• Biscotti Testarossa — an oatmilk latte with almond, hazelnut, and mascarpone cream foam, topped with a freeze-dried orange.
• Peppermint Mocha — espresso, milk, and chocolatey peppermint, topped with whipped cream and crushed peppermint. It can also be enjoyed caffeine-free.
• Iced Gingerbread Latte — orange and plum-noted espresso with gingerbread and simple syrup, served with a choice of milk.
• Iced Mint Brew — Gregorys Nu Brew – cold brew blended with Nutella and milk – swirled with peppermint and mocha, topped with whipped cream and peppermint pieces.

The limited-edition holiday beverages are available through the season or while supplies last. Gregorys Coffee also announced that as of November, the chain has removed the upcharge on dairy-free milks.

Founded by lawyer turned coffee guru Gregory Zamfotis, Gregorys Coffee was born 17 years ago. What started as a family business with one shop in Manhattan now has a cult following of “Gregulars” and a chain of 48 stores across 10 markets, with seven new shops set to open through 2025.

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Alongside the event, Lavazza introduces vibrant new packaging, embodying Italian life while continuing to deliver the premium coffee quality that consumers cherish. The rebrand invites coffee lovers to indulge in life’s simple pleasures and savor each sip. US Open attendees will be among the first to experience this refreshed identity, embarking on a multi-sensory journey through iconic Italian landscapes. The immersive experience includes a 360-degree video installation at the on-site booth, where fans can participate in exciting prize giveaways during Fan Week, bringing the charm and elegance of Italian culture to the heart of the tournament.

In his continued role as Lavazza brand ambassador, Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner further reinforces the brand’s commitment to promote Italian coffee culture globally, participating in the world’s most prestigious tennis events, and engaging with the next generation of tennis players and fans. With a victory to his credit at the Australian Open in January 2024, as well as numerous other prestigious achievements in the aftermath, Sinner has captured the attention of the world and aligns with Lavazza’s prestige.

“We are thrilled to continue our partnership with the US Open, a collaboration that perfectly embodies the harmony between tennis and coffee,” said Daniele Foti, vice president of marketing for Lavazza North America. “The US Open is also the perfect stage to unveil our refreshed Dolcevita styling—a vibrant upgrade to our packaging that marks an exciting new era for the brand.”

Beginning Fan Week, Lavazza features a new Coffeetail Corner within the US Open Main Village that will continue throughout the tournament. This bar serves hand-crafted cocktails, including a host of unique espresso martinis. At Lavazza’s main cafe, attendees can enjoy specialty offerings like the new Blue Iced Cappuccino, traditional coffee favourites, including Americanos, lattes and cold brew to keep fans energized throughout the event. Additionally, tennis-goers can receive a limited edition 16oz reusable US Open x Lavazza cup, featuring a custom tennis-themed design, with the purchase of a drip coffee at any Lavazza location within the grounds.

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It marks five winning years in a row for Pact Coffee, and the company’s Buenos Aires Decaf was one of only seven decaf coffees to win a two-star award this year. 

Other winners were its seasonal single-origin, Rich & Chocolatey Christmas Filter, and its Single Estate Microlot Filter, which is available in Waitrose and Whole Foods stores. 

The Great Taste Awards is recognised as the Oscars of the specialty food and drink world. The unmistakable black and gold Great Taste logo is a sign many consumers look for when buying food and drink, and it’s a stamp of excellence that is recognised by retailers and consumers alike.

Tens of thousands of products are put past the judges every year in a blind tasting, and the judge’s said Pact’s Decaf Buenos Aires “wears its decaf nature very lightly”.

Will Corby, Pact’s Director of Coffee, said: “We’re thrilled to mark five years in a row of winning Great Taste Awards, and this year is particularly special to us”. 

“We’ve stuck to our guns on decaf coffee since we began, always roasting the same standard of coffee that’s on our non-decaf menu no more than seven days before delivery. This is a marked difference from a lot of other decaf on the market, and it’s fantastic to see it awarded with the famous black and gold logo”.

The award rounds off an eventful 12 months for Pact Coffee, who have launched in Waitrose and Whole Foods and roasted their highest annual total of coffee yet over the period. 

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“The machinery is 100% automated, with 108 options for grain classification routes. This automation system makes it possible to control KPIs (production and maintenance control indexes), as well as having an Artificial Intelligence sensor to control predictive maintenance. It was designed to work with high quality coffee, in a more selective way, aiming for higher yields, better selection and classification of the beans,” said Célio Barreto, Expocacer’s innovation and technology manager.

The Expocacer’s machinery park at Storage Units I and II, has 4 coffee classification production lines capable of producing up to 500 bags of 60kg per hour, equivalent to 30,000 kg/h.

The vanguard cooperative has also been working with AI sensors for predictive prevention. The sensors monitor the machinery’s vibrations and temperature in real time, informing the producers where and when predictive maintenance should be carried out without affecting the pace of production. This technology has led to a 20% reduction in maintenance costs and a 10% increase in machinery availability.

Today, Expocacer’s warehouses are moving towards excellence in Industry 4.0, which stands for industrial automation and the integration of different technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), automation and robotics, IoT (internet of things) and cloud computing, with the aim of promoting the decentralisation of human action in production processes, using automation and technology to connect the entire operation, speeding up processes and increasing productivity. These systems incorporate intelligence into machines, thereby optimising and automating production, allowing information to be generated and the various stages of our value chain to be connected.

“Due to the transformational impact of AI and “digital twin” technologies, our industry is becoming increasingly autonomous, with a new workflow that uses virtual simulation of the operation as a reference and allows us to test new layouts and identify new processes using IoT in every machine on the production line. The application of these technologies allows us to reduce the cycle time of the operation, optimising spaces, processes and operational efficiency without costly physical changes,” explained Expocacer’s operations and logistics director, Flávia Madureira.

By integrating innovations into coffee production processes, coffee growers can also meet consumer demands for transparency and sustainability in the supply chain. Technology can be allied to the producer and the coffee industry at different stages such as cultivation and harvest, post-harvest, monitoring, quality control, traceability, automation and to evaluate the buyer’s experience.

Coffee growers also work with these technologies on their properties, such as smart irrigation, which are soil moisture sensors and weather stations used to monitor environmental conditions and control the irrigation system precisely and efficiently. Machine learning algorithms are also applied to optimise water use, ensuring that plants receive the right amount of water at the right time.

In the Cerrado Mineiro, systems are also used for automatic grain selection and classification, data management, mechanized harvesting, fertigation and precise nutrition, among others.

“We are always looking to offer producers and consumers the best and newest production techniques, always combined with sustainability. The future is fertile ground for innovation and creativity,” concluded Célio Barreto.

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Klatch Coffee is a family-owned micro-roaster that has been producing coffee for over thirty years, roasting to its “Peak of Flavour” standards. Its Crazy Goat Blend is now part of Bruvi’s coffee offering.

