was firmly established in several countries across the coffee belt, and soon afterwards it had become globalised.

Despite this apparent success, the use of Liberica was remarkably short-lived. By the turn of the 20th century it had almost universally fallen out of favour, and its use as a commodity crop came to an abrupt end. But why? Literature of that era shows that Liberica was unpopular with many consumers, who, at best, were unsure about its flavour. It was also generally ill-favoured by coffee traders. Then, in 1897, a new species came along –robusta coffee – which quickly found favour over Liberica, at least from coffee farmers and traders. The downfall of Liberica was concluded by the expansion of Arabica from

Unripe fruits of ‘traditional’ largefruited Liberica coffee.

A sack of excelsa coffee fruit from one tree in Uganda, estimated to weigh 60 kilograms.

Images: Aaron Davis

the late 19th century onwards, particularly in Brazil, which at the time caused plummeting global coffee prices and the reduction or abandonment of Liberica and other coffees as farmers switched to more profitable crops.

Today, as roasters and consumers search for diversification of the coffee experience, and producers look at means of ensuring sustainability and improving profitability, Liberica is seeing something of a revival. The last five years or so, have witnessed much wider retail availability, particularly via online sales. When properly processed, Liberica is praised for its sweet, mild (low to medium acidity, and minimal bitterness), fruit-driven cup profile. It was even showcased at the 2021 World Barista Championships. Regardless, Liberica production and consumption is still a smallscale affair, even in countries such as Malaysia, the Philippines, and parts of Indonesia, where it is often favoured over Arabica and robusta.

In our new research paper, paper, The re-emergence of Liberica coffee as a major crop plant (published in Nature Plants), my colleagues and I suggest that the type of Liberica selected for introduction and upscaling in the 1870s was either a poor choice or a matter of unfortunate circumstance. Most of those early introductions were the largefruited and large-seeded type of Liberica. Initially, the “bigger is better” principal must have seemed like a good bet, but the thick, tough pulp of the large fruits meant that the coffee was difficult to process, resulting in poor quality and an undesirable coffee. The large coffee beans were also unpopular with merchants and retailers.

Critically, our research highlights a key disadvantage of farming large-fruited Liberica. Due to the thick, tough pulp of the large fruits,

it can take up to twice the amount of fresh cherry to produce the equivalent weight of clean coffee compared to Arabica. Unfavourable conversions, otherwise known as the outturn, are critically important for famers because they incur increased costs, particularly for harvesting, transportation, and processing. Income, as well as environmental sustainability, are among the key objectives of our research team, who are working together on a project investigating the wild coffee resources of Uganda, funded by the United Kingdom Government under the Darwin Initiative.

At around the same time as the demise of Liberica as a major crop plant, numerous varieties, and species associated with Liberica were recognised by botanists. Of particular note is excelsa coffee (C. excelsa) from Central and East Africa, which is now mostly regarded as a botanical variety of Liberica (as var. dewevrei). In reports published during the early to mid-20th century, it was praised for high yields at more than 1000 kilograms per hectare of clean coffee, the ability to withstand pruning, resistance to a range of diseases and pests, and tolerance to drought and low temperatures. Importantly, the fruit and seeds were identified as being of an equivalent size to Arabica, which enabled the use of standard protocols for harvesting, drying, processing – and, as I and my colleagues attest, a satisfactory outturn. Much of the excelsa being grown worldwide is not “true” excelsa, but instead smaller fruited/seeded types of Liberica (var. liberica) or possibly hybrids.

In terms of flavour quality, early historical reports for excelsa were promising, as stated by various authors. They described it as “mild and far from the extreme bitterness of Liberica”, “with [a] mild flavour, of fair quality in some strains”, “good quality coffee”, or simply as “good coffee”.

A single fruit of excelsa coffee.

Fruiting branch of excelsa coffee in Uganda.

Indeed, in the early to mid-20th century, many agronomists saw great potential in excelsa coffee. Despite these accolades, the use of excelsa never really took off, probably because Arabica and robusta served the coffee sector well enough – until now.

