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Fairtrade America Launches Third “Choose Fairtrade” Campaign
Fairtrade America, the United States branch of Fairtrade International, has launched the third “Choose Fairtrade. Choose the World You Want” campaign. This year, the campaign features murals from local artists depicting Fairtrade farmers outside of participating progressive grocery stores in Atlanta, Milwaukee and Portland, Oregon.
Specialty Coffee Association to Form Task Force for Cuppers and Graders
As the Specialty Coffee Association prepares to roll out its new cupping and grading protocol — expected in 2023 — the nonprofit membership association says it plans to appoint a task force to support professional coffee cuppers and graders. See the full announcement.
Baratza Co-Founder and CEO Kyra Kennedy to Retire
Kyra Kennedy, the co-founder and CEO of grinder maker Baratza is retiring. A longtime champion of the specialty coffee industry, particularly in the United States, Kennedy founded Baratza 23 years ago with business partner Kyle Anderson. The company was acquired by Breville in 2020. “It has been an amazing and rewarding journey,” Kennedy said in an announcement shared with DCN. “I am grateful to all the people that have worked with me to make Baratza the thriving, innovative, and people centric global company that it is today. It has always been hard for me to imagine leaving Baratza, but this is the right time for me to step away.”
National Coffee Association Names Nestlé’s Kathryn Lawson Science Council Chair
The National Coffee Association of the United States has named Kathryn Lawson as the chair of its Science Leadership Council (SLC), which advises the association on a range of scientific and regulatory issues surrounding coffee and caffeine. Lawson is currently the senior regulatory and scientific affairs manager at Nestlé USA.
ICO Monthly Market Report Shows Median Coffee Prices Down 0.2% From August to September
The International Coffee Organization has issued its monthly global coffee market report, showing a 0.2% average price decrease among all coffee types from the month of August to September. The median value for September was $1.984 per pound. Find the full report here.
UK Coffee Week Running October 10-16
This week (October 10-16) marks the return of UK Coffee Week, a weeklong celebration of coffee supported by the Allegra Foundation, a nonprofit associated with the UK-based marketing and event agency the Allegra Group. Scores of UK roasters and retailers are engaging in promotional efforts, while events and sales throughout the week will benefit the nonprofit Project Waterfall. See a map of participating businesses.
Seven Seas Roasting Reps Fly to Ukraine with $10,000 Donation
Seven Seas Roasting CEO Eric Dobbs and chef Marco Maestoso recently represented the San Diego coffee company while hand-delivering a more than $10,000 donation plus medical supplies to One Love Coffee in Kyiv, Ukraine. The funds were raised through a special fundraiser blend plus sales of t-shirts in partnership with fellow San Diego company Squeegee Prints.
Dunkin’ Pledges “100% Responsibly Sourced” Coffee by 2025
United States-based Dunkin’ is one of two massive coffee roasting companies (see below) to state a commitment to baseline sustainability standards for all of its coffee. The company has enlisted the nonprofit sustainability verification firm Enveritas for its sustainable coffee commitment, which promises “100% responsibly sourced coffee” by 2025.
Nestlé to Commit $1.01 Billion to Nescafé Coffee Sustainability
Global food giant Nestlé said it is committing more than 1 billion Swiss francs ($1.01 Billion USD) towards a sustainability initiative in its coffee supply chain called Nescafé Plan 2030. The initiative follows a 10-year Nescafé Plan that launched in 2010. It calls for “100% sustainably sourced coffee by 2025,” while incentivizing regenerative agriculture practices among coffee farmers in the Nescafé supply chain.
Green Coffee Seller Vournas Coffee Trading Celebrates 20 Years
Thousand Oaks, California-based Vournas Coffee Trading is celebrating its 20th year anniversary in business. Led by the married duo Andrew and Kat Vournas, the company provides a range of specialty coffees for small-to-medium-size roasting businesses.
Black Rifle Coffee Engaged in Legal Kerfuffle with Former Investors
The Mercury News unearthed a months-long legal battle currently unfolding between the vehemently pro-gun Black Rifle Coffee Company and one of its former investors. The latter filed suit back in May alleging stock manipulation and fraud, while Black Rifle has subsequently alleged libel. Read more.
In Case You Missed It
Here are some of DCN’s top stories from the past week…
The 2022 Roast Summit at the Seattle Convention Center. Photos by Juan José Sánchez Macías for Roast.
A Look Back at the 2022 Roast Summit @ Coffee Fest PNW
Bringing together coffee professionals from around the world to learn about approaches to roasting, processing and sourcing green coffee, this was the first in-person iteration of the Roast Summit since 2019… Read more
When Coffee Farmers Face Crises, Farmworkers Suffer Most
Labor is the single largest component of most coffee farmers’ costs of production. In Latin America, for example, labor accounts for the majority of production costs… Read more
Australia’s Anthony Douglas Wins World Barista Championship, Taiwan’s Shih Yuan Hsu (Sherry) Wins Brewers Cup
Each of the United States representatives in the competitions — U.S. Barista Champion Morgan Eckroth of Morgan Drinks Coffee and Elika Liftee of Onyx Coffee Lab — placed second… Read more
Melodrip is Launching the Colum, a Conical Zero-Bypass Brewer
Featuring a stainless steel conical filter holder that supports a borosilicate glass column, the brewer is designed to eliminate the effect known as bypass… Read more
Fellow Unveils Next Generation of Stagg EKG Gooseneck Kettles
The Fellow Stagg EKG Pro and EKG Pro Studio Edition introduce new wifi-connected features to the EKG line, while boasting a revamped interface and other advanced controls… Read more
With Three New Bars, Discourse Coffee is the Talk of the Town in Milwaukee
The drinksmiths at Discourse Coffee in Milwaukee continue to expand the conversation surrounding coffee, with a flurry of openings over the past eight months that includes a new downtown flagship cafe… Read more
Brazilian Specialist Peixoto Coffee Moves Upward with Second Arizona Cafe
Vertically integrated farm-to-cup coffee company Peixoto Coffee Roasters has expanded with a vertically oriented second cafe in Gilbert, Arizona… Read more
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