Klatch is the latest partner in Bruvi’s Brand Partner’s Program, which aims to bring America’s best specialty coffee brands to a single-serve brewing platform for the very first time. Previous partners include LAMILL Coffee, Joyride, and Equator Coffee.

Specialty coffee brands are partnering with Bruvi because it offers technology and extraction not previously available on a single-serve platform, plus innovative degradable pods – making it suitable for craft brands and roasters like Klatch.

Klatch has partnered with Steeped Coffee and Cometeer in the past, but this is the first time it is offering its coffee in a single-serve brewer capsule format.

About Klatch Crazy Goat Blend

A robust medium-dark roasted blend with flavour notes of dark chocolate, toffee, and hints of spice in aroma and cup, from origins Central America, South America and Indonesia. It is the blend of choice for cold brew in Klatch Coffee cafes, and the Crazy Goat Blend B-Pods are available at US$24 for a box of 20 pods exclusively on Bruvi.com.

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Coffee is so loved in South Korea that the slogan “Korea is a Coffee Republic” has become viral on social media networks over the past few years. Per capita consumption stands at 405 cups, more than twice above the global average of 152 cups, Euromonitor International calculated.

The Korean Economic Institute of America put the consumption at as high as 512 cups per year. One way or another, in terms of coffee consumption per adult, South Korea is ranked the world’s second, following only France.

Coffee accounts for 30.8 percent of the total South Korean beverage market, which is even higher than the share of carbonated drinks of 25.5 percent, the Korean Food and Drug Safety Ministry estimated.
The key factor behind the soaring popularity of coffee in South Korea is a busy corporate and lifestyle culture, Taeyoung Lee, a local analyst, noted. In recent years, it has also been complemented by the high accessibility of coffee, as coffee shops in the country can be found virtually on every corner.
A study conducted by the Ministry showed that in 2022, coffee sales in South Korea were valued at KRW 5.7 trillion (USD $4.3 billion), making it the world’s third-largest coffee market.

Starbucks is the undisputed market leader and a symbol of the country’s coffee culture. After entering the country in 1999, the company swiftly conquered the hearts and minds of local coffee lovers. Starbucks sales are consistently trending upward, reaching a staggering KRW 2.59 trillion ($1.9bn) in 2022, against KRW 1.93 trillion ($1.47bn) in 2020 and KRW 2.38 trillion ($1.82bn) in 2021. With 1,750 stores all over the country, South Korea is Starbucks’ fourth largest market after exceeding Starbucks Japan in 2022, just behind the United States, China, and Canada.

A battleground of franchises

International coffee chains flock to South Korea to capitalise on the exceptional demand for coffee. The official figures indicated that the number of coffee brands present in the country jumped from only 390 in 2020 to 852 in 2022, and the trend is yet to wind down. Against this background, the total number of coffee shops, coffee-to-go points, and cafés reached the historic record of 99,000 outlets at the end of 2022.

Local press reported that South Korean market newcomers dream of “becoming the second Starbucks.” Although matching Starbucks’ store presence is hardly within grasp, new chains can still get their piece of the ‘coffee pie’.

Canadian coffee brand Tim Hortons, which launched in South Korea in December 2023, announced that it sold 300,000 doughnuts and over 100,000 cups of coffee within a month of opening. The company has swiftly launched three more outlets and, at the time of writing, was on the fast track to putting the fifth into operation.

Peet’s Coffee, one of the top three coffee brands in the western part of the United States, registered its trademark in South Korea in May 2023 and is preparing to open its first outlets. Intelligentsia, one of the top three specialty coffee brands in the United States, is also preparing to enter South Korea. When Intelligentsia opens a store there, it will be the brand’s first store outside the United States.
Growth comes at its own price. Local publication, Chosun, citing its own sources in the industry, reported that while the upward trend in the coffeehouse market continues, the number of coffee shops that closed in 2023 appeared to be the highest ever, as not everyone is ready to withstand competition.

ome brands that have entered the South Korean market in the previous few years have found it challenging to scale up their businesses. Chosun, for example, said that Japan’s Percent Coffee, Vietnam’s Kong Café, and Denmark’s April Coffee are among the brands that have entered the market in the previous years and still have a relatively small presence in the market.

On the other hand, ultra-low-cost coffee brands such as Mega Coffee and Compose have been expanding their operations in the market.

Despite being geographically small, specialist coffee and tea shop chains in South Korea have shown a remarkable 11.92 percent compound annual growth rate for the outlet growth from 2018 to 2023, Kevin Han, research analyst with Euromonitor International, commented. “This growth is heavily influenced by the emergence of low-priced coffee brands and their aggressive outlet expansion strategies.”

As expected, the fight for customers eventually undermines revenues across the board. “As these brands have competed for the same market share by entering the same location, there has been a noticeable decrease in sales per outlet for each low-priced coffee brand in the second half of 2023, indicating a decrease of consumer visits per outlet due to the fierce competition,” Han said.
To address this challenge, low-priced coffee brands have diversified their menus by adding bakery and dessert items. This strategic move aims to avoid a decline in sales per outlet by encouraging higher average customer spending, and this trend is expected to continue, he said.

In the last couple of years, the South Korean coffee market has also witnessed a surge in the popularity of specialty coffee. This is evidenced by the sales dynamics of Paul Bassett, the leader in this segment.
Paul Bassett’s sales have reached KRW 145.6 billion ($111m) in 2022 from KRW 107.5 billion ($82m) in 2021, which increased from KRW 81.3 billion ($62m) in 2020. The figures are on the rise as a growing number of Korean customers seek better taste features.

A spokesperson for the company said, “Our greatest competitiveness is the high level of quality shown in all our stores. In the future, we plan to operate specialised stores or expand our product range to better suit customer tastes.”

There are other signs that the market players believe the growth opportunities in the premium segment of the South Korean coffee market are far from being exhausted.

Lotte Department Store recently announced that it had exclusively secured the domestic franchise and distribution rights for Bacha Coffee, a brand that originated in Marrakech, Morocco, and currently operates a total of 18 stores in nine countries, including Singapore, France, Hong Kong, and the United Arab Emirates.

Local press reported that Lotte Department Store CEO, Jeong Jun-ho, spent about 18 months personally persuading executives at Basha Coffee’s headquarters in Singapore to import its coffee. The exclusive domestic franchise and distribution rights contract was signed in September 2023, and the first store in the country is scheduled to open in July 2024.

Transition stage

While interest in specialty coffee remains high, within the overall coffee shop segment, the
main emphasis is no longer on further improving taste.

“The Korean coffee market is undergoing a transition, shifting its focus from the taste of specific beans and individual coffee products to considerations such as convenience, pricing, new offerings, and ambience,” Han said. “Consequently, there is a notable expansion in the market towards offering a variety of beverages and bakery items, accompanied by a strong emphasis on interior design and distinctive outlet concepts,” he noted.