Uganda and South Sudan have recently experienced a localised and yet dramatic upscaling of excelsa. In lowland Uganda, there are at least 200 farms now growing excelsa, and this number is growing year-onyear, mainly by farmers shifting from robusta to mixed robusta-excelsa or excelsa-only. The farming of excelsa in Uganda has been ongoing for perhaps the last 20 years, but appears to have increased dramatically over the last decade or so. The shift appears to be linked to production issues with robusta, and particularly the increasing occurrence and severity of disease and pests, and the changing climate.

Dr. Catherine Kiwuka, from the National Agricultural Research Organization in Uganda, co-author of the research, has witnessed the enthusiasm for excelsa among smallholder farmers.

“Farmers are choosing excelsa coffee because it’s easy to grow, apparently more tolerant to disease and pests than robusta,

Flowers of excelsa coffee in Uganda.

Ian Paterson, Managing Director, Equatoria Teak Company, with part of a newly planted excelsa coffee estate in South Sudan. The coffee has also been planted to act as a buffer to protect the nearby forest.

Image: Aaron Davis

Image: Charlie Tryon

and is high yielding,” she says. “Each tree is capable of yielding up to around eight kilograms of clean coffee, and very old, ‘mother trees’ can produce in excess of 40 kilograms.”

Independently, South Sudan has recently seen the planting of a large excelsa-only estate, and the establishment of an extensive excelsa outgrowers program, which currently involves more than 1000 smallholders covering more than 200 hectares. The South Sudan project, which is managed by the Equatoria Teak Company, and funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the Netherlands Enterprise Agency, is at quite an early stage but the excelsa is proving to be robust, high yielding, and well suited to local conditions.

Ian Paterson, of the Equatoria Teak Company, lives and works on the new excelsa estate in South Sudan. “Excelsa coffee is found naturally in our area, and is proving to be hardy, deeprooted, and quick growing, with the potential for excellent yields,” he says.

The uptake in Uganda and South Sudan is notable in itself, but there are two other key points. Firstly, the preference to plant excelsa (over robusta, or other coffee) has been farmer-led in both countries, rather than based on advice from either external stakeholders or intervention agents.

Secondly, excelsa is an indigenous plant of Uganda and South Sudan, and the planting stock being used appears to have been taken directly from forest to the farm. Ugandan farmers say that it came from the forest but has been with them for some generations, and only recently used as a crop species.

There is currently no recognised market for excelsa coffee in Uganda. Most of it ends up mixed with robusta. Despite this, Uganda excelsa has been exported in small quantities under the local name of kisansa coffee, by Slow Foods, and a small, dedicated export of excelsa was made to Clifton Coffee Roasters in the UK in 2022. However, significant export volumes

are envisaged for Uganda and South Sudan. Kyagalanyi Coffee (Volcafe/ED&F Man) are managing the Ugandan logistics and exports for the Darwin Project.

The key question, however, is what does it taste like? In agreement with historical reports, excelsa produces a sweet, mild, smooth coffee, of low acidity and bitterness, and a range of flavour notes, including various fruits, chocolate, and spices. Some have described excelsa as “the Merlot of the coffee world”. Excelsa and Liberica coffee beans have roughly the same caffeine content as Arabica.

Work is underway to more precisely understand the climate resiliency potential of Liberica and excelsa coffee and assess the level of resistance to various pests and diseases. However, in a changing climate, Liberica and excelsa at the least, offer the potential to grow commercially viable, and perhaps highervalued coffee under much warmer conditions, and at lower elevations than Arabica, and may offer improved climate resiliency over robusta.

The scale of uptake for Liberica, and particularly excelsa, will largely depend on the performance of Arabica and robusta coffee under climate change, and other factors causing coffee supply chain disruption. GCR

Dr Aaron Davis is Senior Research Leader of Crops and Global Change at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in the United Kingdom. His research is focused on coffee, and includes the use and development of wild and underutilised coffee species, particularly within the context of climate change adaptation and sensory diversification.

