Weekly Coffee News: Dean’s Beans Wins + Drinks as Self-Expression
Dean’s Beans Organic Coffee Company was named Massachusetts Rural Business of the Year by the SBA and posted a B Impact Score of 168.5, underscoring its worker‑owned, ethical model. At the same time, major players such as Lavazza and Fairtrade unveiled new sustainability initiatives, while Starbucks announced a three‑year farmer support program in northern Thailand. Green Coffee Company raised $5 million from retail investors after a $25 million Series C, and Keurig Dr Pepper’s trend report highlighted drinks as a form of self‑expression. A draft EU regulation now seeks to include soluble coffee in its deforestation rules, signaling tighter supply‑chain scrutiny.
Meta-Analysis: Coffee Drinkers Have Lower Odds of Multiple Sclerosis
A systematic review of eight case‑control studies found coffee drinkers have about 22 % lower odds of developing multiple sclerosis compared with non‑drinkers. The analysis pooled roughly 2,200 MS cases and over 2,300 controls, but the authors highlighted substantial heterogeneity across...
Royal Cup Coffee and Tea Completes Farmer Brothers Acquisition
Royal Cup Coffee and Tea completed its purchase of Farmer Brothers, paying $1.29 per share for an estimated $28.3 million total. The deal, approved by shareholders in early May, takes the century‑old coffee distributor private after years as a Nasdaq‑listed company....
The War in Iran Is Making Coffee Production More Expensive
The U.S.-Iran war is driving a sharp rise in fertilizer costs, pushing the International Coffee Organization’s price index up 2.3%. World Bank forecasts a 31% jump in fertilizer prices for 2026, with urea soaring 60%, threatening the 2026/27 coffee harvest....
Flair Espresso Launches eWizard Steamer and 49 Pro Espresso Maker
Flair Espresso unveiled two new products at the World of Coffee trade show: the eWizard, an electric milk steamer with a built‑in pressure‑stat, and the Flair 49 Pro, an upgraded manual espresso maker featuring a larger 49 mm portafilter. The eWizard retails for...
Costa Rica Study Explores the Social Impact of Biennial Production Cycles
A new study by Northeastern University reveals that Costa Rican coffee farms experience synchronized biennial production cycles, especially after the 2012‑13 leaf‑rust outbreak. This synchronization intensifies income volatility for smallholder growers, who often rely on loans and reduced household spending...
Weekly Coffee News: Yemeni Coffee Shop Boom + No-Tip Reversal
Yemeni coffee shops are rapidly expanding in the U.S., with roughly 30 brands—many franchised—entering mainstream cafe culture. Kansas City’s Take Care reversed its no‑tipping policy, citing higher staff earnings and steadier menu pricing. Specialty‑focused firms saw notable moves, including Nick...
2026 International Coffee Convention Heading to Trieste in October
The International Coffee Convention (ICC) will take place in Trieste, Italy, on October 16‑17, 2026, moving after two editions in Mannheim. Abstracts are being accepted until June 30, inviting researchers, growers, roasters, and policy experts. The program features six tracks covering climate, sustainability,...
Stronghold Launches Global Sales of Compact S2 Roaster
Stronghold has begun global sales of its new S2 roaster, a 2‑foot, 60‑pound unit that holds up to 300 grams of beans. Priced at roughly $9,000, the countertop machine targets home roasters, café micro‑batch production, and laboratory cupping labs. It introduces...
Study: Unsweetened Coffee Protects Against Cardiovascular Disease. Sweetened? Not So Much
A new analysis of 173,614 UK Biobank participants found that drinking two to three cups of unsweetened coffee daily lowers cardiovascular disease risk by about 15% compared with non‑drinkers. The protective effect follows a U‑shaped curve, with higher or lower...
ColdPerk Launches the Commissary 70 for Large Batches of Concentrate
ColdPerk unveiled the Commissary 70, a stainless‑steel brewer designed for large‑batch cold‑brew concentrate production. The machine holds up to 70 pounds of wet grounds, delivering 70‑105 liters (18.5‑28 gallons) of 12‑Brix concentrate in under two hours with only a water‑metering controller. Priced at $25,000,...
Seven Certified B Corps Launch a Global Coffee Coalition
Seven Certified B Corporations spanning Brazil, Switzerland, the United States, Singapore, Denmark, Australia/New Zealand and Kenya have launched the B Corp Coffee Coalition. The coalition will begin with working groups aimed at farmer prosperity and workforce development and is open to...
Lawsuit Says Trader Joe’s “Low Acid” Coffee Was Too Low on Caffeine
A federal class action filed on April 23, 2026 in the Central District of California alleges that Trader Joe’s “French Roast Low Acid” coffee contains roughly half the caffeine of its regular blends, contrary to the product’s fully caffeinated marketing. The...
