Coffee

Coffee News from July 2023 [\#Specialty](https://kbin.social/tag/Specialty) News & Events [Sprudge: Estimates say $450 Million in Annual Investments needed for coffee’s long-term survival.](https://sprudge.com/an-estimated-450-million-in-yearly-investments-is-needed-for-coffees-survival-211114.html) This is per [this report](https://worldcoffeeresearch.org/resources/coffees-innovation-crisis) from World Coffee Research, who are estimating the total costs for successful projects to conserve coffee’s indigenous biodiversity and to support coffee farmers adapting to climate change. Current investment is about $115M, mainly sourced from Public Sector funding. Roaster of the Year underway Roast Magazine’s [“Roaster of the Year” competition applications closed July 26](https://www.roastmagazine.com/roasteroftheyear). Good luck to all applicants; this is generally the preeminent annual roasting competition for the worlds’ coffee roasters, and competition is stiff each and every year. The race to select 2024’s best roasters should be just as heated. US Coffee Champs announces qualifier circuit locations for 2024. Pretty much like the title says - regional qualifier dates & hosts have been announced on the [Coffee Championships](https://uscoffeechampionships.org/latest-news/2023/7/17/2024-preliminaries-hosts-announced) website. Some big names hosting - and a few hosts in there that I’ve never heard of. NCA calls for submissions The National Coffee Association is calling for [presenter and program applications for the 2024 NCA Educational Program](https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CLQZZPJ). The NCA’s 2024 convention will be taking place [March 7 - 9, 2024 in Nashville, TN](https://www.ncausa.org/Industry-Resources/NCA-Annual-Convention). This is one of the larger coffee events not strictly within the SCA umbrella, and the 2024 event is themed around “fuelling the future” - a look forward in the industry. California Energy Commission provides $1.8M grant towards Bellwether Purchases Per [Daily Coffee News](https://dailycoffeenews.com/2023/07/12/1-8-million-california-grant-bringing-24-bellwethers-to-red-bay-and-heirloom/), it’s reported that Red Bay and Heirloom coffee received a total of $1.8 million towards the purchase of 24 new Bellwether machines to replace traditional natural gas roasters, as part of incentive programs towards phasing out gas. Personal commentary - that money would have been far more efficiently spent simply buying conventional electric roasters. Both by the roasters and by the grant organization. Spending money on multiple small-capacity roasters instead of a few large capacity roasters is always inefficient, and Bellwether even more so their whole gimmick is adding a lot of VC techbro bullshit on top of a relatively small-capacity electric roaster. [\#Gear](https://kbin.social/tag/Gear) Blue Bottle Kicks Bit of a stretch as far as “gear,” but [New Balance has released Blue Bottle sneakers](https://dailycoffeenews.com/2023/08/01/new-balance-just-released-blue-bottle-coffee-sneakers/) Business News Keurig Dr. Pepper buys minority stake in La Colombe Like [it says on the can](https://sprudge.com/keurig-dr-pepper-buys-minority-stake-in-la-colombe-212085.html), La Colombe is the latest NA Specialty OG to take the bargain with Big Corporate - to the tune of a $300 million cash injection, KDP will own 33% of the company pending regulatory approval. It’s unlikely to be disapproved.

I hope you all are having a day as good as my coffee. [\#coffee](https://kbin.social/tag/coffee)

US Coffee Champs qualifier circuit for 2024 has been announced. Aug 25-27: San Diego, CA, Talitha Coffees – Barista, CIGS Aug 25-27: Houston, TX, Blendin Coffee Club – Roasters Sep 1-3: Houston, TX, Luce Coffee Roasters – Barista Sep 8-10: Tulsa, OK, Origin Coffee Company – Barista, Cup Tasters Sep 15-17: Newark, NJ, Redhouse Roasters – Latte Art Sep 29-Oct 1: Kansas City, MO, Messenger Coffee and The Roasterie – Brewers Cup, Roasters, CIGS Oct 6-8: Raleigh, NC, Black & White Coffee Roasters – Barista, Brewers Cup Oct 13-15: Essex, VT, Uncommon Coffee – Barista Oct 13-15: Burlington, VT, Brio Coffeeworks – Cup Tasters Oct 13-15: Kailua, HI – Hawaii Coffee Association – Brewers Cup, Roasters Oct 13-15: Dallas, TX, White Rhino Coffee – Latte Art, Cup Tasters Oct 20-22: Los Angeles, CA, Counter Culture Coffee – Brewers Cup

The Roaster of the Year Award recognizes the top roasters in the world. The competition is fierce and draws applications from every part of the globe. The competition has two categories: Micro Roaster Category Roasters who roast less than 100,000 lbs per year Macro Roaster Category Roasters who roast more than 100,000 lbs per year This is a self-applied competition - roasters interested should apply for and submit themselves, there's not generally a fan write-in category or assessment. Edited for correction: this is the 2024 competition year, not the 2023. The 2023 competition was decided in December 2022, and chose [Rabbit Hole Roasters](https://www.roastmagazine.com/stories/roy-2023-rabbit-hole-roasters) for micro scale, and [Cafe Kreyol](https://www.roastmagazine.com/stories/roy-2023-cafe-kreyol) for macro scale.

Specialty coffee has it's own wild suite of dogmas and rules; there's all sorts of things we're "supposed" to do - or not. Many of these have all sorts of very good reasons and even some have scientific backing. But we all have one or two we absolutely deviate from, despite all that. What's yours?