Dr Catherine Kiwuka, Senior Research Officer ( In situ Conservation) at NARO-PGRC, with Liberica coffee at Entebbe Botanic Garden in Uganda.

Image: Aaron Davis

Anniversary edition

MICE IS A SYMBOL OF UNITY FOR THE GLOBAL COFFEE MARKET AND IN 2023, IT WILL CELEBRATE A DECADE A BUSINESS AND NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES, AND THE MANY EXHIBITORS THAT MAKE THE EXPO AN

INTERNATIONAL SUCCESS.

ustralia has a coffee scene unlike any other. Wandering through Melbourne, the country’s unofficial coffee capital, baristas can be seen serving coffee from an old shopfront, pop-up caravan, or a hole-in-the-wall covered in graffiti with milk crates out the front.

It’s these unique characteristics and high standards for coffee quality no matter the location that will be on display when the coffee world gathers for the Melbourne International Coffee Expo (MICE) from 17 to 19 August 2023 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC).

“MICE2023 is set to be Australia’s most anticipated coffee event of the year. Returning features include Roasters Alley, Roasters Marketplace, Origin Alley, Cupping Room, and the Product Innovation Awards. There will also be plenty of new additions to continue evolving the expo and ensure we celebrate the 10-year milestone in style,” s ays MICE Show Director Lauren Winterbottom.

As an annual event, MICE also provides an anchor point for international guests to connect with new and existing Australian customers. At the 2022 event, 15 per cent of attendees were international representatives, a testament to the prestige of the expo and the many eyes on the Australian market to see what’s new and what’s next in terms of industry trends and developments. The 2023 event already has 20 per cent of international representatives expected to attend.

“Exhibiting is the best way to showcase your brand to thousands of qualified attendees and connect with one of the most sophisticated global coffee markets,” Winterbottom says.

Winterbottom says there’s already been a significant uptake in international companies wanting to exhibit at MICE2023 and has extended exhibition space to meet demand.

“Every market is represented at MICE, and what better place to start forming those essential relationships with future partners and customers?” she asks.

One company to already secure its place in the expo is non-profit education organisation Coffee Quality Institute (CQI).

“When CQI evaluated our opportunities to reach the coffee community in 2022, we saw that MICE was an efficient way to reach a large number of people who are important to us,” says CQI Director of Marketing and Communications Kristin Schrader.

“Those include future and present CQI certificate holders and other people who take our classes, but also current and potential partners in origin projects. It was especially valuable after

coming out of COVID-19, it was so important to see each other in person again.”

MICE2022 was CQI’s first time exhibiting at the event. Schrader says the organisations was pleasantly surprised at the amount of meaningful face-to-face interactions had in its booth.

“As we build a dependable annual presence at the show, we anticipate an increase in traffic and in our ability to offer relevant information to attendees,” she says.

With constituents around the world, CQI says it didn’t want to miss the opportunity to be more involved in the Australian market, with its “sophisticated coffee culture and significant influence on the global coffee community”.

Schrader adds that the country already includes many CQI certification holders, particularly Q Graders, with potential for more.

“There is so much potential to increase our network in Australia, and that will increase the number of people actively involved in using the global language of coffee quality and those who know coffee better through post-harvest processing education,” she says.

“That contributes to our international community and ultimately supports our mission, to improve the quality of coffee and the lives of those who produce it.”

Another company that believes Australia to be a trend setter in global coffee culture

is Japanese manufacturing company Hario.

Hario Australia Sales Representative Gerard Ong says it’s important for the coffee brewing equipment maker to be recognised and trusted by the Australia coffee industry.

“Showcasing our products at MICE is a great way to do that. There are also many world-class baristas in Australia, and we love collaborating with these amazing baristas to develop new and trendy products for everyone to use,” Ong says.

For Hario, Ong says MICE is a major event where the latest coffee trends and new products are promoted, making it a must-attend expo for industry professionals and coffee lovers alike.

