The prize was awarded by an independent international jury of nine experts who chose the best among the winners of the 9 single-origins that make up the recipe of the unique illy blend: Brazil, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Nicaragua and Rwanda.

The SMS Cluster ECOM of Nicaragua won the Coffee Lovers’ Choice award, voted for by consumers around the world who in the weeks leading up to the event blindly tasted the same samples in illy coffees.

“For the second year in a row, a Brazilian company that adopts regenerative practices has given us the best coffee in the world. In the Fazenda Serra do Boné, the health of the soil, biodiversity, and water sources are preserved thanks to the use of organic fertilizers, biological control and the reuse of processing by-products,” said Andrea Illy, chairman of illycaffè. “We are once again noticing important signs that confirm how regenerative agriculture is the right path towards a more resilient production capable of guaranteeing productivity and superior quality, of which coffee is the forerunner with the highest growth rates.”

The panel of judges who selected the Best of the Best included Massimo Bottura, chef patron of Osteria Francescana and founder of Food for Soul; Viki Geunes, chef-owner of three-Michelin-starred Zilte in Antwerp; Felipe Rodriguez, head chef at São Paulo’s Rosewood Complex; Vanúsia Nogueira, executive director of the International Coffee Organization (ICO); Q Grader professional tasters Felipe Isaza and Dessalegn Oljirra Gemeda; journalists Vanessa Zocchetti (Madame Figaro), Sebastian Späth (Falstaff), and Josh Condon (Robb Report).

The jury described Fazenda Serra do Boné’s award-winning coffee as creamy, sweet, and full-bodied, with an elegant balance of fresh fruit aromas, caramel undertones, subtle hints of brown sugar, and a persistent chocolate finish with floral notes of jasmine – a beautifully complex coffee that perfectly embodies its Brazilian origin.

This year’s event attracted a diverse group of public figures, including Francis Ford Coppola, Marina Abramović, Pat Cleveland, Alex Riviere, Chiara Maci, Candela Pelizza, Tamu McPherson, Sveva Alviti, Christoph Leitner, Simon e Marina Ksandr, Nick Lowry, Maddy Devita, Justine Martilotti, and Brittany Leigh Ball. The celebration of coffee excellence took place at a gala dinner at Peak in Hudson Yards, hosted by Spanish TV journalist Olivia Frejus Lloyd.

Beyond awards, the Ernesto Illy International Coffee Award fosters global discussions on coffee sustainability. The day began at the United Nations headquarters in New York where representatives from across the coffee supply chain gathered for a roundtable discussion titled “Global Coffee Alliance: Mobilizing a Public-Private Fund to Fight Climate Change.” The panel, moderated by Clare Reichenbach, CEO of the James Beard Foundation, featured chairman Andrea Illy, Italian Ambassador to the UN, Maurizio Massari; executive director of the ICO, Vanúsia Nogueira; chef and UNEP Goodwill Ambassador, Massimo Bottura; UNIDO project manager, Andrea De Marco; senior director of sustainable coffee at Conservation International, Raina Lang; and UNEP director for the New York office, Jamil Ahmad; who explored initiatives to advance sustainable coffee production in the face of climate challenges.

The panel emphasised the urgent need to transition coffee cultivation to a regenerative model to enhance resilience, improve farmer livelihoods, and reduce environmental impact. A major focus was on establishing a USD $10 billion public-private fund over the next decade, which will target smallholder coffee farmers in tropical regions heavily impacted by climate change.

“Since Expo 2015, we have worked tirelessly to build a framework to protect coffee for generations to come,” said Andrea Illy. “Regenerative agriculture has shown it can produce high yields and quality while restoring natural resources. We must act quickly to scale these solutions globally through an international fund. It is essential we implement regenerative solutions now, as we see they work and deliver positive outcomes.”

Throughout the discussion, panelists underscored the importance of uniting stakeholders from governments, international organisations, and the private sector to bring impactful, lasting change to coffee-growing communities. Reichenbach highlighted that consumer awareness and participation are key drivers in the industry’s sustainability journey.

The post Brazil’s Fazenda Serra do Boné wins the 2024 EIICA ‘Best of the Best’ appeared first on Tea & Coffee Trade Journal.

Considered an agricultural product that provides income to millions of smallholder farmers, tea is a ‘poverty relief crop’. These farmers often also grow other crops, which all help towards effecting a fair income. Similar to coffee, while some tea farmers are generating decent incomes (depending on the country and size of their farm), many others have no access to market and are struggling to make a living as production costs continue to rise while tea prices fall.