This diversification leads to the continuous development of Korean specialist coffee and tea shops and the café market, which, according to Han, is predicted to grow at a 3.75 percent compound annual growth rate in retail value between 2023 and 2028.

Another powerful trend, said Taeyoung Lee, is that Korean coffee lovers are increasingly becoming more health-conscious.

As a result, pre-brewed coffee was the only segment where sales have dropped in the past few years, as customers were wary of sugar and flavouring content. Since 2018, pre-brewed coffee sales have dropped by roughly 16 percent.

“The growth of coffee franchise brands with a low-price strategy and the tendency to prefer coffee shops such as cafés have had an impact on the decline in the size of the pre-brewed coffee market,” explained Lee.

Losing identity

Based on the current trends and dynamics observed in the Korean coffee market, the outlook remains optimistic yet competitive, Han said. However, serving coffee is no longer enough to succeed in this business in Korea.

In 2023, Euromonitor International observed that independent cafés, with a focus on food, bakery and dessert offerings, exhibited a higher year-on-year growth rate in terms of value and transactions compared to independent specialist coffee and tea shops that mainly focused on coffee and beverage products.

“This trend highlights an increasing significance of bakery and desserts and suggesting a new transition in the Korean coffee market. Therefore, in the forecasted period, not only are specialist coffee and tea shops continually introducing bakery products, but independent cafés would also improve the quality of bakery and dessert offerings as a core differentiation,” Han explained.

Additionally, most specialist coffee and tea shops are transitioning from using baristas to brew coffee to using high-priced coffee machines, primarily to manage labour costs, he added. To a degree, this trend is causing coffee shops to lose their identity.

Han shared that, despite the benefits of operational standardisation, he “firmly believes this shift has led to a loss of differentiation among specialist coffee and tea shops, intensifying competition by making entry into the Korean coffee market relatively easier for both domestic and international brands.”
In the long run, this trend may offer additional business development opportunities for those players that are contemplating entering the Korean coffee market.

“There may be an increase in the entry of international chained specialist coffee and tea brands in upcoming years, while domestic brands focus on improving product offerings and atmosphere to emphasise their unique selling points and to deliver more personalised and new experiences to enhance consumer engagement,” said Han.

• Vladislav Vorotnikov is a Batumi, Georgia-based multimedia B2B freelance journalist writing about the tea and coffee industries since 2012.

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Hernández’s father, Ricaurte, was the winner of the first ever Colombian Cup of Excellence and ran the farm until, tragically, he was killed by a paramilitary group while defending his farm in 2013. 

Oscar Hernández then left the Navy and returned to the farm, recruited his microbiologist sister and brother in law, and took a scientific approach to coffee which now brings widely admired natural left-of-field tasting notes.

The limited edition set contains 100g sachets of the five coffees that Hernández calls “the DNA of the farm.”

Each set comes with a booklet, detailing the innovative approach to each of the coffees, their tasting notes, and the full story behind the farm, plus a guide on how to taste speciality coffee. 

Jonny Gagel, Pact’s head roaster, said: “Roasters all over the world are queueing up for Oscar’s coffee for good reason. These are genuinely some of the most fascinating coffees I’ve tasted in a long time.” 

“There are flavours of cola, lemon, ginger, cherries, and much more. It’s an ambitious roasting project, and I can’t wait to get started.”

The set is available for pre-order from 11 April for and ships from 18 April. Customers can pre-order the set to save £5 and buy it for £24.95. 

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While cocoa and coffee may both share some challenges, Spencer Hyman, founder of Cocoa Runners, explained in his talk as part of the Cocoa Makers Forum, how there are learnings that cocoa should takeaway from the coffee industry. Even though the global sales of coffee and chocolate are generally pretty similar, coffee dominates when it comes to specialty, or what in the chocolate world is known as craft chocolate. According to the SCA (Specialty Coffee Association), 15-25% of coffee sales are specialty coffee, whereas it is estimated that only around 0.2-0.5% of chocolate is sold as craft chocolate.

Coffee has succeeded in creating its own everyday coffee specialists in consumers, the people who are grinding their own beans, deliberating between medium or dark roast, weighing their coffee to get the exactly right ratio to water. While they may not be professional, a lot of consumers nowadays would consider themselves somewhat amateur experts and this has fuelled the world of specialty coffee, something that has been enabled by social media and the ability it gives its users to delve into and learn everything about a specific topic, as well as sharing their own learnings.

Building on this, is the out of home consumption of specialty coffee. Hyman argued that this is something else the specialty coffee world has got right; about 80% of specialty coffee is consumed in coffee shops. “If you want to be super cool and super trendy and you want to take out a date, you don’t really go to a Starbucks or to a Costa’s, but you would go to a specialty coffee store,” said Hyman, so it has that reputation of being somewhere people can meet and coffee is therefore inherently social. This opens the door for specialty coffee shops to become a commonplace part of consumers lives, despite by definition, specialty coffee being anything but commonplace.

This is unlike the consumption occasion with chocolate, which is often a guilty secret, scarfed under a desk or snuck out of a kitchen cupboard. Hyman also added that craft chocolate is very often just made into a bar format, which is not a social or shareable format, in the same way a box of chocolates might be. He emphasised the importance of format in dictating the occasion. Meanwhile coffee can be shared, a cafetiere can be made, someone in the office offers to make a round, you order your friend a coffee at a café.

Then not only is it social, but the experience of consuming specialty coffee is often educational, especially out of home at a coffee shop. “You cannot go into a specialty coffee store without getting a lesson, even if it’s accidental, as you’re waiting for your specialty coffee,” continued Hyman. Whether this be where the beans have come from, how they were processed, how they were roasted, “by osmosis,” Hyman said, consumers pick it up and develop their interest. The SCA also invests in educational programmes. There are courses and cuppings that people can attend to really understand what makes specialty coffee specialty, providing more opportunities for people to learn and opening up the category to as many people as would like to be a part of it.

Crucially, Hyman highlights the importance of a clear definition in specialty coffee’s success; 80 points or higher on the SCA Q Grading Scale and it is specialty coffee. Whereas craft chocolate has no such distinction. If something cannot be defined and identified, how can it succeed and be marketed? When Hyman said this it made me think about the feature I wrote for our March magazine issue (which is also the featured article in this week’s newsletter and is now available on the website), discussing premium vs specialty tea. In it, the same question is raised about the need for a definition of specialty, in this case it is tea, which the article demonstrates to have an ambiguous vocabulary when it comes to premium and specialty teas. There is so much interest and popularity for specialty coffee, and it seems like the definition and the unanimous agreement of vernacular is crucial, and this is something both tea and craft chocolate could benefit from.