“It is a great once-a-year opportunity for people working in the coffee industry to meet up and network,” he says.

Hario will also use MICE2023 as an opportunity to officially launch the dedicated Hario Australia office.

“Through exhibiting at MICE2023 and holding the official launch during the time, we hope to showcase the advantage of having a branch in Australia to enable Hario to work more closely with the Australian coffee industry,” says Ong.

Green coffee importer Ally Coffee has a similar strategy to expand Down Under, with plans to open an office in Melbourne in the near future.

“This is a market we have always wanted to reach, and while COVID-19 kept plans on hold, we’re very excited to have a nnounced our sales and logistics expansion into Australia,” says Marketing Manager Stephanie Calato.

This growth and effort will be led by Oceania and Asia Sales Manager, Tercio Borba, who has established a presence in the market for the last decade.

“Through continuing the foundation he fostered and developed in importing Brazilian coffee, roasters in this market will have access to Ally Coffee’s full range of importing services and green coffee portfolio spanning several origins,” Calato says.

MICE2023 will be Ally Coffee’s second show as an exhibitor, and already, it looks forward to connecting with attendees and new customers.

“As a coffee importer, we see ourselves as a bridge between producer and roaster, and excited to build relationships, showcase our offerings, and share how we can move coffee forward together,” Calato says.

“If you’re interested in immersing yourself in the coffee industry, especially within this market, then MICE is a great opportunity to connect with coffee professionals throughout the supply chain and discover the many products and possibilities available.”

MICE2023 Show Director Winterbottom says with so much of the coffee community brought together yearly, the opportunities to generate businesses, start partnerships, and connect will only increase with involvement in MICE.

From its beginning in 2012, MICE has remained Australia’s largest and only coffee-dedicated trade show, connecting buyers and sellers, and bringing industry members together.

“With thousands of attendees predicted to pass through the MCEC’s doors, it’s the perfect opportunity to develop new business,” says MICE Show Director Lauren Winterbottom. Winterbottom looks forward to the global coffee industry experiencing this first-hand.

“MICE attracts a quality audience and provides us with the opportunity to connect the Australian and international coffee communities Visitors can engage with coffee roasters, baristas, green bean traders, coffee producers, equipment suppliers, and machine manufacturers,” she says.

“There’s less than a year to go, and we can’t wait.” GCR

For more information, visit internationalcoffeeexpo.com

CQI instructors Luiz Roberto Saldanha Rodrigue (left) and Johan Kwe (right).

Global Coffee Report is the leading business magazine covering the international coffee industry. In-depth features explore on-the-ground developments at origin, coffee pricing issues, technology updates, research breakthroughs and much more.

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WHAT’S BREWING?

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

Kamal Bengougam – Coffee Pilgrims

After 12 years as Eversys Group Commercial Director, Kamal Bengougam decided it was time to close that amazing chapter of his life and start a new venture at Coffee Pilgrims – a consulting company providing strategic advice to the coffee industry.

From January 2023, Bengougam will be working with CEOs, sharing the challenging journey of steering companies towards greater shores.

“I am really excited about the opportunity of starting anew, developing people and companies, imagining new visions, feeling the adrenaline rush of being a pilgrim once more,” he says.

Bengougam has already secured several global mandates, including the development and launch of a ‘disruptive’ household espresso machine, Tourbillon, in 2023.

Jaime Denney, Vice President of Franchise Operations – Scooter’s Coffee

Jaime Denney has joined Scooter’s Coffee as Vice President of Franchise Operations. She will focus on initiatives aimed at increasing the speed and effectiveness of the company’s drive-thru service.

Denney will lead the franchise operations team to identify efficiencies and training opportunities to help franchisees maximise performance and enhance customer service. Denney has experience leading large cross-functional teams, delivering business results and implementing foodservice solutions. Her operational routines will help Scooter’s scale and continually develop to ensure the success of franchisees.