According to data issued by the International Tea Committee (published in its Annual Bulletin of Statistics), tea production continues to increase year over year, reaching 6.604 million metric tonnes in 2023 — up by 2 percent over 2022 and up by 26 percent over the past ten years. However, consumption continues to lag with a reported 2023 consumption tonnage of 6.212 million tonnes.

The global trade pattern of tea and coffee differ greatly, and tea is most often the cheapest at retail or in foodservice channels. It’s important to note that only about a quarter of the global tea production – 26 percent in 2023 – is exported, while nearly 75% is consumed in tea-producing countries — in contrast to coffee, in which more than two thirds of the global production is exported, and about 34 percent is consumed domestically. And although tea is reportedly still the most consumed beverage in the world after water, it has not been able to attract the global marketing, promotion and attention that coffee has. The introduction of International Tea Day was a step towards enhancing tea’s profile globally.

To drive awareness of this year’s International Tea Day (ITD), several tea associations from around the world such as the Tea Association of the USA, Tea & Herbal Association of Canada, and the UK Tea & Infusions Association, as well as tea boards from producing countries, have all embarked on a unique and ambitious campaign that is focused on Google, the ‘Google Doodle’, to be exact. Google dedicates its front page to major events and important dates, etc., through its Google Doodle. These ‘doodles’ appear on the front search page of Google. In a letter to Tea Association of the USA members, its president, Peter F Goggi, wrote:

“Google dominates the world’s searches. controlling ~ 85% of the searches done worldwide. The impact of people seeing the ‘Google Doodle’ approximates 40,000 searches every second. Imagine all 40,000 looking at an International Tea Day Doodle!

The power of our tea industry is in its collective voice, so, in conjunction with Tea & Herbal Association of Canada, UK Tea & Infusions Association as well as other Associations and Tea Boards globally, we are asking EVERYONE to jump on this bandwagon!!”

The Google team receives suggestions from around the world on which ‘doodle’ to consider and then chooses ‘doodles’ for the year.

Goggi asked US Tea Association members to submit an email to Google suggesting a Tea Theme for International Tea Day (21 May), not just for this year but for every ITD moving forward. For those interesting in lobbying Google, the email address is: doodleproposals@google.com. The letter also included a link to a draft proposal that can be used as is or adapted as need. To access that draft, click here.

Whether or not you email Google on behalf of a ‘doodle’ in honour of International Tea Day, when drinking your daily cuppa (be it hot, iced or RTD), not just on 21 May or this month, but with every cup of tea, remember the people around the world toiling hard and yet typically under-appreciated, to produce the tea in your favourite cup.

• Vanessa L Facenda, editor, Tea & Coffee Trade Journal.
  Keep in touch via email: vanessa@bellpublishing.com Twitter: @TCTradeJournal or LinkedIn: Tea & Coffee Trade Journal

The post Tea Associations launch Google Doodle-focused campaign for International Tea Day appeared first on Tea & Coffee Trade Journal.

The global demand for energy-efficient and energy-saving coffee machines is steadily growing, amid the ever-rising gas and energy prices and high inflation in many Western markets these days.

The ongoing military conflict between Russia and Ukraine and, associated with this, the almost complete suspension of gas supplies from Russia to the EU, has put a significant pressure on the industry, forcing most of its major players to consider updating their ranges by rolling out new more energy-efficient, sustainable roasting machines.

In accordance with the recent report by the global analyst agency Mordor Intelligence, the global coffee roaster market will grow by 6.5 per cent annually between 2022 and 2027. In the meantime, the Allied Market Research’s latest report, “Coffee Roaster Market by Type” finds that the global coffee roaster industry generated USD $448.90 million in 2021, and is expected to reach $741.90 million by 2031, witnessing a CAGR of 5.2 per cent from 2021 to 2031.

Most analysts expect energy-efficient and energy-saving roasters will show the highest growth rates of the entire market, which just started to recover from the pandemic and its consequences.

In general, per Mordor Intelligence, the pandemic has reduced coffee sales by around 50 per cent in Europe and around 25 per cent in the US, having a negative effect on coffee roaster suppliers, which saw their sales decline significantly in 2021 and 2022. Additionally, lockdown and social distancing measures have led to a reduction in coffee consumption. The biggest decline being observed in the HORECA segment, where the overall sales of roasters of all types fell by up to 80 per cent during the pandemic.

