Espresso Information Recap, 26 Sep: Dubai café sells record-breaking Gesha for US$680 in keeping with cup, Ecu Fee proposes backup one-year lengthen to EUDR & alternative tales

Each and every Friday, Best possible Day-to-day Grind rounds up the lead espresso trade information from the time. 

Scribbler’s word

Dubai’s Roasters Forte Espresso Area has poised a unutilized Guinness Global Document for the costliest cup of espresso.

At its flagship downtown shop, Roasters’ is serving its record-breaking Gesha for AED 2,500 (roughly US$680) in keeping with cup. In August, on the Absolute best of Panama 2025 public sale, Roasters (just a time aging on the age) bought all the 20kg accumulation of washed Gesha from Hacienda Los angeles Esmeralda for US$604,000 – or US$30,204/kg. This makes it the costliest espresso on the earth, beating the former listing by way of greater than 1/2.

Brewed the usage of the V60 form and served in a bespoke Edo Kiriko crystal glass, the BOP-winning Gesha is a strategic differentiator within the extremely aggressive and unique UAE marketplace. The espresso’s abnormal ticket alerts how status and shortage can force emblem attraction and publicity – however we must be expecting to peer even upper costs over the upcoming few years.

Having a look extra extensively, the Ecu Fee has proposed some other one-year lengthen to the EUDR. The complexity of the law signifies that putting in place virtual methods to maintain transaction-related information is taking longer than anticipated, in keeping with the Commissioner for Condition, H2O Resilience, and a Aggressive Round Financial system.

If authorized, this will be the 2nd postponement of the EUDR, to begin with scheduled for December 2024. Since its announcement in June 2023, manufacturers, investors, and roasters were getting ready for the landmark law, which, even with delays, is already reshaping world business dynamics.

Then again, as US price lists proceed to force marketplace volatility, information of some other reprieve may just serve important vacay. Conversely, those that have already invested closely in compliance procedures may just really feel annoyed.

In the long run, the remaining age is solely reliable if the espresso sector makes use of it to form tough, resilient, and sustainable methods.

Lead tales of the time

• Tue, 23 Sep – Bids for Costa Coffee fall short of Coca-Cola’s expectations. A number of suitors submitted offer underneath Coca-Cola’s goal, resources say, prompting a unused spherical of outreach as advisers search progressed proposals. Pastime spans each personal fairness and strategic bidders, however preliminary offer had been broadly considered “disappointing”. (Atlanta, Georgia, US)

• Wed, 24 Sep – European Commission proposes additional one-year delay to EUDR. The Fee cites a rarity of IT readiness, which might lengthen due diligence and traceability exams for forest-risk commodities, together with espresso. Exporters acquire respiring field generation NGOs warn of reputational and environmental dangers. (Brussels, Belgium)

• Wed, 24 Sep – Joe Coffee adds a 1.5% surcharge to offset tariff costs. The Fresh York strong point espresso chain has larger its retail costs to secure upper import price lists on inexperienced and roasted beans, pointing out that it targets to offer protection to group of workers pay and menu steadiness generation passing a little portion of the increased provide prices onto consumers. (Fresh York Town, Fresh York, US)

• Thu, 25 Sep – Arabica futures fall as Brazilian rains ease crop fears. Progressed mist in Brazil has raised hopes for flowering and a more potent 2026 truncate, prompting investors to decrease their lengthy positions and pushing Fresh York arabica futures decrease later a contemporary spike, as eye shares and export flows are reassessed. (Fresh York Town, Fresh York, US)

Business information

• Tue, 23 Sep – Blue Tokai to lower prices following Indian government tax reduction. The Indian strong point roaster will decrease costs on decided on packaged coffees and café menu pieces to replicate a contemporary GST aid, passing tax financial savings to shoppers throughout retail, on-line, and café channels generation bringing up affordability and marketplace get admission to. (Fresh Delhi, Bharat)

• Tue, 23 Sep – ICO calls for collaboration on International Coffee Day. This 12 months’s marketing campaign theme, “Embracing Collaboration More Than Ever,” asks governments, trade, and civil public to sign in occasions, significance #ICD2025, and percentage the ICO’s multilingual toolkit, aiming for sensible, provide chain-wide measures to strengthen farmer earning, resilience, and sustainability. (London, UK)