Prior to joining Scooter’s Coffee, Denney was Vice President of Brand Operations at Jamba. Denney, who has 15 years of coffee industry experience, also held leadership roles with Starbucks, Tropical Smoothie Café and Aramark.

Wojciech Tysler, Brand Ambassador – Franke Coffee Systems

Wojciech Tysler is partnering with Franke Coffee Systems to strengthen its position as an innovative and pioneering manufacturer of fully automatic coffee machines.

Tysler, based in Ireland, will act as Brand Ambassador for the internationally operating company, headquartered in Aarburg, Switzerland. Tysler has been involved in the hospitality industry for more than 16 years and spent almost a decade working as a barista in a restaurant in the heart of Dublin. As a consultant and ambassador, Tysler will participate in trade shows and events on behalf of Franke, and will provide indepth insights into the world of Franke’s fully automatic coffee machines in videos.

“Thanks to Franke’s technologies, I can put all my knowledge and creativity as a barista into the fully automatic machines,” Tysler says.

Luc Langevin, Vice President of Development – Scooter’s Coffee

Luc Langevin has joined Scooter’s Coffee as Vice President of Development. He will help accelerate Scooter’s Coffee’s rapid store expansion, including locations across Eastern United States.

Langevin is a real estate development leader who will support the company’s fast-paced expansion through accelerating the speed of new store growth. He will identify key market optimisation opportunities and build on Scooter’s Coffee’s commitment to provide best-in-class real estate support systems to franchisees through innovative processes, collaboration, and consulting. Langevin has more than 27 years of experience in the areas of real estate, site selection, construction, maintenance, design, engineering, and project management.

Prior to joining Scooter’s Coffee, Langevin held a variety of executive and senior leadership roles with CoucheTard, a multinational operator of convenience stores, including Circle K.

World Of Coffee Dubai 2023

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

11 — 13 January

World of Coffee Dubai is the premier coffee trade show for exhibitors and visitors from the Middle East and beyond, tailored for the UAE’s coffee businesses and those who wish to break into the Middle East’s emerging coffee industry. Show features include lectures, the Roaster Village, Cupping Room, the UAE National Championship, Brew Bar, SCA Community Lounge, and a trade show where buyers and sellers can reconnect.

dubai.worldofcoffee.org

Let’s Talk Coffee

COPAN RUINAS, HONDURAS

20

— 25 February

After two years, Let’s Talk Coffee is heading to Honduras for its 19th edition. This is a unique invitation-only event at the Marina Copán Convention Center will bring together leaders from across the coffee supply chain to build strong, meaningful relationships.

At Let’s Talk Coffee, participants learn from each other, do business, and look ahead to the industry’s challenges and opportunities. It is an opportunity to immerse in an origin location, gain firsthand knowledge of production, and enjoy a cultural experience at the Mayan Ruins, Macaw National Park, or Thermal Hot Springs.

www.letstalkcoffee.org

Global coffee:

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 next 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 must-attend 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.

intlcoffeetea-asia.com

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.

intl-cbs.com

World of Coffee

ATHENS, GREECE

22 — 24 June

World of Coffee is the essential event for coffee professionals – drawing a loyal audience from the global specialty coffee community. Organised by the Specialty Coffee Association, World of Coffee has more than tripled in size over the past nine years, reaching audiences of 11,000 visitors and more than 250 exhibitors. The 2023 will features four World Coffee Championships, lecture and workshop series, Green Coffee Buyers and Sellers Program, two tasting rooms, the Roaster Village, and Best New Product Awards & Coffee Design Awards.

worldofcoffee.org

Brambati BR22 Advanced Specialty software

Brambati’s new release of the BR18 Advanced Specialty software, with its 20-step recipes, will be installed on all BR series roasters. Titled BR22, the new software with higher-performance features makes the roasting cycle even more precise and reliable. This new release has been developed to meet the increasingly demanding requirements of the roasting world and the specific needs of Brambati’s customers. Additional safety featues, adjustments and controls have also been implemented. With the updated software, users can create roasting profiles, view all process values, KPIs (such as production, maintenance, and consumption) and monitor

