📝 Week 45 Notes: By popular demand, we’ve included a section on entrepreneur / solopreneur / small business resources. We’ve also added more SoCal coastal coffee cultural content. Finally, we’re leaning into the slow lifestyle vibe, which fits well within our vibrant coffee community. Check it out!
💡Have a suggestion for new content? Let’s connect!
📈 Market / Price Moves
Arabica up this week: front-month ICE coffee traded above ~US¢408/lb today; +6% month-over-month.
Recent volatility driver: Talk of a U.S.–Brazil trade thaw briefly knocked prices in late Oct; inventories and weather keep swings elevated.
Robusta remains high: London coffee hovers around $4,660/ton this week.
Our Takeaway: We gotta maintain blend optionality (arabica/robusta levers) and for you brick and mortar folks, better review menu pricing quarterly while futures remain >US$4.00.
☕ Major Brand / Roaster News
Brazil Cup of Excellence crowned 2025 winners (quality signal for green buyers next year).
Graffeo Coffee (SF) enters a new era under fresh ownership—heritage brand modernization case study.
Starbucks “Red Cup Day” set for Nov 13; holiday traffic catalyst across the category.
Our Takeaway: We’ll be tracking CoE lots for special drops; both in-store and online, you should prep operations for holiday spillover demand even if you’re indie.
🌱 Supply Chain & Origin Updates
ICO: September exports were ~11.0M bags (y/y down), keeping supply tight.
Tariff shock (context): August’s 50% U.S. tariff on Brazilian coffee helped push arabica higher and shifted buying toward C. America/Colombia.
Trade pattern watch: reports note eastward shift in exports as Asia/Africa fill gaps.
Our Takeaway: We’ll focus on diversifying any 2026 contracting beyond Brazil; we’ll cultivate one or two backup origins per profile.
🏪 Café Trends & Formats
Multi-roaster cafés are re-surging, and that’s great for discovery but ops/forecasting are harder.
Iced dominance continues to lead sales at chains; format influences indie menus.
Our Takeaway: When we begin testing multi-roaster rotations, we’ll lock SKU discipline (2–3 SKUs/roaster max) and anchor an iced-first lineup for SoCal.
🔧 Equipment / Tech
Bellwether’s electric roasters highlighted for cutting roasting CO₂ by ~87% and operating costs vs gas.
Cropster acquires Firescope (KR) to extend end-to-end roast/software control.
Our Takeaway: For a small footprint build-out like ours, we’re modeling electric roast in-shop + software telemetry before committing to gas + afterburner. A no-brainer here in SoCal.
♻️ Sustainability / Regulatory
Electrify-everything momentum hits coffee roasting; smaller, ventless systems lower emissions and barriers.
Bellwether impact report: quantifies CO₂ reductions and “living income pricing” share. Worth revisiting and review.
Our Takeaway: As we grow, we’ll start a sustainability ledger (energy, packaging, waste) and publish one metric/month on IG for credibility.
Global culture shifts (France case study): specialty is mainstreaming; simpler menus with high craft are resonating.
News-recap formats remain sticky for pros/consumers (weekly roundups).
Our Takeaway: We are keeping Buzz Report cadence tight; we’ll move to visually highlight one origin story + one brew ritual per week (Reels > static).
🎁 Notable Products / Launches
Design collaborations (e.g., Café Kitsuné x Iittala mugs) continue to fuse tableware + brand identity.
Snap/flash-chilled products gaining coverage as “origin-forward iced” alternatives.
Our Takeaway: We’re exploring options to prototype a limited ceramic collab with a SoCal maker + maybe even a seasonal flash-chilled single-origin can.
💼 M&A / Funding
Cropster–Firescope: great case study of consolidation in coffee software, highlighting a category platform play.
Cartel Roasting raising via StartEngine is yet another intriguing example of community funding for multi-café roasters.
Our Takeaway: We could also consider community rounds for capex (roaster, van, canning line) if traditional credit tightens.
🧠 Coffee Entrepreneur Resources
SCA education/events portal (standards, certs, World of Coffee San Diego).
Roast Magazine events calendar (Sintercafe; WCLF; Cafe Show Seoul).
Barista Hustle free training articles + online courses.
USDA B&I loan guarantees overview; recent hearings summarize program scope.
Our Takeaway: We’ve included these in our Q1–Q2 ‘learning sprints’ and daily reads: information synthesis is not only critical for building a business, but also for sustaining it!
⚡️ Quick Hits / What to Watch
Arabica shows records again this year; watch Nov–Dec weather in Brazil/Vietnam.
Shanghai’s coffee hub rise (capital flows & financing models) worth tracking.
Holiday promos (Starbucks et al.) will shape consumer expectations next 6 weeks.
Our Takeaway: The winning move is to pre-empt holiday with a limited sweet/nostalgic drink and extended iced variants.
🌴 SoCal Spotlight
Kindness & Mischief (Highland Park, LA) closed Nov 1 after nearly a decade; owner pivoting to roasting/workshops—community lesson in resilience.
World of Coffee San Diego workshop submissions window is active; take in this major industry convening in SoCal in April 2026.
San Diego Coffee Festival wrapped Oct 11–12 on Broadway Pier, and consumer energy remains strong!
Our Takeaway: If resources permit, the conditions are right to schedule a pop-up tasting or cupping event ahead of WOC SD; maybe collaborate with an SD roaster for a SoCal capsule?
🫶🏼 The Buzz Report is a community publication sharing the latest insights and ideas from our daily ongoing research, and is part of Harmonic Coffee’s “Build In Public” initiative.
None of the community friends mentioned in our research were - or ever will be - paid referrals or endorsements. We’re fans, we enjoy learning from them, and they’re gracious enough to share - plain and simple.
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