Fresh Cup Magazine, providing specialty coffee and tea professionals with unique insight into the trends, ideas, products and people that shape their world.
Issue link: http://freshcup.epubxp.com/i/131835
2012-2013 11111111111111111111 THE YEAR IN COFFEE JUNE 2012 AUGUST 2012 OCTOBER 2012 During its annual online auction, Guatemala estate Finca El Injerto sells a tiny lot of green coffee for a nearly unfathomable price: $500.50 a pound. The eight pounds of mocca-variety beans (known for their small size and unique acidity) go to South Korean roaster Brian's Coffee. After years of operating out of cramped quarters, Stumptown Coffee unveils a new 37,000-square-foot roasting and office space in Southeast Portland. It features a tax-credit-catching piece of equipment called a regenerative thermal oxidizer that significantly reduces the amount of energy used in the roasting process. Seattle-based drive-thru coffee company Baristas LLC raises eyebrows around the industry when it trademarks the word "baristas" in an effort to protect itself from potential copycat brands. Raul Rodas, a seasoned barista competitor from Guatemala City, wins the World Barista Championship in Vienna. He becomes the second-straight champ to hail from a producing nation. JULY 2012 Fresh Cup marks its 20th year serving coffee and tea professionals. The first issue of the magazine, which was pieced together in a basement by company founder Ward Barbee, came out in July 1992. SEPTEMBER 2012 At its yearly Seattle gathering, Coffee Fest adds two competitions to the industry landscape: America's Best Coffeehouse and America's Best Espresso. The coffeehouse event rates café staffs on customer service and drink quality; the first winner is Upland, Calif.-based Klatch Coffee. In the espresso-evaluating contest, the winner is Blue Star Coffee Roasters from Twisp, Wash. Peet's Coffee, the California brand that helped spark specialty coffee in the U.S., is sold to Germany holding company Joh. A Benckiser for $974 million. Five months later the conglomerate snatches up Caribou for $340 million— and then shutters a number of Caribou stores. 22 COFFEE ALMANAC • June 2013 Importer Sustainable Harvest holds its 10th annual Let's Talk Coffee, an innovative at-origin gathering that aims to bring all players in the coffee supply chain together for several days of conversation and reflection. Blue Bottle, the iconic Bay Area roasterretailer, acquires $20 million in venture capital money. The move comes a year after Stumptown entered into a similar investor partnership. NOVEMBER 2012 Todd Carmichael, an infamous adventurer and owner of Philadelphia roaster La Colombe Torrefaction, brings an adrenaline-heavy version of coffee sourcing to the mainstream with his Travel Channel show "Dangerous Grounds."