Sensoria by Buencafé

Made with leading innovation in coffee extraction, Sensoria by Buencafé coffee extract highlights the properties of Buencafé’s hand-picked coffee beans. The ingredients are made with 100 per cent Colombian Arabica thanks to innovative technologies in multiple stages that capture natural aromas and flavours. #IngredientsMatter and Buencafé’s natural coffee extract opens a door to a wide variety of possibilities and profiles for a range of customers. Use Buencafé’s purest essence of Colombian coffee in a ready-to-drink beverage, ice cream, or dessert. Explore the many different ways to use Sensoria by Buencafé – limited only by your imagination.

For more information, please visit www.buencafe.com

Cafetto Milk System Clean Kit

Alkaline milk cleaners are very effective at dissolving most milk stone soiling using a combination of ingredients that break down fats and protein, as well as lifting particles from the surface. Acidic milk cleaners target the mineral salts more than alkaline cleaners. Minerals, such as calcium and magnesium, in water and milk, help bind the soil together and can increase adherence to surfaces. Acidic products dissolve these mineral salts and free the milk stone soil from the surface. In terms of acidic or alkaline type milk cleaning system, both products should be used as they target two different soil types. Cafetto Milk System Clean Kit is packed with six cycles of both alkaline and acidic cleaners. This milk kit provides everyday cleaning for a month with one acidic clean and four alkaline cleans for optimum cleaning result in milk systems. Conveniently packed in single use sachet of 10-grams each.

For more information, visit www.cafetto.com

Flavourtech Small-Scale Aroma Recovery

The newest member of Flavourtech’s Spinning Cone Column (SCC) family, the SCC100, is ideal for research and development applications or small production runs of high-value, lowvolume materials. SCC technology is established around the world for aroma recovery in both instant and RTD coffee production. The SCC100 has a throughput of 25 to 115 litres per hour and is capable of processing liquid products, such as coffee and tea extracts, wine, milk and fruit juices. It is manufactured on a compact skid with lockable castors, has an easy-to-use touchscreen and is quickly assembled, operated, and maintained by the user. This smaller model provides coffee companies the opportunity to discover new aroma profiles using smaller volumes which they can then take through to their production process. It also allows reconcentration of aroma to minimise dilution add-back prior to drying.

For more information, visit www.flavourtech.com

Franke Specialty Beverage Station SB1200

The state-of-the-art Specialty Beverage Station SB1200 guarantees the widest choice and flexibility with minimum effort. It can help serve an unprecedented variety of hot and cold coffee beverages to attract demanding customers at any location. No matter if a café has a spacious counter or a small corner, the SB1200 is available in two versions to fit different business premises. The under-counter cooling unit is designed to store a maximum amount of liquids with a capacity of up to 40 litres. In addition to the standard size, the Specialty Beverage Station can be equipped with a sleeker cooling unit for those seeking a space-saving alternative. For effortless peak hour management, two SB1200 may be configured as twin solution with one cooling unit. Thus, customers do not have to wait long to enjoy their favourite drink and customer satisfaction is taken to a new level.

For more information, visit coffee.franke.com

Mahlkönig X54 Allround Home Grinder

The X54 Allround Home grinder is for the quality conscious home barista who wants a versatile coffee grinder, providing optimal grinding for espresso to French press. A true Allround Home grinder with stepless grind size adjustment for perfect finetuning, it features three grind by time pre-sets, a manual mode, and reduced noise for ultra-quiet grinding. With an idle speed of 1050 revolutions per minute, the ultra-strong motor offers the best in home grinding equipment and promises a lifetime of more than 25,000 shots. The 54-millimetre special steel flat burrs made in Germany provide a uniform particle size and a superior taste experience.

For more information, visit www.mahlkoenig.com

According to Nespresso, consumer demand for compostable packaging is increasing, and an estimated 45 per cent of French people now home compost one or more types of biowaste.