The situation has started to improve this year when roasters’ sales in many key markets picked up. However, the beginning of an energy crisis in the EU and the US has put an end to the efforts of the market and producers for more active growth. Moreover, the ever-rising energy prices have resulted in a shift of consumer preferences towards machinery which is characterised by reduced energy consumption and higher efficiency being part of a global demand for energy-saving at present.

Many analysts expect the market of energy-saving/sustainable coffee roasters and machinery will continue to grow this year and in 2023. More and more coffeehouses will also be giving a preference to more energy-efficient coffee machines.

In addition to energy savings, the driving force for the market will be maintaining high consumer demand for the fresh and aromatic coffee that the roasting process provides and regular introduction of new coffee aroma blends by global brands. Furthermore, new market trends are emerging as well as the ongoing shift of consumer preferences in the global roasters market.

Global challenges have increased the focus on more efficient and sustainable roasting machines. Image: Scolari Engineering

Fabio Clivio, project director of Scolari Engineering, a leading manufacturer of roasting machines, said the move to more energy efficient/saving/reducing/sustainable packaging and processing machinery really began after the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), while the demand really ‘kicked into high gear’ after the 48^th G7 summit from 26-28 June 2022 in Schloss Elmau, Germany.

“With the high energy costs, it is mandatory to increase the efficiency of the roasting process,” said Clivio. “For Europe, efficiency is a matter of survival now. In the USA, there is a request to make the roasting process more sustainable and to add net technology to reduce the gas consumption.”

According to Clivio, Scolari is in line with the current market trends, regularly adjusting its portfolio in accordance with market demands. That means regular introduction of special features and various improvements in the existing range of the company. “All new equipment is equipped with a green bean preheater (GBPH), while existing roasters can be retrofitted with GBPH,” he said. “Several improvements have also been developed to increase efficiency of the gas burner and to combine with sustainable electrical heat generators. We also must reduce the gas consumption to a standby and quenching process.”

Representatives of Bühler Group – another major player in the global roasters market – have also confirmed the ever-growing demand for energy-saving coffee machinery, adding, however that it cannot be considered a completely new trend in the market.

As Michael Blatter, Bühler’s head of market segment coffee explained, the trend towards more efficient and sustainable coffee plants has been around for many years and it is difficult to say when and where it exactly started. “Consumer requirements and marketing demand as well as the culture and positioning of companies are defining investments towards this direction. The global situation and challenges have increased the focus on efficiency and sustainability,” he said. “This tendency can be seen across the globe and you would be able to find companies in every country who are willing to invest in sustainable solutions. We see the highest demand in Europe but it is also increasing fast in North America and Asia.”

Blatter added that sustainability must be approached in a holistic way and roasting cannot be seen isolated. “Today the scope of processes in the factory and the entire supply chain must be assessed and taken in consideration to design a sustainable plant.” He said that high-capacity roasters still need gas and coffee still needs certain temperatures to create the perfect flavour profile. “Therefore, we are customising entire production lines to increase efficiency. For example, how to use the energy of the exhaust air in the line or even in the entire factory. We have also introduced a preheating unit for our InfinityRoast. With this unit we can save up to 30 per cent of energy. Further capacity can be increased by up to 20 per cent,” Blatter shared.

Part of roasting machine manufacturers’ plans is more active promotion of their new energy-saving and efficient coffee machines during the forthcoming major industry exhibitions. Most of these suppliers have put big hopes on them, taking into account that the pandemic did not allow them to organise a live showcase of their latest products for the major foreign audience in 2020-2021.

Analysts also expect the level of competition in the segment of energy-efficient and saving coffee machines will continue to be tightened, as leading roasting machine suppliers like Brambati, Scolari, Bühler, Probat and US Roaster Corp, will try to expand their market presence.

• Eugene Gerden is an international freelance writer, who specialises on covering of global coffee, tea and agricultural industry. He worked for several industry titles and may be reached at gerden.eug@gmail.com.

The post Demand for energy-saving roasters grows as energy crisis deepens appeared first on Tea & Coffee Trade Journal.

Firsd Tea, in collaboration with Tea & Coffee Trade Journal and a third-party research firm, recently released a first-of-its-kind Sustainability Perspectives Report in 2022 to capture the tea and coffee industry’s views on how well the tea sector performs in areas of sustainable practices. The study was developed with guidance from industry peers and an academic research and think tank. Survey respondents included a diverse spectrum of wholesalers, importers, exporters, retailers, and others based in North America, Europe, and Asia. While many studies have examined consumers’ perceptions of sustainability, this study targeted professionals in tea, coffee, cocoa and wine sectors to understand their concerns and views on the tea industry’s sustainability performance.