• Kathryn Brand, associate editor, Tea & Coffee Trade Journal.
  Keep in touch via email: kathryn@bellpublishing.com Twitter: @TCTradeJournal or LinkedIn: Tea & Coffee Trade Journal

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“We don’t talk about any other agricultural products in this framework of superior and inferior. We don’t say red wine is inferior, white wine is superior,” said Sahra Nguyen, founder and CEO of Nguyen Coffee Supply, advocates of Robusta since its founding. “A really easy way to completely deconstruct this false framework of the Arabica-Robusta dichotomy is to apply all the ways that we evaluate and appreciate the differentiated qualities of the wine industry to the framework of coffee. We’d be in a completely different space.”

Robusta is the common name for the species Coffea canephora, and, in the history of coffee, Arabica predates Robusta, with the latter not being introduced to the coffee market until 1900, according to the Special Coffee Association’s (SCA) chief research officer, Peter Giuliano. “Robusta was positioned as a way to produce coffee cheaply in places where Arabica couldn’t thrive – and became associated in the coffee market with cheapness,” explained Giuliano.

In short, Robusta is easier than Arabica to grow, as, informed Spencer Turer, vice president of Coffee Enterprises, it requires lower altitudes (0-600m compared to Arabica’s 600-1,200m), and, in part due to its higher caffeine content (2.2-2.7 percent to Arabica’s 1.2-1.5 percent), it is more resistant to pests and diseases; it grows ‘robustly.’ What’s more, when it comes to harvesting, the Robusta coffee cherries ripen all at the same time, compared with Arabica which ripen at different times on different branches. This means that Robusta requires less labour to harvest as it can be done all at once, rather than the often-repeated visits required for Arabica. This, combined with its generally higher yields, has positioned the Robusta species as an efficient and cheap to produce coffee crop.

“Beginning in the 1950s and 1960s, some companies began blending large amounts of cheaply produced, low quality Robusta to make their coffees cheaper. In some ways, the specialty coffee revolution was a reaction to this ‘race to the bottom’, and the canephora species was easy to blame,” added Giuliano.

An overdue uplift

When the specialty coffee industry evolved, therefore, in the late 1980s and 1990s, since Robusta had only been produced cheaply to meet volume and nothing else, the quality of it was not comparable to that of Arabica and it has been considered antithetical to specialty ever since. As a result, as Gloria Pedroza, head of quality, NKG Quality Services Switzerland, explained, “The industry is more familiar with this species [Arabica], it has invested in research and has experimented with processing methods, meaning that Arabica is a few decades ahead in terms of development and marketing compared to other species.”

Image: ICO Production Statistics

Consequently, there has been a chronic lack of investment and research into optimising Robusta production. There were no systems or infrastructure in place to allow producers to differentiate their Robusta, and there was no incentive for them to try. Nguyen noted, “I know a lot of very passionate Robusta producers; they want to improve their crop, they want to improve their land, they want to improve their wages. But the market is so fixated on this stigma, that it won’t pay a higher rate because they don’t believe Robusta can be quality.” She noted that “there’s been an entire community in the coffee world that that has been told you don’t deserve investment. You don’t deserve care. You don’t deserve to improve or advance your livelihoods, and that’s what we are ultimately trying to lift when we talk about Robusta.”

There are markets, meanwhile, Hanna Neuschwander, communications & strategy director at World Coffee Research (WCR) argued, where Robusta has always been highly accepted by consumers, such as in Italy where it has been used in espresso blends for decades, and in certain African markets it is prized for its flavour over Arabica. Further, with Robusta now making up 40 percent of global coffee production, a rise from 25 percent since the early 1990s, it is not an unfamiliar flavour profile for consumers, with it pervading across the coffee industry and its numerous brands and products for many decades.

Yet it wasn’t until 2010 that the Coffee Quality Institute (CQI) launched its Robusta Q programme, to complement its existing Arabica Q programme, followed by the debut of the CQI Fine Robusta Standards and Protocols in 2015. This gave the coffee industry the framework it needed to differentiate Robusta in terms of quality and offer it something to build on and parameters to innovate within.

Nguyen Coffee Supply, founded by Sahra Nguyen in 2018, championed Robusta from the offset, and has been “extremely loud and proud” about it ever since. Its 100 percent Robusta products have been clearly labelled as such from the start, vehemently dismissing the industry norm to hide a coffee product’s Robusta content. Nguyen explained that, despite her company being both an importer and a roaster, it largely operates in the consumer space; “In the B2B space, the stigma [against Robusta] was just too strong, where I couldn’t really break through.” Whereas in the consumer market, the stigma against Robusta is minimal to non-existent.

Nguyen continued, “Consumers are generally unaware of this negative perception, and they really don’t care. […] They just want what they want right?” Nguyen Coffee Supply has invested a lot of its resources in the marketing, education, and storytelling side of its brand, to “shift consumer perceptions that would then create a ripple effect into the industry,” she said, and they have since seen the movement grow, with more and more brands beginning to champion Robusta.

Sahra Nguyen, Nguyen Coffee Supply founder, holding limited edition anaerobic Robusta beans. Image: Nguyen Coffee Supply

Nguyen Coffee Supply has built on this ethos with its Robusta Pledge, which encourages other producers, importers, roasters, cafés, businesses, and coffee enthusiasts to sign a commitment to advance opportunities for Robusta farming communities and for a transparent and fair Robusta market.

Sustaining the future of coffee

While Nguyen Coffee Supply recognises the importance of the Robusta bean and the immense value it holds for the coffee industry, gradually this mentality is spreading. In March 2023, WCR launched its Robusta Variety Catalogue, alongside other Robusta resources such as a Grafting Manual and Nursery Videos. It is becoming increasingly evident that the future of coffee production as we know it is at considerable risk, largely in part due to climate change and the impact this is having on the temperatures and conditions in coffee growing regions. WCR operates a breeding programme for coffee varieties to not just optimise taste, but to encourage climate resistance and better adaptability or suitability to particular conditions. This year, WCR is planning to launch a global Robusta specific breeding network, which will produce hundreds of new Robusta crosses. It is thought that Robusta will be a crucial tool in safeguarding coffee production for future generations.

As already discussed, Robusta has proven to be more pest and disease resistant to Arabica, this, as Pedroza explained, combined with the higher planting density and leafier shrubs creating shade under the plants, helping the soil to maintain moisture, discourages the growth of weeds around the plant which means that less herbicides and pesticides are necessary. These more organic practices encourage long term soil health, further contributing to yield, and protecting the local and wider ecosystem of the area.

With 50 percent of land for Arabica production projected to be no longer suitable by 2050, as forecast by WCR, among others, preparations must be made. “It is difficult to see how the industry can avoid using a greater proportion of Robusta beans in the future given the realities of climate change,” noted Matthew Barry, insight manager of food & beverages at Euromonitor International. Arabica is already struggling to keep up with global demand. Neuschwander emphasised that “Robusta has already saved the coffee sector. If Robusta had not arisen over the last few decades to its current position (40 percent of total production), many – perhaps millions – of coffee farmers would be out of work and entire segments of the coffee market would not exist. Without Robusta, we would not have been able to keep pace with growing global demand over the last three decades.”

