Coffee News Recap, 22 Sep: PRF Guatemala announced for 2024, US Americans choose coffee every day over other beverages & other stories

Every Friday, Perfect Daily Grind rounds up the top coffee industry news from the previous week.

Here are this week’s coffee news stories.

Mon, 18 Sep

• Four competition winners crowned at PRF Colombia 2023. Four competitions took place at the industry-leading coffee event, including roasting and cold brew championships. Here are the winners:
  • Cold Brew Coffee Championship by Toddy: Jean Pierre Acero Cechetti (Fecve Lab, Venezuela)
  • Global Coffee Roasting Contest by !Fest Coffee Mission: Alejandro Macías (Lusitania Coffee Co., Colombia)
  • Campeonato de Olla by Amor Perfecto: David Alejandro Galeano Díaz (Col-Spirit, Colombia)
  • Fibtex Championship: Zurcos Historia de Café (Colombia)

• PRF Guatemala to take place on 7 & 8 March 2024. Producer & Roaster forum returns to Guatemala for the first time since 2019, promising three days of high-level talks, workshops, and cupping sessions from prominent global coffee experts.

• New York Coffee Festival announces Coffee Masters NYC contenders. The twelve baristas will face off at the competition from 6 to 8 October at the Metropolitan Pavilion. They are:
  • Mitchell Celicious, The Coffee Movement
  • Sum, Coffee Project New York
  • Joshua J. Nowland, Little Wolf Coffee
  • Nophadon Kantaros, Caravan Coffee Roasters
  • Angela Wang, Self-Employed
  • Francesco Luminati Tonelli, Likuid Element
  • Casey Wilson, Boxcar Coffee Roasters
  • Meg Skop, The Coffee Movement
  • Alejandro Griffin – Diaz, JACOB ALEJANDRO
  • Kayla Baird, Dayglow / Niteglow Brooklyn
  • Reef Bessette, The Coffee Movement
  • Vladyslav Demonenko, kolo coffee

Tue, 19 Sep

• Starbucks opens China Coffee Innovation Park in Kunshan. The 80,000m² facility features a roasting plant, a state-of-the-art integrated distribution centre (IDC), and an immersive experience centre. It represents the largest investment in any Starbucks coffee manufacturing and distribution centre outside the US.

Wed, 20 Sep

Thu, 21 Sep

Fri, 22 Sep

• Romanian AeroPress Championships scheduled for 1 October. The competition, hosted by Artisan Coffee Gear, will take place at the Slow Coffee Festival in Bucharest on 1 October. The winner will go on to represent Romania at the World AeroPress Championship in Melbourne, Australia on 1 December.

Here are a few coffee news stories from previous weeks that you might find interesting. Take a look.

• Tue, 12 Sep – Favy names Santa Cruz, California as the best coffee city in America. The company assessed 267 American cities with more than 50,000 residents across five categories: cappuccino affordability, walkability, coffee shops, independent coffee shops, and “Coffee Fanatic Factors”. There are four California cities in the top 25 and a total of nine West Coast coffee hubs.

Photo credits: Producer Roaster Forum

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