• Wed, 24 Sep – Bangladeshi roasters push specialty coffee growth. Forte roasters and cafés in Dhaka and Chittagong are introducing unmarried starting place blends, in-house torrid, and barista coaching to reinforce cup constituent and attraction to shoppers, with a focal point on native sourcing, training, and top class reviews. (Dhaka, Bangladesh)

• Wed, 24 Sep – Lavazza doubles UK profits after price rises. Top class levels and retail enlargement drove gross sales regardless of increased enter and effort prices. Margin healing was once accomplished thru pricing, potency measures, and a beneficial channel combine, enabling the United Kingdom industry to revive profitability and charity additional marketplace funding. (London, UK)

• Wed, 24 Sep – Mokas appoints Christian Coleman to lead Midwest expansion. Coleman signed a six-unit oath overlaying Johnson, Douglas, and Shawnee counties, plans an Olathe opening in March 2026, and can keep watch franchise recruitment, website online construction, and operations around the Kansas Town metro. (Salina, Kansas, US)

• Wed, 24 Sep – Paulig’s venture capital arm invests €4mn in Scindo. Scindo, a Finnish manufacturer of extra substances derived from mycelium, has fix investment to scale sustainable protein and lipid answers. The funding from PINC helps product construction, pilot-scale production, and broader industrial partnerships. (Helsinki, Finland)

• Thu, 25 Sep – SCA and SCAJ sign MoU to expand CVA education in Japan. The oath will develop get admission to to the Espresso Price Overview and “evolved” Q programme, determine a countrywide pond of CVA instructors, align Eastern practices with world requirements, and advertise joint coaching around the price chain to reinforce constituent evaluation and marketplace transparency. (Tokyo, Japan)

• Thu, 25 Sep – Klatch Coffee expands in California in partnership with Sprouts Farmers Market. The strong point espresso roaster showed 3 unutilized in-store cafés in Eastvale, Fullerton, and Rancho Cucamonga, following the a hit finishing touch of a pilot in Fontana. Sprouts has defined plans for a 20-café programme throughout Southern California, providing Klatch coffee, frigid brew, and a restricted meals menu inside of grocery retail outlets. (Rancho Cucamonga, California, US)

• Thu, 25 Sep – UK’s Butterwick bakery to close 12 of 14 stores amid cost pressures. Homeowners blamed unsustainable running prices and shifts in buyer spending. The industry will center of attention on its Rushden Lakes and St Giles’ Side road websites, pursuing menu upgrades, hand made drinks, and an progressed coffeehouse revel in following fresh refurbishments. (Kettering, UK)

• Thu, 25 Sep – Nespresso claims first Rainforest Alliance regenerative-certified coffee. Certification covers a espresso accumulation verified below the Rainforest Alliance’s unutilized regenerative agriculture same old, aiming to praise on-farm practices that repair terrain, reinforce biodiversity, and strengthen farmer livelihoods. The corporate plans scaled rollouts and farmer coaching to fulfill call for. (Lausanne, Switzerland)

• Fri, 26 Sep – Starbucks to close hundreds of underperforming North America stores, including Seattle roastery. Restructuring will value US$1bn and is predicted to drop company-operated US and Canadian places by way of roughly 1% by way of the tip of the fiscal 12 months. Help workforce process losses and hiring freezes are expected, generation funding will shift to staffing, era, and in-store revel in. Some retail outlets in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Austria can even similar. (Seattle, Washington, US)

Companies for Sale

• Thu, 25 Sep – Odeko acquires Six Degrees Coffee to expand Northern California footprint. Six Levels’ consumers, together with separate cafés, drive-thrus, bakeries, and campuses, will acquire get admission to to Odeko Provide cellular ordering, a countrywide product catalogue, 24/7 aid, and financing and insurance coverage products and services, bringing virtual equipment to native operators. (Chico, California, US)