However, Robusta is not immune to the climate emergency; WCR predicts that with consumption and climate trends as they are, the world could be facing a Robusta shortage of up to 35 million bags by 2040. As the years progress, Neuschwander concluded, “We need every tool we can get to respond to climate change – farmers will have to ‘run faster just to stand still’.”

Opportunities for innovation

Robusta has quite quickly and assuredly established itself on the specialty coffee scene, with Nguyen affirming that roasters are now frequently asking the company for fine Robusta, or single origin Robusta. Giuliano concurred that the request for Robusta has been the SCA’s most asked question of 2023, and Turer that Robusta is offering roasters a unique selling proposition for them to differentiate themselves.

Image: Nguyen Coffee Supply

“Increasing interest in Robusta signifies a coffee market that is creative, innovative, and open to new ideas. The success of Robusta is part of an increasingly diverse coffee market which is more likely to thrive in the long term,” enthused Giuliano.

And we are only just starting to scratch the surface of Robusta processing methods, believes Nguyen, with Nguyen Coffee Supply recently having released an anaerobic Robusta. Pedroza added that if Robusta is treated [during processing] the same way as Arabica, excellent results are possible. She explained that for decades the washed processing method was considered the best for high quality coffee, yet now, “New processing techniques like extended fermentation periods, anaerobic fermentation, just to mention some, have also had a great impact on the cup, proving that Robusta has a huge quality potential and the industry is in the process of discovering it.”

The opportunities the evolution of Robusta presents for the industry for both innovation and sustainability justify its dizzying rise to the realm of specialty coffee. “Coffee is economically important – and beloved – around the world, yet it faces a [USD] $452 million/year investment gap. Filling that innovation gap is how we ensure a future with quality coffee from climate resilient trees, whether that coffee is Arabica, Robusta, or any other species,” explained Dr Jennifer “Vern” Long, CEO, WCR.

Nguyen also noted that, as a result, she thinks we are headed towards more global collaboration as a coffee industry, “for uplifting Robusta, and also just expanding the coffee experience to make it better for everyone.”

So, although, as Neuschwander articulated, “Robusta is not a silver bullet for climate change or sustainability efforts in coffee,” it is an exciting time for the coffee industry, as it begins what many believe to be a long overdue embrace of “the underdog bean.”

• Kathryn Brand is an associate editor on T&CTJ, while still writing for several of Bell’s other magazines. She joined Bell Publishing at the beginning of 2022 after graduating from the University of East Anglia with a degree in English Literature and Creative Writing. She may be reached at: kathryn@bellpublishing.com.

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Having collaborated on numerous initiatives over the years, the SCA and ICO, bound by this MoU, aim to harness their combined outreach and expertise. This dynamic partnership sets out to design and implement interventions that will benefit coffee stakeholders worldwide through knowledge-sharing, education, and capacity building. Under the MoU, both organizations pledge to create training programs and foster skill development across diverse segments of the coffee value chain — from production and trade to roasting, brewing, and preparation methods.

Notably, the MoU outlines a joint commitment to expanding market promotion and encouraging the consumption of high-quality coffee. The SCA and ICO are united in their mission to facilitate constructive dialogue, linking ICO Members, industry experts, and coffee professionals. This collaboration and the programs to follow will actively promote sustainable practices and will provide increased visibility in specialty markets, with an emphasis on attributes, consuming markets, communication, and skill building. This program aims to empower producer organizations to access specialty coffee and embrace higher value trading models through the use of the SCA Coffee Value Assessment and its tools.

This agreement reflects the dedication of the Specialty Coffee Association to make coffee a thriving equitable and sustainable activity for the entire value chain, in tandem with the International Coffee Organization.

On this partnership, Vanúsia Nogueira, executive director of the ICO stated, “Promoting comprehensive training is not just a necessity; it is one of the most important elements to fuel the future of the coffee sector. Education and skills development are the keys to unlocking the full potential of our industry, ensuring a robust foundation for sustainable growth, fostering innovation, and empowering every actor in the value chain, from bean to cup. The specialty coffee segment is synonymous with quality and excellence, and I am confident that many stakeholders, especially in coffee producing countries, will benefit from this important partnership with SCA.”

Yannis Apostolopoulos, chief executive officer of the SCA added, “[This] signature marks a significant stride towards sustainability by creating new opportunities for knowledge transfer across the coffee sector. The SCA is committed to supporting institutions, organizations, and platforms in the coffee sector who are dedicated to building an equitable and sustainable industry, and the association believes that collaborative and diverse approaches, like this partnership with the ICO, will play a crucial role in making the rewards of the specialty coffee segment accessible worldwide.”

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In 2024, COE is expanding its training and education opportunities for professionals with the introduction of the Origin Immersion programme. COE founder, Susie Spindler said “The Cup of Excellence organisation has always been in a unique position to go one step beyond traditional cupping training and offer an in-depth understanding of the wide diversity of coffees, the culture and the farmers in our partner countries. I am excited for these classes to spark the curiosity, appreciation and relationship building that is the hallmark of its mission.”

El Salvador has been selected as the premier country to be featured in this new immersion programme with the first programme kicking off in February 2024. By holding this course at origin, participants will be immersed in the traditions of the country while they delve deep into the coffee industry.

El Salvador has been a featured country of the Cup of Excellence programme since 2003 when the first COE competition was held there. Carolina Padilla, president of the Salvadoran Coffee Institute says of this opportunity, “The Salvadoran Coffee Institute is excited to see Cup of Excellence bringing back coffee buyers to origin. This initiative allows buyers to come closer to coffee producers, so they can learn closely about all the efforts and dedication they put into their coffee production. We are proud to showcase Salvadoran coffee culture, heritage and varietals such as Pacamara. We will highlight our traditional varietals so that coffee roasters can develop a deeper understanding on how to roast and appreciate them so they can share with their customers worldwide.”

The El Salvador Immersion programme will be led by COE head judge Luis Rodriguez. Luis’ history in coffee began in 2001 when he served as the head of the Economics Department for the Salvadoran Coffee Council. Since then he has become a coffee producer, Q Grader, lecturer and instructor, as well as a coffee producer.  He has been actively involved with the COE programme since 2003, assisting to coordinate the competition in El Salvador, acting as a head judge, and has been a participant in the COE competition as a winning producer. When asked about the Immersion programme, Luis said, “I’m thrilled to have the chance to participate as a trainer in this ACE/COE immersion programme in my home country. We will make sure attendees gain knowledge of the remarkable features of El Salvador with hands-on and customised training while hosting an integral and exciting origin experience. Attendees will discover why El Salvador has evolved from being a hidden jewel to being considered a specialty coffee powerhouse due mostly to our versatility and vanguardist growers.”

For more information visit: cupofexcellence.org.

