Recap #6 | April 3, 2020

Welcome to Recap, a brief overview of recent coffee developments every two weeks from the Specialty Coffee Association. 

Today, we’d like to begin by remembering the life and work of Piero Bambi, La Marzocco’s Honorary President and designer of its Linea espresso machine. Working first as a technician and then as a designer and engineer within his father’s company, first established in 1927, Piero oversaw the creation and management of La Marzocco’s 1960 factory hub in Florence before shepherding the company into its 1990s international expansion. Widely recognized as a culture-bearer of the movement to professionalize baristas, Piero will be commemorated by his wife, Giovanna, and the Marzocco family once the COVID-19 crisis has passed. 

The C market price of coffee has risen in sharp contrast to similar agricultural products. As governments continue to impose restrictions on movement, expectations of future delays and difficulties in managing shipments of coffee are driving the C market price increase. Freight capacity is expected to plummet due to port shutdowns and quarantines, with supply chains backing up as companies struggle to find available transport for their goods. In anticipation of extended supply disruption, some large roasting companies are “stocking up” by requesting earlier shipments of coffee. Reports that the virus could cause labor shortages during harvest in Central and South America are also of great concern.

Specialty coffee companies around the world continue to innovate new products and ways to work as the pandemic continues. Cropster, a roasting software company, has launched shipsbeans.com, a free webshop platform its customers can use to sell roasted coffee online. In the US, several roasters have launched blends to benefit out-of-work baristas. And, in Taiwan, HWC Roasters has launched a ground coffee bag series reminding users to wash their hands frequently, use hand sanitizer, and wear facemasks to prevent the spread of the virus. Originally designed as a thank-you to front-line medical workers, HWC Roasters has made 20,000 of the packs available to medical staff and the greater public at no cost. 

A recent survey conducted by the National Coffee Association in the USA has found that US Americans drink more coffee than ever. The National Coffee Data Trends 2020 report reflects data gathered before the COVID-19 pandemic, which will have an as-yet-unknown but significant impact on the coffee industry. The report also supports the National Coffee Association’s argument that coffee businesses should be classed as “essential,” finding that 62% of US Americans drink coffee daily, a 5% increase since 2015, and that the consumption of espresso-based beverages continues to increase. 

And, finally, the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture published the second academic paper related to the SCA’s Brewing Fundamentals research project, supported by Breville. “Sensory and Monosaccharide Analysis of Drip Brew Coffee Fractions Versus Brewing Time” outlines the surprising results of “fractionation” experiments at UC Davis exploring the natural sweetness of black drip brew coffee. The article is Mackenzie Batalli’s first-ever academic publication, a rare occurrence for PhD researchers before taking their qualifying exams. As lead researcher, Mackenzie distilled these findings for specialty coffee professionals at events around the world and in a feature she recently penned for the SCA’s quarterly publication, 25. 

If you want to dive deeper into anything you heard today, check out the links in the description of this episode. Recap will be back in two weeks’ time. Thanks for listening. 

Relevant Links: 

Listen, RecapSCA StaffCOVID-19, Brewing Fundamentals