For paid subscribers: Donald Trump’s latest arbitrary tariff threat, this time against Brazil, has once again enveloped the coffee industry in chaos and uncertainty. When will it end?
The United States has long been at the centre of the global coffee industry. But as policies shift under the Trump administration, that dominance is under threat.
The author and photographer Lucia Bawot has launched a project aimed at improving the mental health of women coffee workers in Colombia. A successful trial in 2023 led to the formation of SANA, a nonprofit which pairs women farmers and pickers in rural Colombia with trained psychologists for a course of teletherapy, group workshops, and virtual education programs. “When women are emotionally healthy and heard, they not only care for themselves, they ripple that strength out to their families, their communities, and the future of coffee itself,” Bawot said.
Coffee helps you live longer, according to a plethora of studies. But exactly how? New research has found that it's to do with caffeine's stimulation of AMP-activated protein kinase, or AMPK, a protein found in nearly every cell that helps to regulate energy levels. This stimulation then influences age-related processes like how cells respond to stress and how they grow and repair their DNA.
The International Coffee Organisation has revamped their sustainability project mapping tool. The new and improved Coffee Sustainability Support Database features a map of all the projects going on around the world and lets users filter by country, donors, goals, and area of focus.
Uganda has overtaken Ethiopia as Africa's top coffee exporter. World production is mostly recovering after last year's climate change-induced fall, with the two African countries seeing some of the largest increases. Even though Ethiopia saw record high production, Uganda managed to surpass that in May, which the Ugandan government said signals "a decisive shift in the continent’s coffee trade dynamics."
For more on all these stories, plus why instant coffee might be an exception to the "coffee is good for you as you age" theory, check out the full Roundup over at Fresh Cup Magazine:
I'm the creator and writer of The Pourover. Based in Scotland, I have over a decade of experience in the specialty coffee industry as a barista, roaster, and writer. Ask me about coffeewashing.
Fionn Pooler