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The award, named after the visionary leader of illycaffè and the son of the company’s founder, celebrates the work that the Trieste, Italy-based company has been doing every day for the last 30 years, side-by-side with coffee farmers, to offer the best possible sustainable coffee. The award was presented to the winner by illycaffè chairman Andrea Illy during an event held at the New York Public Library in New York.

EIICA celebrates the finest Arabica coffees sourced from all over the world. This event aims to recognize growers for the quality coffee they tirelessly work to produce. The award was assigned by an independent panel of nine experts who examined the best batches from the 2022-2023 harvest through a blind tasting of nine coffees from the nine finalist countries: Brazil, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Nicaragua, and Rwanda. Prior to being evaluated by the panel, each batch of coffee was analysed by illycaffè’s quality control labs and rated in terms of richness and aromatic complexity, the elegance and balance of its flavour and intensity of its aroma.

Guatemala’s Finca Danilandia di Luis Arimany Mondonico won the Coffee Lovers’ Choice Award, assigned by a panel of consumers who, in the weeks prior to the event, carried out blind taste tests of the coffee samples in illy cafés in Trieste, Milan, Paris, London, Sao Paolo and New York and ranked their preferences.

“The absolute victory of the Brazilian coffee coming from regenerative agriculture – chosen blindly among the nine best coffees in the world – fills me with joy. Indeed, the history of the Ernesto Illy Award began in Brazil in 1991 and this confirms that the rewards received, by illycaffè for having transformed Brazil from a leader in quantity to a leader in quality are well-deserved,” said Andrea Illy. “After more than 25 years of neverending and tireless work by our team of agronomists and the University of Coffee, the leap has finally happened thanks to regenerative agriculture, which we decided to develop in 2018 for the benefits it brings to the environment and everyone’s health.”

The panel that voted for the Best of the Best award included Guatemala’s professional taster Silvia Escobar; the President of Federação dos Cafeicultores do Cerrado, Brasilian Glaucio De Castro; the director of the CoffeeLab quality laboratory, Indian Sunalini Narayan Menon; chef Ricard Camarena, who has been awarded two Michelin stars and a green star for his dedication to sustainability at his Ricard Camarena Restaurant in Valencia; American chefs Carrie and Rupert Blease, who manage the Michelin-starred Lord Stanley restaurant in San Francisco; Andrea Aprea, a Michelin-starred chef with a restaurant bearing his name in Milan; French writer and journalist Adelaide de Clermont-Tonnere, editor-in-chief of Point de Vue magazine; Inga Griese, founder and editor-in-chief of ICON, the style supplement of the German newspaper Welt Am Sonntag; Angelina Villa Clarke, a journalist contributing to prestigious English-language publications including Forbes.

Commenting on the winning coffee, the jury said, “This year’s Ernesto Illy International Coffee Award winner is a rounded, wholesome, and fully bodied cup, with rich yet mellow flavors of a balance of chocolate, caramel, brown sugar, and toasted almonds on a bed of refined brightness, with a lingering finish of mild, gentle, yet harmonious sweetness. It truly represents the finest taste characteristics of its origin.”

Martha Stewart, Matilda De Angelis, Pat Cleveland, Coco Rocha, Candela Pelizza, Tamu Mc Pherson, Carlo Sestini, Simon and Marina Ksandr, Nick Lowry, Tesa Pesic are some of the celebrities who attended the gala event at the New York Public Library, hosted by chef and TV star Marcus Samuelsson, to celebrate the best coffee producers who work behind the unique illy blend.

The Ernesto Illy International Coffee Award is also an unmissable networking opportunity for all those involved in the coffee industry, from producers to exporters, from traders to institutional representatives. In the morning they all met at the United Nations Headquarters to attend a panel discussion on protecting the future of coffee. Alongside illycaffè chairman Andrea Illy, speakers included Vanusia Nogueira, executive director, International Coffee Organization; Jeffrey Sachs, professor of economy at Columbia University and co-chair at the Regenerative Society Foundation; Oscar Schaps, president of the Latin American division of Stone X Financial Inc; and Glaucio de Castro, president of the Federação dos Cafeicultores do Cerrado Mineiro. (For a full recap of the event at the UN, see the Editor’s Blog: “The time is now” to invest in regenerative agriculture (teaandcoffee.net).

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This holiday season, Peet’s is debuting its Iced Peppermint Mocha Black Tie. A tantalising take on a holiday classic, the Peppermint Mocha Black Tie infuses Cold Brew with aromatic peppermint and pairs it with decadent layers of house-made chocolate, and sweetened condensed milk, topped with a cascade of half and half.

The 2023 holiday menu, available 2 November through 2 January 2024*, also features the highly-anticipated return of other familiar and customisable favourites including:

• Holiday Spice Latte (hot/iced): A returning favourite, the Holiday Spice Latte recalls the comfort of homestyle baking. Each cup warms with the Espresso Forte®, freshly steamed milk, and Peet’s Holiday Spice syrup, topped with a dusting of baking spice. Available hot or iced.
• Peppermint Mocha (hot/iced): A holiday classic, Peet’s Peppermint Mocha infuses Espresso Forte with rich, house-made chocolate sauce, and fragrant, sweet peppermint, topped with a cloud of whipped cream.
• Holiday Blend: This year’s blend, a dark roast, offers notes of Guatemalan chocolate, smooth Kenyan black currant, and Ethiopian candied peel with a full Sumatra finish. Roasted with the finest beans of the year, the Holiday Blend is also available in decaf and K-Cup pods. MSRP: $22.95 for 16 oz bag in coffee bars and Peets.com.
• Free Drip Coffee: To wrap up 12 Days of Peet’s, consumers can also look forward to the return of a free drip coffee or tea on Christmas Eve. For more information on Peet’s holiday line up and full offers, visit peets.com.

12 Days of Peet’s
As we countdown to the most wonderful time of the year, get ready for different ways to celebrate in-store and online starting 13-24 December with BOGO deals on select holiday beverages from noon to close, to discounts on merchandise and coffee beans (terms & conditions apply).

During the 12 Days of Peet’s, USD $1 from every purchase of Peet’s Holiday Blend, both in-store and online at peets.com, will be donated to No Kid Hungry, which is focused on ending childhood hunger in America by ensuring that all children get the healthy food they need every day to thrive. (Every $1 donation provides 10 meals.)**

“We think of the holidays as peak Peet’s,” said Jessica Buttimer, vp brand, Peet’s Coffee. “Every year, we go to great lengths to make sure coffee people are never without a great cup of coffee all season long, from roasting our best of year Holiday Blend to creating instant on-the-go classics like our new Iced Peppermint Mocha Black Tie.”

*While supplies last
**Peet’s will donate up to a maximum of $30,000 for qualifying purchases made from 13-24 December 2023.

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There were ample exhibitors from across the speciality food and beverage sphere, from chocolate, cheese, spirits, and of course a sprinkling of speciality tea and coffee companies.