Coffee and Health Complicated by a Messy Mix of Compounds
A new review in Frontiers in Nutrition synthesizes epidemiological and laboratory findings to map coffee’s most studied compounds—caffeine, trigonelline, chlorogenic acids, cafestol, kahweol and melanoidins—onto four health‑related pathways: metabolic regulation, neuroprotection, oxidative stress and inflammation. The authors highlight the paradox...
Nestlé Confirms Blue Bottle Sale to Luckin’s Largest Shareholder
Nestlé confirmed it will sell Blue Bottle Coffee to Centurium Capital, the majority shareholder of Luckin Coffee, with the deal expected to close in the first half of 2026. Nestlé originally acquired Blue Bottle in 2017 for about $425 million, valuing...
Weekly Coffee News: Lavazza in LA + The Case for Climate Insurance
Lavazza opened a Los Angeles training center, its second North‑American site in six months, expanding a global network that now totals 58 locations. The World Economic Forum advocated shared‑cost climate insurance to protect coffee value chains from weather shocks. Brazil’s 2026/27...
The Federal Portal for Tariff Refunds Is Now Open
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection launched the CAPE portal on April 20, enabling green coffee importers to file Phase 1 IEEPA tariff‑refund claims. The portal consolidates entries, allowing a single declaration for thousands of shipments and promising lump‑sum refunds with interest....
New Green Coffee and Roastery Equipment From World of Coffee San Diego
World of Coffee San Diego showcased a wave of new green‑coffee and roastery equipment aimed at tightening quality control and boosting efficiency across the supply chain. Portable analyzers like ProfilePrint’s Mini Beluga and Demetria’s AI‑driven Aroma sorter bring farm‑level moisture,...
Probat Names Ryan Dodd North American CEO
Probat Group appointed Ryan Dodd as CEO of its North American operations, effective April 20, succeeding Ellen Nielsen who moves to CFO to oversee a Dallas‑centered consolidation. The restructuring merges the former Lincolnshire, Illinois plant, Bauermeister USA’s Memphis operation, and AC Horn’s...
New Home Coffee Equipment From World of Coffee in San Diego
The World of Coffee trade show in San Diego attracted more than 17,000 visitors and became a launchpad for a wave of new home coffee equipment. Brands such as Cosori, Varia Brewing, Kopel Labs, Next Level Coffee, Lelit, Flair Espresso,...
Philz Coffee Reverses Pride Flag Removal Order, CEO Apologizes
Philz Coffee reversed its April 8 directive to strip Pride flags from all locations after a week of intense backlash, and CEO Mahesh Sadarangani publicly apologized for the misstep. The company now permits existing flags to stay up and will replace...
Three Questions with Kosta Kallivrousis of Age of Coffee
Kosta Kallivrousis left his family’s electrician business after the 2008 crisis to start as a Starbucks barista, eventually becoming a senior supply‑chain advisor at Age of Coffee. His career progressed through specialty‑coffee roles at The Roasterie, Parisi Coffee, and a...
‘Forest 500’ Report Tracks Coffee Industry Deforestation Commitments
The 2026 Forest 500 report, compiled by Global Canopy, finds the coffee sector lagging behind most commodities on deforestation metrics despite modest gains in public commitments. Only 47% of evaluated firms disclosed a coffee‑deforestation‑free pledge, and merely 5% reported that over...
Study Identifies Chemical Differences in Civet Poop Coffee
Researchers from Central University of Kerala analyzed unroasted robusta beans collected from wild Asian palm civet droppings in Kodagu, India, and compared them with beans harvested directly from the same farms. The chemical analysis showed higher total fat and elevated...
Two-Thirds of Americans Said They Drank Coffee Yesterday, NCA Report Finds
The National Coffee Association’s Spring 2026 NCDT report shows 66% of U.S. adults drank coffee yesterday, matching the past two years and keeping coffee the nation’s top beverage. Weekly coffee consumption reaches 73%, equating to roughly 195 million adults and 507 million cups...
Eight Ounce Coffee Becomes Exclusive Stronghold Roaster Distributor in Canada
Calgary‑based Eight Ounce Coffee has secured exclusive rights to distribute South Korea’s Stronghold electric roasters across Canada, adding the S2, S7, S8 and S9 models to its portfolio. The company, which already supplies roughly 4,000 cafés, roasters, hotels and retailers...