“Nespresso is committed to raising awareness among consumers on how to compost their capsules, as well as advocating for the acceptability of these coffee capsules in public organic bins,” says Nespresso Australia’s Monaghan.

Compost coup

CAPSULE

“As soon as you’ve prepared your coffee, eject the paper-based capsule, and put the used capsule into your home composter, or biowaste bin if coffee capsules are accepted.”

Nespresso has also created four new blends to work in harmony with the new paper-based capsules. It includes an organic coffee sourced through the Nespresso AAA Sustainable Quality Program, a coffee sourcing program designed to ensure the supply of high-quality coffee while improving the livelihoods of farmers.

or 30 years, Swiss single serve manufacturer Nespresso has been dedicated to bringing its consumers the ultimate coffee experience in a responsible way.

Head of Marketing at Nespresso Australia Mariah Monaghan says it has renewed that commitment by announcing a new range of paper-based compostable capsules.

“After three years of research and development, Nespresso has created a home compostable paper-based capsule that delivers the high-quality coffee for which the brand is known,” says Monaghan.

The new capsules will pilot initially in France and Switzerland from March 2023 on the Nespresso Original system and are retro-compatible with Nespresso Original machines. The capsules are manufactured in Nespresso’s original production centre in Orbe, Switzerland, and will be further launched in several other European countries within a year.

“This will enable Nespresso to gather vital customer feedback before expanding the market. Eventually, the aim is to expand the product beyond Europe,” Monaghan says.

Nespresso’s first paper-based compostable capsule will complement its offering of aluminium capsules that are recyclable and made using 80 per cent recycled aluminium.

In a company press statement, Nespresso says years of experience in coffee systems allowed it, together with the Nestlé Institute of Packaging Sciences, to develop a paper-based capsule that meets and exceeds the high expectations consumers have of Nespresso in terms of protecting the coffee’s aromas and taste.

Huhtamaki, a global provider of sustainable packaging solutions, was one of the partners in the development of the new paper-based capsule.

“We are delighted to partner with Nespresso on the home compostable paper-based capsule. Part of this breakthrough innovation is the result of combining 82 per cent of paper pulp from wood fibre, a natural renewable material, compressing it to a coffee capsule using our high precision technology, creating another sustainable alternative for Nespresso lovers,” says Huhtamaki CEO Charles Héaulmé.

The product is certified for composting, both at home and industrially, by TÜV Austria, an international certification body.

In France, Nespresso initiated Union des Acteurs du Compostable, an interest group bringing together public bodies, companies, recycling operators, and non-governmental organisations, to help increase the sorting of biowaste.

“The four new coffee blends are not available in our range of aluminium capsules, so the taste cannot be directly compared. We’re confident that the quality level gives a comparable experience to what consumers know and love from Nespresso. We are planning to develop more coffees for this range in the future to enrich our coffee offering, as we constantly look to offer new experiences to our consumers,” Monaghan says.

“Through our AAA Program, we work directly with more than 140,000 farmers rather than sourcing our coffees through the commodity market, and so we are exploring opportunities for further organic coffees through these existing partnerships where it makes sense for the farmers as part of our continued investment in these relationships.”

Monaghan says as a pioneer of highquality coffee, Nespresso has always listened to consumers and innovated to give them the experience they’re after.

“We recognise that our consumers want to have a choice. While aluminium has the benefit of being infinitely recyclable, and we offer several ways to recycle, some consumers may prefer to compost their coffee capsules,” she says.

“With this innovation, Nespresso is delivering the quality, taste, and freshness that coffee lovers expect from Nespresso in a home compostable capsule and, by doing so, expanding consumers’ choice of sustainable options.” GCR

PAPER-BASED COMPOSTABLE

THAT GIVES CUSTOMERS ANOTHER SUSTAINABLE CHOICE WHILE PROTECTING COFFEE’S AROMA AND TASTE.

The compostable capsules are made in collaboration with the Nestlé Institute of Packaging Sciences.

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.