The ground floor was largely made up of more established companies, such as the English Tea Shop, a partner of the event, which, like almost all the companies exhibiting, had samples on hand for inquisitive visitors. Venturing upstairs I came across a couple of coffee roasters: Wales-based Bay Coffee Roasters had a great selection of its coffees on display, including project specific blends and roasts, and Rounton Coffee Roasters, who were sporting recent Great Taste Awards for six of its specialty coffee products, including two stars for Sparkling Water Decaf Coffee and Colombian Wilton Benitez Pink Bourbon Coffee.

It was also a pleasure to meet some of the many smaller, newer companies at the show many of which were part of The Start-Up Village, comprising companies trading under two years. QuirkyMonkey was launched only in November 2022, and came to the Speciality & Fine Food Fair to display its nootropic mushroom coffees, as well as its recently introduced mushroom hot chocolate. Darwin Fletcher, QuirkyMonkey’s founder, developed the idea for the company after discovering how nootropic drinks could support his focus throughout the day with his neurodiversity. The show presented a great opportunity for new companies, such as QuirkyMonkey, to place themselves in front of possible buyers and collaborators.

There was certainly a theme of health benefits and functionality at the show, and not just across tea and coffee. Functionality, sustainability and ethical production seem to be a necessity for specialty products, as customers are seeking more from their purchases than just a great taste; if they are going to pay that bit extra, they want the extra benefits, whether that be to their health or to the environment. Consumers want to feel that they are using their money for a good cause, and specialty producers are rising to meet this demand, with a tide of Fairtrade, organic, and B-Corp certifications flooding the packaging, and frequently more wellness claims of improved sleep or mood, calmness, better digestion and pretty much anything else you could want.

While some more budget and commercial products may still be able to get away with dodging sustainability pressures for now, as they have the price point advantage, consumers seeking more premium and specialty products do not withhold such demands from their purchasing choices. The array of projects and efforts on display at the Speciality & Fine Food Fair were a credit to this.

• Kathryn Brand, associate editor, Tea & Coffee Trade Journal.
  Keep in touch via email: kathryn@bellpublishing.com Twitter: @TCTradeJournal or LinkedIn: Tea & Coffee Trade Journal

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CropConex is a value chain management platform bringing the coffee trade ecosystem online, with tools to streamline operations and de-risk trade. The platform empowers buyers, sellers, and exporters to grow together, by making value chains traceable, efficient, and accessible. Starting in Ethiopia, this New York based startup seeks to unlock greater efficiency in global trade, increasing access and prosperity for all. Visit the website to learn more.

The CropConex marketplace launched this summer, presenting coffees from reliable Ethiopian suppliers to the North American market in an e-commerce system designed for international agricultural trade. An open marketplace with validated listings, efficient communication, and secure and compliant transactions can build greater confidence in direct trade participation across different sizes and levels of experience in both buyers and sellers.

The digital system tracks every step in the sales and logistics process, from sampling to ordering to delivery, and reports progress in an easy-to-use portal. This workflow enables open communications between suppliers, buyers, and logistics service providers throughout the entire process, cultivating a deeper level of transparency and traceability in the specialty coffee supply chain.

CropConex’s marketplace currently offers:
• A diverse catalog of Ethiopian coffees.
• Access to greater volume flexibility than traditional channels.
• A commercial airline partnership with groundbreaking air-shipping rates from Ethiopia at under USD $1.30/lb.
• Real-time data updates and feedback as coffee moves through the supply chain.
• On-the-ground team presence and quality controls at origin.

How the platform works for coffee buyers:
• Browse the marketplace and request samples for coffees of interest.
• Provide sample feedback and enter price negotiations directly with suppliers.
• Secure contracts, payment and export logistics within the platform.
• Receive quality checks, shipment status updates and final delivery within weeks.

Brianna Dickey, founder and CEO of CropConex, developed the platform to unlock greater access, equitability and economic potential in the international coffee trade market. The company plans to offer education on existing and future ecosystems of trade. They encourage discourse on the distributed rights to growth and the mutual benefits found in collective progress.

Tackling the complexities in current trading between Ethiopia and the United States, CropConex worked with the Ministry of Trade and Regional Integration offices, the Coffee and Tea Authority, the Ministry of Innovation and Technology, and the Ethiopian Investment Commissioner to finalize the legal incorporation of e-commerce into their business registration codes. On 11 November 2022 CropConex was licensed as the first E-Commerce Platform Operator business in the nation. They are working to expand their operation to other countries in the near future.

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Bühler and IKAWA came to the coffee marketplace following different paths. Bühler has an industrial background with more than 50 years of coffee engineering competence and has worked with many medium and large roasters to set up coffee processing plants globally. Bühler’s RoastMaster series comprises four sizes with throughput per hour ranging from 70 kilograms up to 1 ton.

IKAWA is leading the adoption of digital roasting, making sample evaluation easy and accessible. IKAWA entered the coffee stage in 2010 as a start-up and is today known throughout the global coffee supply chain for its precise, app-controlled, and user-friendly micro-roasting technology, aimed at helping coffee business make better and quicker purchasing decisions. The IKAWA Pro Series comprises the Pro50, Pro100, and the brand-new Pro100x which includes the industry first IKAWA humidity sensor.

Bühler’s integration across the coffee supply chain, its service support footprint, and IKAWA’s global presence in the specialty coffee market make them well positioned to team up for innovation in a market that has much room for development.

“Partnering with IKAWA and strengthening our presence in the coffee roasting market is a key step for Bühler in many ways. Working together with IKAWA will help us to take new perspectives and therefore create innovative ideas to address the needs between micro and medium- to large-scale coffee roasting,” says Michael Blatter, head of market segment coffee at Bühler.

Andrew Stordy, founder of IKAWA, said, “Bühler brings a wealth of experience and knowledge in engineering and manufacturing. This experience will complement the user-centered approach to design we have become known for in sample roasting.”

Aligned with this approach, IKAWA will lead the first phase of user research by inviting professionals from the roasting market to participate in feedback and testing sessions. “Our aim is to deeply understand the goals and challenges users face in production-scale roasting and to use this to inform design solutions that improve what is already available in the market. To do this we need as many people as possible to get involved by sharing ideas and taking part in user testing,” Stordy said.

Bühler and IKAWA are inviting roasting experts interested in getting involved in the innovation process to sign up here.

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Specialty coffees from the tiny East African country, Burundi, will be showcased in a big way, with cuppings hosted by two coffee industry icons, Sherri Johns of Whole Cup Coffee Consulting, and Jeanine Niyonzima-Aroian of JNP Coffee.

From San Diego to Montreal, Houston to Brooklyn and back, roasters and café owners will have the opportunity to cup 15 distinctive coffees sourced from the high-altitude coffee farms of Burundi, a country about the size of Maryland.