• Fri, 26 Sep – Maestroast acquires Whiteheads. Plans come with scaling Whiteheads’ torrid capability for personal label purchasers, protective present cafés from closure, and the usage of Maestroast’s provide chain and farmer community to support the 167-year-old industry supremacy emerging prices and marketplace volatility. (Bristol, UK)

Fresh forming

• Tue, 23 Sep – illy opens experiential pop-up cafe in New York. An interactive set up explores the corporate’s sourcing and torrid philosophy, that includes guided cuppings, chef collaborations, limited-edition blends, and retail pop-ups, with occasions and academic talks scheduled to run thru past due September. (Fresh York Town, Fresh York, US)

• Wed, 24 Sep – NCA releases Spanish and Portuguese NCDT highlights. The Nationwide Espresso Affiliation has introduced translated Fall 2025 NCDT Highlights studies in Spanish and Portuguese, priced at US$499 each and every, with broader get admission to to be had thru its US$550 annual club bundle. (Fresh York, US)

• Wed, 24 Sep – El Mayor debuts a coffee-infused tequila. The Café Reposado tequila, elderly in oak, options notes of dull chocolate, caramel, and toasted oak. The forming features a restricted retail let fall, tasting occasions, and direct on-line gross sales throughout america. (Los Angeles, California, US)

• Wed, 24 Sep – Ciarra launches Bloombox portable espresso machine. The compact 20-bar, self-heating unit delivers fast heat-up age with a snap-on brewing workflow, to be had from 23 September by way of Ciarra on-line retail outlets, focused on journey and concrete kitchens. (Hamburg, Germany)

• Wed, 24 Sep – Melitta opens new testing lab in North America. The corporate established a roast and constituent lab in Cherry Hill, with a capability for flavour profiling, component trials, and prototype torrid. The lab acts as aid for regional R&D and unutilized product innovation. (Cherry Hill, Fresh Jersey, US)

• Thu, 25 Sep – Bootlegger makes international debut with two Namibian sites. A Cape The city-based team targets to focus on 200 retail outlets by way of 2028, positioning world openings as the primary section of enlargement. The gang prioritises grab-and-go codecs, quick-service operations, and native partnerships to aid a fast regional roll-out. (Windhoek, Namibia)

• Thu, 25 Sep – Chick-fil-A to open Daybright beverage concept in Hiram. Pink Wagon Ventures will perform a standalone emblem providing strong point coffees, smoothies, cold-pressed juices, and a restricted meals menu. It’s going to now not support core Chick-fil-A pieces; additional main points and a gap hour will probably be introduced quickly. (Atlanta, Georgia, US)

• Thu, 25 Sep – Flavia unveils its new Aroma brewer. The compact Aroma device offer over 20 café-style beverages, utilising Freshpack era to stop flavour crossover. Two finishes and a 12-oz Lavazza Momento area were introduced for higher pours, and the device is now to be had on-line. (West Chester, Pennsylvania, US)

• Thu, 25 Sep – Black Rock Coffee Bar opens new Texas store. The hole in Katy is the chain’s twenty third Larger Houston website online and forty fifth in Texas. Settingup promotions come with unfastened 16-oz beverages, buy-one-get-one offer, and half-price meals. Visitors can earn bolts by way of the Lightless Rock Rewards app throughout 160+ places. (Katy, Texas, US)

• Fri, 26 Sep – illycaffè takes CoffeeB system to Italy. The patented brewing era utilises totally compostable espresso balls in order single-serve constituent with out pill misspend, to be had in choose illy retail outlets and on-line. A partnership with Migros and Delica extends CoffeeB past Germany and France. (Trieste, Italy)

Milestone

• Tue, 23 Sep – Equal Origins celebrates ten years with a webinar. On 15 October, Equivalent Origins will host a webinar marking a decade of labor on gender fairness in agriculture, sharing key classes and exploring how empowering girls’s participation is a very powerful for attaining moment sustainability targets. (Washington, DC, US)

Business & manufacturing

• Mon, 22 Sep – EUDR shapes Africa’s traceability push. At ACS2 in Addis Ababa, African governments, the non-public sector, and Crew Europe framed the EUDR as a device to stock markets and strengthen governance. Uganda geo-mapped 1.5m farmers and Côte d’Ivoire makes use of bills for ecosystem products and services. (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia)