The findings of the research can generally be grouped into perspectives about three areas: environment, people and certifications.

This article represents the second of three articles on the survey respondents’ perspectives on sustainability within the tea industry. The first article in the series (July/August issue) looked at perspectives on sustainability and the environment, while this one explores perspectives on the human side.

Source for both graphs: Sustainability Perspectives Report

Overall, 67 per cent of respondents in tea and related industries say the tea industry implements general sustainability practices very well or somewhat well. ‘General sustainability practices’ can be understood as including issues related to people and the environment. Looking at some of the specifics in the area of human welfare, however, suggests that the tea industry may not be as strong in those areas of practice. 61 per cent of respondents feel the tea industry performs very well or somewhat well on workers’ rights. This performance is seen as stronger than that of the coffee industry, of which only 46 per cent of respondents feel that coffee did very well or somewhat well.

Further questions indicate that the tea industry is believed to have weaker performance in fostering safe and caring communities (53 per cent), gender equity (51 per cent) and poverty reduction (46 per cent). Respondents are roughly split down the middle in these areas, although some respondents’ write-in comments mention the importance of gender equity. These remarks call for more women in management positions. Several comments also emphasise the need for fair/better wages for farmers and labourers.

This split in sentiment stands in contrast to the more widely shared environmental concerns expressed in the previous article. Those findings reveal that 80 per cent of respondents are worried about the effects of climate change on their business operations. Eighty-four per cent of respondents also feel that the environment/carbon footprint is the most important sustainability issue to consumers. This partiality toward concern for the environment appears to misalign with many of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) regarding social welfare. The SDGs include, among others: reducing poverty, ending hunger, providing quality education, improving gender equality, and promoting safe and equitable workplaces. It remains unclear as to why concerns about the environment show stronger numbers than those related to people.

Response to certification question in the tea survey

Similarly, sustainability certifications that aim to promote the welfare of tea industry workers carry less importance than other product factors. Organic certification beat out other certifications as being considered more valuable to consumers. Eighty-five per cent of respondents feel organic certification is the most important, compared to Fair Trade (68 per cent) and Rainforest Alliance (56 per cent) — certifications that exist to overtly raise awareness of the social justice aspect of sustainability.

New questions raised

The findings of this research raise further questions to explore and address within the tea industry and beyond. Some of the more pertinent questions include:

1. Is there a greater, perhaps unbalanced, emphasis in the perceptions of sustainability that prioritises the environment above human welfare?
2. To what extent are equity and social justice issues viewed as tea-industry specific versus seen as larger issues of a culture or society? Perhaps human welfare problems are perceived as beyond the tea industry’s purview, and more as widespread/inherent national or societal problems.
3. How well are sustainability certifications perceived in terms of their roles in helping people and the planet?
4. Are the human stories of sustainability being sufficiently and accurately told, so that industry members and consumers have a full and accurate understanding?

• Jason Walker is marketing director of Firsd Tea North America. Prior to his work with Secaucus, New Jersey-based Firsd Tea, Walker served in a variety of roles in tea and beverage business capacities. His experience includes business services for small tea companies, a top-ranked online destination for tea consumer education and co-founding a coffee business. His insights draw upon his diverse range of experience in sales, operations and management in the tea world. He may be reached at: jason.walker@firsdtea.com.

The post Tea sustainability perspectives & human welfare appeared first on Tea & Coffee Trade Journal.

Going forward, the private sector and civil society will participate as Affiliate Members in key discussions and decisions on the sustainable future of global coffee affairs with 75 coffee producing and importing nations, ICO Member Governments. The goal of the 2022 International Coffee Agreement (ICA) is to find new ways to improve conditions in an over USD $300 billion a year industry that provides a livelihood for millions of people from farmers to baristas across the world. Indeed, coffee farmers have suffered much in the wake of a 2019 coffee pricing crisis, extreme weather including droughts, flooding, frosts and blight, resulting in crop losses and prompting many to quit a business that had been in their family for generations. Smallholders, who only have less than one or two hectares of land each to produce coffee, for example, are the most vulnerable with incomes of just USD $500 a year.