Coffee remains Americans’ preferred beverage, according to the National Coffee Association’s April 2023 findings, and a past-week survey found 52% enjoy a cup of specialty coffee, choosing lattes, espressos and cappuccinos above all other options. Coffee from Burundi is known for its juicy sweetness, with floral and fruit notes. Delicious as a pour over, it can even add the high notes for espresso.

Sherri Johns started her decades-long career in coffee as a barista in San Francisco. After winning the world’s first barista competition, she became a well-respected coffee educator, consultant and entrepreneur. Among many accomplishments, including owning her own café and opening cafés around the world, she led the judging at Cup of Excellence competitions (COE) from 2002-2017.

That’s how she first met Jeanine Niyonzima-Aroian in Burundi, who was a member of the 2015 COE jury. Burundi-born and US-educated, Jeanine had founded JNP Coffee three years earlier after a 20-plus year career in telecommunications. She works directly with farmers in her native country to share best practices for high-quality coffee cultivation and specialty processing. JNP Coffee’s unique premium Dushime programme now supports 11,000 women coffee farmers and their families.

The Burundi on the Road show cities include New York, Toronto and Montreal, Houston, Kansas City, San Diego, Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle and Vancouver. To learn more about these coffees and the women-owned businesses involved in the road show, visit jnpcoffee.com.

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NuZee will produce a full line of specialty coffee products, including its proprietary single-serve DRIPKIT pour-overs, single-serve brew bags, whole bean 12 oz coffee bags and Industrial Compostable capsules all to be branded under the Stone name. Previously, NuZee provided Stone with highly coveted seasonal coffees corresponding with special-release beers.

The new line of coffee will adopt the branding and flavour characteristics of three of Stone’s most popular brands: Stone Arrogant Bastard Ale, Stone Buenaveza Salt & Lime Lager and Stone Xocoveza. Stone Arrogant Bastard Ale is heralded for its bitterness and bold attributes. NuZee-produced coffees will reflect the same arrogance of this legendary ale. Stone’s Buenaveza coffee offering will reflect the cross-border influence of the beer with beans sourced from Mexico. Stone Xocoveza coffee will adopt the indulgence of Stone’s favourite winter beer, brewed with the key ingredients found in Mexican Hot Chocolate.

Masa Higashida, NuZee’s CEO, commented, “We are delighted to build upon the success of our past collaborations and expand our partnership with our San Diego neighbours at Stone. Our team will capitalise on the remarkable brand recognition and expanding influence of the Stone brand, synergizing it with our exceptional coffees and coffee-related offerings. We believe that this agreement will drive significant revenue growth, which will significantly increase shareholder value. We look forward to serving Stone’s expansive consumer audience and effectively driving long-term shareholder value.”

Erin Smith, Stone Brewing senior vice president of marketing said, “There is a definite overlap in what attracts people to craft beer and to craft coffee. Quality, intention, and passion are what our fans seek and we’re confident that this new line of first-class specialty coffees will be an exciting new way for them to enjoy the Stone brand.”

To learn more about NuZee, visit mynuzee.com.

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The new 1,660 sq ft location is the UK-based brand’s 70th with it operating across the UK as well as in Paris and Manila. From its new store at The Sidings, which opened earlier this month, Black Sheep will offer its variety of coffees – including its speciality-grade 100 percent Robusta coffee – and other food and beverages.

The launch of the new location coincides with Black Sheep Coffee introducing a new range of refreshing drinks for the summer, including a mango and dragonfruit smoothie, and a series of bubble tea drinks. It will also continue to serve its range of iced drinks, savoury and sweet treats – from toasties to its signature Norwegian waffles.

Black Sheep Coffee credited the decision to open its latest location at London’s newest destination to the mix of tourists, visitors and commuters passing through one of the UK’s busiest stations. Other brands already open at The Sidings include boutique Belgian chocolatier Neuhaus and luxury skincare brand Kiehl’s, alongside nationwide retailers Sainsbury’s and WH Smiths.

“We are delighted to be expanding to The Sidings, which is a great new development that we can’t wait to be a part of,” Eirik Holth and Gabriel Shohet, co-founders of Black Sheep Coffee.

A new pedestrianised street – Waterloo Curve – has been introduced to connect the station and The Sidings to the wider South Bank area. It has been designed to reflect the area’s creative spirit and the already iconic surrounding locations such as Leake Street Arches, Royal Festival Hall and the National Theatre.

“Black Sheep Coffee is fast developing a reputation for its quality and ability to offer something new. The Sidings, then, represents a natural next location as it continues to deliver its innovative take on coffee, food and cocktails for a mix of commuters, tourists and workers alike,” said Peter Hawthorne, CEO at LCR, the commercial developer for The Sidings. “The South Bank is London’s beating cultural heart, attracting millions of visitors every year. It is important for us that The Sidings echoes that and delivers an experience of its own. Welcoming big-name brands like Black Sheep, alongside innovative, independent operators, will only bolster that ambition.”

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Nordic Approach, founded in 2011 by Morten Wennersgaard and Andreas Hertzberg, is one of the most respected specialty coffee importers in the world. Based in Oslo, the team has created a remarkable identity and value for their customers through exceptional quality in coffee, services, information, and marketing.

In 2017, Nordic Approach spun off its sourcing department – Tropiq – to serve not only micro-roasters and small volumes of specialty coffee, but also roasters that were looking for high-quality coffee in larger volumes. With colleagues in Ethiopia and Colombia, Tropiq has a strong focus on fostering farmer relationships on the ground.

“With the acquisition of the majority of shares in Nordic Approach and Tropiq, said NKG Group CEO David M. Neumann, “we are confident that we now are in an ideal position to expand our specialty business not just in Scandinavia, but across Europe, Asia and the Middle East. At the same time, we will become better business partners for producers and sellers of the highest quality coffees and to offer a full range of green coffee and coffee-related services to the high-quality focused Scandinavian market.”

Hamburg, Germany-based NKG is a green coffee service group, that operates more than 50 companies in 26 countries.

Morten Wennersgaard and Andreas Hertzberg remain as minority shareholders and will continue leading and developing the companies as managing directors.

“Nordic Approach, Tropiq and NKG are aligned in the focus on sustainability and supporting coffee growing communities at scale. We believe that this step will open doors to new possibilities, collaborations, and resources that will benefit our team, our customers and the specialty coffee community,” said Wennersgaard and Hertzberg. “As part of the NKG network, we will continue our journey of growth while upholding the values and practices that have made us successful. We’re extremely motivated to extend our product range, increase presence in existing markets and expand our specialty coffee business worldwide, thanks to Nordic’s and NKG’s joint vision and expertise. Together, we’ll make a global impact and continue to bring amazing coffee to even more people.”

Everyone at NKG is welcoming Morten, Andreas, and their teams in Oslo, Addis Ababa and Bogotá. Wennersgaard and Hertzberg, along with other colleagues from the group, will be representing NKG at the World of Coffee in Athens, 22-24 June.

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