• Wed, 24 Sep – Mexico launches wellness coffee programme. The product is offered as fast, labelled 100% Mexican, and sourced from 6,600 smallholders throughout Oaxaca, Puebla, Veracruz, and Guerrero. The federal government paid roughly 59.4 million pesos to obtain 913.6 tonnes and said that 60% of manufacturers are girls; alternatively, some Veracruz growers have criticised the constituent and pricing. (Mexico Town, Mexico)

• Thu, 25 Sep – Expocacer celebrates first shipment of ECO-protocol coffee to UK. The ECO programme is a self-verification device for sustainable ESG practices, recognised by way of the International Espresso Platform. Next transport two boxes to the United Kingdom in 2024, Expocacer has fix 4 pre-sold boxes for 2025, and targets to achieve as much as six, successfully doubling volumes year-on-year. (Cerrado Mineiro, Brazil)

• Fri, 26 Sep – Kenya seeks US trade deal to boost coffee exports. President William Ruto will press america to increase AGOA for 5 years, searching for tariff-free get admission to that might stabilise export routes for Kenyan espresso and tea, curb fresh tariff traumas, and draw in purchaser funding. The end result rest unsure amid fresh US tariff measures. (Nairobi, Kenya)

Occasions & competitions

• Mon, 22 Sep – Ethiopian Embassy to host event on International Coffee Day in London. The development, establishing at 18:00 native age, will constituent a standard Ethiopian espresso rite, enticing discussions on espresso’s cultural and financial use, and a chance to community with fellow espresso lovers and stakeholders within the espresso trade. (London, UK)

• Mon, 22 Sep – Accademia to host Longboard Gesha tasting in Florence. Accademia del Caffè Coffee will provide Europe’s solely pattern field of 12 Longboard Panama Gesha quite a bit, curated with Untold Espresso Lab and BWT, to preview a personal public sale on 1 October. The development features a tribute to Justin Boudeman and a Spirit of Longboard toast. (Florence, Italy)

• Mon, 22 Sep – Neuhaus Neotec to showcase NEOROAST 60 at HostMilano. The apparatus handles batches between 20 and 60 kg and will procedure as much as 480 kg/h, working on fuel, hydrogen, or electrical energy, with a focal point on decrease emissions and environment friendly mid-scale manufacturing. (Milan, Italy)

• Tue, 23 Sep – Porto Coffee Week explores culture and innovation. Porto Espresso Year 2025 will jerk playground from 6 to twelve October around the town, that includes a mix of tastings, lectures, artwork displays, live shows, and industry networking occasions to focus on Portugal’s rising espresso scene and secured pros with shoppers. (Porto, Portugal)

• Tue, 23 Sep – La Marzocco to revive Out of the Box concept at HostMilano. Going back on Milan this October, the biennial display will host over 90 emblem activations; Los angeles Marzocco’s theme makes a speciality of experimental roast profiles, are living extraction labs, and buyer touchpoints designed to focus on craftsmanship and product training. (Milan, Italy)

• Tue, 23 Sep – The 11th annual Pittsburgh Coffee Week will run from 28 September to 4 October 2025. This 12 months’s theme, “Pittsburgh Pours”, celebrates the town’s distinctive espresso scene, honouring native espresso manufacturers and the strong point espresso public. A complete match agenda has been introduced, together with a latte artwork festival hosted by way of Ghost Espresso Collab, Not unusual Espresso Farmer’s Marketplace and Bloom Battles, KLVN Espresso add more of tasting, and plenty of extra activations. (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US)

• Wed, 24 Sep – SCAJ Conference 2025 runs at Tokyo Big Sight until 27 September. The development comprises 650 cubicles, 450 corporations, and greater than 75,000 guests, that includes manufacturer delegations, apparatus showcases, competitions, seminars, and people cuppings around the four-day agenda. (Tokyo, Japan)