Coffee Crops Are Dying From a Fungus with Species-Jumping Genes
A fungus called Fusarium xylarioides is killing coffee plants worldwide through coffee wilt disease. Researchers reconstructed historical strains and sequenced genomes, discovering that the pathogen acquired virulence genes via horizontal gene transfer from Fusarium oxysporum, including mobile “Starship” elements. These...
Study Finds Coffee Tied to ‘Younger’ Biological Age in People with Mental Illness
A November 2025 observational study of 436 Norwegian adults with schizophrenia or affective disorders found that drinking three to four cups of coffee daily was associated with longer telomeres, a cellular marker of biological aging. In adjusted models, these participants...
Study: ‘Default Nudge’ to Oat Milk Reduces Carbon Footprint of Cafe Drinks
A UK study published in Global Environmental Psychology tested a "default nudge" that made oat milk the standard option in a university café while still offering cow's milk on request. The intervention boosted plant‑based milk usage from roughly 16% to...
Weekly Coffee News: Chain Removes Pride Flags + Science and Ed News
Philz Coffee announced it will remove Pride flags and other décor to create a more consistent, inclusive experience, sparking a Change.org petition and public backlash. The chain was sold last year for $145 million to a Los Angeles‑based private‑equity firm. At...
Barra Brings Sunshine Coast Vibes to Central Minneapolis
Barra opened on March 2 in the Skyway shopping center, bringing an Australian‑inspired coffee experience to downtown Minneapolis. The café offers a concise menu—espresso, drip, latte, flat white, and a Lemon, Lime and Bitters refresher—while customizing its water to mimic Melbourne’s...
New Products Coming to World of Coffee San Diego
The 2026 World of Coffee trade show will run April 10‑12 at the San Diego Convention Center, featuring over 650 exhibitors and a packed program of cuppings, education, and the World Latte Art Championship. Attendees can expect a wave of...
WCR Leads Nearly $1 Million Project to Strengthen Ugandan Coffee Sector
World Coffee Research (WCR) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) are launching a €850,000 (about $994,000) project to expand disease‑resistant coffee planting in Uganda. Backed by the Lavazza Foundation, J.M. Smucker and JDE Peet’s, the initiative will create robusta...
Opinion: Technical Gap Slowing Agroforestry in Key Colombian Lands
Colombia, the world’s third‑largest coffee producer, contributes 22% of GDP and up to 80% of exports, yet only 5% of its smallholder farmers are technically efficient. In the Meta department, coffee is grown under forest canopy in agroforestry systems across...
Labor Department Recovers $85,197 for Workers at Texas Coffee Bar
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division recovered $85,197 in back wages for 36 employees of Nate’s Coffee & Cocktails in central Texas. An investigation found the establishment operated an illegal tip pool that included its general manager,...
Sivetz Expands Into Electric Heat with Peachey Roasters
Oregon‑based Sivetz Roasting Machines and Kansas‑based Peachey Roasters have merged under the Sivetz brand, re‑introducing electric‑heat fluid‑bed coffee roasters. The unified lineup adds 4‑kg and 9‑kg electric models alongside the flagship SRM15 gas‑fired roaster, all sharing common PLC control and...
Study Suggests Moderate Coffee and Tea May Be Tied to Lower Lung Cancer Risk
A UK Biobank analysis of 276,209 adults found that drinking one to three cups of coffee or tea daily was linked to a 20‑33% lower risk of lung cancer, while consuming four or more cups showed no clear benefit. The...
Nomad Bringing No-Waste Mission to More Vancouver-Area Cafes
Nomad, a Vancouver coffee shop founded by Annette Kim, has eliminated disposable cups across its locations, diverting over 220,000 cups since 2022 and targeting one million by 2027. The chain uses a $2 deposit for 3D‑printed clay cups and a...
Weekly Coffee News: Record-Setting Ecuador Auction + New NKG Coffee Council
The inaugural Ecuador Farmer’s Collection auction on March 26 set a new benchmark, with a washed Gesha from Andrés Yepez selling for $318 per kilogram, the highest price ever recorded for an Ecuadorian coffee at an international auction. Lavazza reported a 15.7%...
Major Ag Lender Warns of Arabica Land Losses From Climate Change
Rabobank, one of the world’s largest agricultural lenders, released a climate risk report warning that up to 20% of current Arabica coffee‑growing land could become unsuitable by 2050. Already 8% of the area is classified as unsuitable, with the most...
Coffee Circle and Bean Voyage Win 2026 SCA Sustainability Awards
Coffee Circle and Bean Voyage were named winners of the Specialty Coffee Association’s 2026 Sustainability Awards, announced ahead of World of Coffee San Diego. Coffee Circle captured the for‑profit category, highlighting its €1‑per‑kilogram model that has funneled more than €5 million...