The chair of the International Coffee Council (ICC), H.E. Ambassador Iván Romero-Martínez of Honduras, stressed that with the approval of the new ICA, the ICC marked a new era for the ICO, its members, the global coffee sector and for millions of coffee farmers whose work, every day, allow us to taste a wonderful coffee. He further pointed out that ICO members showed the world that the coffee sector is strong and united as ICO reaffirms itself as the centre of the ‘coffee diplomacy’, committed to making the coffee value chain more sustainable, inclusive, and resilient.

“We are entering a new era of cooperation with the private sector thanks to the landmark International Coffee Agreement 2022,” said Vanusia Nogueira, who joined in May as the ICO’s first female executive director. “The arrival of the world’s biggest high-street names and manufacturers as well as smallholders means that the whole coffee value chain can now address the biggest challenges facing the global sector in a way that is fair for all,” she added.

The new ICA goes beyond the traditional divide between exporting and importing members as all members are committed to working together to address the increasing challenges of the coffee industry. The private sector and government entities will coordinate strategies to address more efficiently those challenges. This will benefit producers across 50 countries as coffee growers and their associations will be able to raise their concerns directly with retailers and manufacturers.

Moreover, the new ICA gives a clear and firm mandate to the ICO Secretariat to assist members in putting together coffee sector development projects and mobilising resources in areas such as pest and disease control, climate change adaptation among other mitigating strategies. This comes at a time when expanding demand for coffee will contribute to maintaining a balance between supply and demand, supporting fair market prices.

“The industry has changed dramatically in the last 30 years in terms of governance and value distribution between producing and consumer nations. We can now come together and put a bigger emphasis on the development of the global circular coffee economy. Ultimately, we want to create a brighter future for millions of coffee farmers by adhering to the United Nations’ Sustainability Development Goals and work for more transparency, quality and fair pricing for billions of consumers. The new agreement is a huge step in this direction,” said Nogueira.

The new ICA represents a fresh mandate for the ICO. It is the seventh of its kind since 1962 after the first International Coffee Agreement at the United Nations in New York defined coffee export quotas. The 2022 ICA has come a long way since then, now that the ICO can bring all parties to the table for the first time and tackle challenges through international private and public cooperation, involving its member governments, which represent 93% of world coffee production and 63% of world consumption. Today, the world drinks more than two billion cups of coffee a day.

“The new agreement is an effective instrument to paving the way to a more unified front, establishing a consensus and shared vision on how to best implement and promote actions by governments and the private sector, while also engaging all key coffee-related institutions, NGOs, international and financial institutions plus other development partners, research bodies and academia,” said Nogueira, who previously represented Brazil, the world’s biggest coffee producer, in global coffee affairs as the executive director of the Brazilian Specialty Coffee Association.

While the ICO will not change its intergovernmental nature, as part of the Agreement, the current Coffee Public-Private Task Force has been integrated into the ICO as the Coffee Public-Private Working Party. On top of this, the Private Sector Consultative Board will be transformed into the Board of Affiliate Members, creating a new institutional framework and leading to the non-government affiliation since 1963 when the ICO was established in London.

The ICA’s key points also redefine the ICO’s internal voting system and members’ contributions to better reflect the transformation in the global coffee chain over the last 30 years, accounting for distortions between producing (exporting) and consumer (importing) countries as well as Arabica versus Robusta coffee-producing nations. The change in membership contributions to the administrative budget will increase the financial sustainability of the Organization and its capacity to carry out its mandate.

In terms of production, the world produces 4.18 million tonnes of Robusta coffee, or 69.67 million 60-kg bags a year, and 6.07 million tonnes of Arabica, or 101.16 million 60-kg bags, annually as of 2020. This is up from 1.74 million tonnes of Robusta and 4.34 million tonnes for Arabica coffee in 1991.

For more information, visit: ico.org.

The post The ICO unveils new International Coffee Agreement appeared first on Tea & Coffee Trade Journal.

From 14:30 CEST, Vanessa will be speaking online alongside Tom Standage, deputy editor of The Economist in the session titled “A Dialogue on Tea & Coffee” which will explore the production and rich flavours behind the beverages that unite many different cultures.

The session takes place after the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ Global World Food Day Ceremony, which will call for the transformation of agri-food systems to ensure that everyone, everywhere has access to enough, affordable, safe and nutritious food to lead active and healthy lives.

For more information about the event, visit: www.fao.org/world-food-day/events/detail/world-food-day-ceremony/en and to register for free, visit: fao.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_zsqH5U4pTrCQvyIng_zUcA.

The post UN presents A Dialogue on Tea & Coffee for World Food Day appeared first on Tea & Coffee Trade Journal.