Coffee News Recap, 5 Jul: Four WCC winners announced at WoC Copenhagen, Jollibee acquires South Korea’s Compose Coffee & other stories

Every Friday, Perfect Daily Grind rounds up the top coffee industry news from the previous week.

Here are this week’s stories – the word of the week is championships.

Mon, 1 Jul

Four WCC winners announced at WoC Copenhagen. The top three competitors for each championship are:
- World Latte Art Championship: Yi-Chen Xie (Taiwan), Manuela Fensore (Italy), and Guoqiang Liu (China)
- World Cezve/Ibrik Championship: Jordan Tachnakian (France), Kevser Atmaca (Turkey), and Ivan Bilousov (Ukraine)
- World Coffee in Good Spirits Championship: Seung Chan Wi (South Korea), Sandro Roth (Switzerland), and Andrea Villa (Italy)
- World Coffe Roasting Championship: TaiYang Liu (China), Mateusz Derkacz (Poland), and Andrea Trevisan (Austria)

Compass Coffee allegedly hires over 100 new employees to thwart union vote. Co-founder Michael Haft stated the company values and supports its employees and is committed to fair compensation and constructive dialogue. However, the company is now accused of hiring 124 new employees at unionising locations to tip the vote in their favour. (Washington DC, US)

Mark Wahlberg Joins Cole Hauser’s Free Rein Coffee as investor and brand ambassador. The US actor, producer, and entrepreneur is a long-time supporter of veteran causes, and says he was inspired by Free Rein’s mission to “Serve Those Who Serve”. (San Angelo, Texas, US)

nunc espresso machine and grinder launches at WoC Copenhagen. The new smart home espresso machine and grinder’s MagicGrind and MagicShot technology automatically detect and adjust brewing parameters according to the coffee used. The MagicMilk feature can also foam a variety of milks, including plant-based options. (Konstanz, Germany)

Square Mile Coffee Roasters launches pilot testing of Bellwether Coffee’s electric roasting technology to expand operations. Bellwether Coffee launched a pilot partnership with Square Mile, which aims to expand the sustainable micro-roastery movement across the UK and Europe. (Berkley, California, US and London, UK).

EU lawmakers divided over calls to delay deforestation regulation. Many key industry supply chain actors and stakeholders have expressed concerns about the upcoming EUDR deadline. EU lawmaker Peter Liese also urged Brussels to delay and scale back the law. (Brussels, Belgium)

Brazil coffee crop disappoints as beans affected by drought. The world’s leading coffee produce faces a disappointing harvest with smaller beans due to heat and drought stress on plants. This setback is likely to lead to downward revisions in arabica production, impacting global markets already under strain.

SCA accepting nominations for 2025-27 Board of Directors. The SCA Board of Directors, which consists of 15 volunteer members, is transitioning to a new staggered election process as per the Amended and Restated Bylaws approved by the membership. In the upcoming 2024 election, seven seats will be contested to align with the new governance structure. Nominations close 15 July. (Irvine, California, US)

WoC Copenhagen attracts record number of 12,600 attendees. Visitors from over 140 countries took part in the event, which hosted four 2024 World Coffee Championships and announced the winners of the Best New Product and Coffee Design awards. (Copenhagen, Denmark)

Tue, 2 Jul

Colombia’s Juan Valdez targets Brazil and China for expansion. Juan Valdez CEO Camila Escobar Corredor told Bloomberg the brand plans to enter the Brazilian and Chinese retail packaged coffee markets before opening physical stores, which has been a successful strategy in Turkey and Kuwait. Juan Valdez expects to open 100 new stores this year, with at least 75 in international markets. (Bogotá, Colombia)

G7 Education Summit opens with focus on coffee sector training. Organised by illycaffè and the Fondazione Ernesto Illy, the event kicked off the G7 Ministerial Meeting on Education in Trieste, led by Minister Giuseppe Valditara. The discussion emphasised the importance of coffee training to address climate change and poverty. (Trieste, Italy)

United Airlines to serve cold brew onboard for first time. The US airline will offer illycaffè canned cold brew, and will be the first airline company in the country to serve cold brew. (Chicago, Illinois, US)

Jollibee acquires US $340 million stake in South Korea’s Compose Coffee. The Filipino fast food giant’s 70% stake in the company will allow it to expand its presence in South Korea’s burgeoning coffee market. (Manila, Philippines)

Tanzania’s 2024-25 production rise as old farms are renewed. Tanzania’s green coffee production is projected to rise by about 7% to 1.5 million 60kg bags in the 2024-25 market year following successful rehabilitation of ageing plantations and strong demand from key buyers like the EU.

Uruguay’s The Lab Coffee Roasters launches first franchise programme. Working with Uruguayan franchise consultancy Surplus since early 2023, the family-operated chain aims to attract partners to open both small-footprint stores for high footfall areas and larger premises focused on in-store dining. (Montevideo, Uruguay)

Wed, 3 Jul

Tipping in US coffee shops declines as backlash against “tipflation” continues. Some 20% of customers consistently tip baristas in the US – down from 23% in 2021. This trend reflects a broader backlash against “tipflation” in the US, where consumers feel pressured to tip even for minimal service. (New York City, New York, US)

UK’s Lincoln & York to host roastery tour on 10 September to celebrate 30th anniversary. The direct-to-consumer and wholesale roaster will show select guests around the 6,000 sq m facility, and will also host an exclusive cupping session. (Brigg, UK)

Castaway Coffee becomes official coffee partner of Miami Marlins. The multi-year partnership aligns with the Marlins’ environmental and community initiatives, reinforcing Castaway Coffee’s commitment to protecting Florida’s oceans and waterways. (Miami, Florida, US)

First EUDR-driven project approved to support cocoa and coffee production in Cameroon. The UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) will partner with Cameroon’s Coffee and Cocoa Development Fund (FODECC) to support small-scale producers comply with upcoming EUDR regulations.