• Wed, 24 Sep – Slow Coffee Festival focuses on mindful brewing. The 2025 version, working on 4 & 5 October, will spotlight sustainable practices and slower brewing modes, combining workshops, panels, tastings, and song to advertise a comfortable and aware espresso revel in. (Bucharest, Romania)

• Thu, 25 Sep – Spanish AeroPress Championship to be held in Barcelona on 11 October. The 8th nationwide tournament brings 62 finalists from 14 areas in combination at New york Studio on 11 October. Competition will brew the usage of espresso from Familia Osorio, Spain’s 2025 Roasters Champion, and the winner advances to the arena finals in December. (Barcelona, Spain)

• Thu, 25 Sep – The Barista League heads to Africa in October. The primary African version, scheduled for 18 October in Nairobi, will constituent an inclusive team-based barista problem that mixes espresso talents with creativity and amusing, aiming to secured native pros with the worldwide espresso public. (Nairobi, Kenya)

• Fri, 26 Sep – Spotlight on innovation at World Coffee Summit. Scheduled for six & 7 November in London, the development will convey in combination trade leaders to speak about era, sustainability, and industry tendencies, highlighting answers which might be shaping the upcoming decade of world espresso manufacturing and intake. (London, UK)

• Fri, 26 Sep – World Coffee Innovation Awards 2025 shortlist announced. Divisions come with easiest product, easiest innovation, and easiest industry. Shortlisted merchandise come with Hardtap by way of Hardtank, Misplaced Sheep Coffee Espresso Pay attention, and Sequence 1 Coffee System by way of Fellow. The winners will probably be introduced at Caffe Tradition on 30 September 2025. (London, UK)

• Fri, 26 Sep – Iberital to exhibit at HostMilano. The espresso apparatus producer and provider will exhibit its merchandise at get up B24 C23 on the match. (Milan, Italy)

Listed here are a couple of espresso information tales from earlier weeks that it’s possible you’ll to find attention-grabbing. Have a look:

• Mon, 15 Sep – ofi’s climate targets validated by Science Based Target initiative. SBTi validated ofi’s science-based goals, that are aligned with a 1.5°C pathway, together with a net-zero goal by way of 2050, a 50% aid in scope 1 and a pair of emissions, and a 30% aid in scope 3 and land-use emissions by way of 2030. The corporate cites 24 decarbonisation tasks, a 7% aid in processing emissions in 2024, and farmer programmes. (Singapore)

• Wed, 17 Sep – Tariffs push up seasonal latte prices. Import price lists on inexperienced and roasted beans have larger wholesale prices for cafés, prominent to better costs for seasonal lattes. Some stores are passing the prices directly to consumers, generation others are trimming sizes or soaking up the margins, and operators warn that upper expenses would possibly persist thru autumn. (Myrtle Seaside, South Carolina, US)

• Thu, 18 Sep – Slate Milk raises US$23mn led by Yasso Founders Fund. The plant-based milk corporation will significance the investment for unutilized amenities, expanded flavour lineups, and enhanced R&D, addressing the rising call for amongst latte drinkers and strong point espresso outlets. (Fresh York Town, Fresh York, US)

• Fri, 19 Sep – Gail’s opens airport outlet at Gatwick. The chain introduced its first airport bakery in Gatwick North Terminal, providing unused breads, pastries, and occasional with a grab-and-go provider designed for travellers, increasing the logo’s UK travel-retail footprint. (Gatwick, UK)

• Fri, 19 Sep – Blue Bottle reintroduces studio tasting in Hong Kong. The reservation-only path runs from 1 to 26 October at Blue Bottle Wan Chai, that includes a 90-minute, six-drink tasting with two candies curated by way of James Freeman and Benjamin Brewer. This revel in highlights the liberica and excelsa species, in addition to a house-made fast espresso. (Hong Kong, China)

Photograph credit: AeroPress

Sign up to our weekly coffee news recap to get a abstract of all of the largest tales within the sector, delivered immediately on your inbox each and every Monday.

Wish to secure up with stream affairs within the espresso trade? Take a look at last week’s coffee news stories and assemble certain to learn the latest Coffee Intelligence News & Opinion piece about why US supermarket coffee prices keep increasing.