First-ever SIGEP Asia crowns four Singaporean Coffee Champions. Hosted by the Singapore Coffee Association, 70 participants competed across four events:
- Wong Ruoqi (Chris) from Santino is the 2025 Barista Champion
- Elysia Tan from Homeground Coffee Roasters won the Brewers Cup Championship
- Tan Jia Min from the Populus Coffee & Food Co. is the 2025 Latte Art Champion
- Tan Yi Xin from Starbucks Coffee Singapore won the Cup Tasters Championship

India’s Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters opens first store in Japan. The new Tokyo location is part of the company’s plan to expand in Japan and beyond. (Tokyo, Japan)

Good Form and Royal Coffee collaborate to offer two scholarships for Q grader exam. The scholarship opportunity aims lower barriers associated with Q grader certification. Applications are open until 12 July. (Oakland, California, US)

Thu, 4 Jul

Coffee prices jump by 20% following tight supplies and lower export volumes in Vietnam & Indonesia. Both arabica and robusta futures spiked in late June, with favourable weather in Brazil also affecting prices.

Singapore’s Morning to open first retail outlet. The brand will showcase its premium Nespresso-compatible capsule Morning machine at a new retail outlet in Singapore’s New Bahru district. The company operates an online marketplace and mobile app for specialty coffee capsules, and partners with roasters.

Starbucks hosts 2024 Asia Pacific Regional Barista Championship. A total of 27 Starbucks baristas from 14 different Asia-Pacific markets competed in the eight edition of the Barista and Latte Art Championships in Hong Kong.

Ratio Coffee launches Six Series 2 brewer. The upgraded version of Ratio’s home brewer aims to enhance the coffee brewing experience. Alongside the launch, the company published a white paper which outlines extensive tests and comparisons with other popular home drip coffee makers. (Portland, Oregon, US)

Starbucks to open UK’s busiest location at Heathrow airport. The new 252 sq ft location in terminal 5 will include nine coffee machines to serve hundreds of customers every hour. (London, UK)

Brazilian President Lula unveils record crop financing plan to gain support from farmers. The 400 billion reais (US $71.8 billion) plan for Brazil’s agribusiness sector would allocate 76 billion reais (US $13.8 billion) for producers and their families. (Brasília, Brazil)

Latvia’s Kalve Coffee seeks US $1.1 million IPO to fuel international expansion. Funds will support international expansion efforts, including opening six stores in Estonia and Lithuania by 2025, followed by expansion into other regions beyond the Baltic states in 2026. (Rīga, Latvia)

Caffè Nero Group achieves record annual sales following strong global trading. The coffee chain, which operates Caffè Nero across ten global markets globally, as well as Coffee#1 and Harris+Hoole in the UK, achieved 10% year-on-year sales growth in the 12 months ending 30 May 2024 to reach US $690 million. (London, UK)

Fri, 5 Jul

Caffe Assist milk foaming solution launches in Australia. The automated milk foaming system can prepare a range of milks, including plant-based options, with systems installed in Hungry Jack’s and Krispy Kreme stores across the country. (Victoria, Australia)

The 2024 Expo Orinoquía Café y Cacao to take place from 19 to 21 July. Last year’s event included 50 exhibitors and 95,000 attendees, and generated over US $10 million. The upcoming expo will host the second regional Colombian AeroPress Championship, and is set to be an even bigger event than last year. (Orinoquía region, Colombia)

One-third of Sweden’s young consumers prefer iced coffee. A survey by Kantar for Löfbergs found that while hot coffee is still dominant, cold coffee drinks are gaining popularity, especially among young people. In the 18-29 age group, 36% have consumed iced coffee in the past month, making it more popular than the cappuccino and the latte. (Karlstad, Sweden)

Coffee Science Foundation announces 2024-25 research agenda. CSF will work to better understand coffee quality attributes (using the SCA’s new CVA as a reference), assess value creation in the industry, and model high-quality sustainability research. (Irvine, California, US)

Be Bright to host US Barista Championship tasting experience and new summer menu. With sessions every Saturday throught July at 11:00, 12:30, and 14:00 local time, attendees can sample extract chilled espresso, freeze distilled evaporated cappuccinos, and signature beverages. Each guest will also receive a 30g dose of competition beans. (Los Angeles, California, US)

Applications open for first-ever AeroPress Invitational. The new competition format (which is part of the 2024 World AeroPress Championship) will pit passionate coffee professionals against some of the biggest names in the industry. (Lisbon, Portugal)

FinalPress raises US $1.5 million on Kickstarter for patented micro French press. The portable mini coffee press can be used to prepare both hot and cold drinks. (California, US)

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

Mon, 24 Jun – Foreign minister calls on Taiwan businesses to buy Guatemalan coffee following China’s ban. Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung discussed the Chinese ban on Guatemalan coffee beans and macadamia nuts, and urged TCCNA members to help. (Taipei, Taiwan)

Wed, 26 Jun – Chicago entrepreneur and mall coffee icon Gloria Jean Kvetco passes away. The Gloria Jean’s Coffee founder passed away on 14 June at age 82. Under her leadership, the brand expanded nationally, competing with major rivals like Starbucks and Peet’s. (Chicago, Illinois, US)

Fri, 28 Jun – UN agencies and EU launch project to address child labour in the coffee industry. With funding from the EU, the ILO, FAO, ITC, and UNICEF launched the CLEAR Supply Chains Project to tackle the root causes of child labour in supply chains. Announced at the WoC Copenhagen, the project aims to address these issues using an area-based approach. (Brussels, Belgium)

Photo credits: Specialty Coffee Association