This Week in Coffee; Tuesday 12th of September '23
The Big Three
First seeds from the Innovea Global Coffee Breeding Network now germinating around the world
The Innovea breeding program launched in late 2022 as a response to the challenges posed to global coffee varieties by climate change and the lack of progress from national breeding programs.
There are nine global breeding partners all over the world and seven of them have received their seeds for germination, with the remaining two (Indonesia and India) to receive theirs next growing season. 5000 trees will be planted, each with their own unique genetic code in an effort to explore which new varieties will perform best.
World Coffee Research will work with partners to select trees for planting and gather performance data. Field performance and genetic data will be combined for new breeding cycles, ensuring continual improvement in coffee agriculture.
Reddit Thread on how to get weed smell out of a grinder...
Genuinely a very interesting thread discussing how to undo this (understandable) weed-based mistake. My guy couldn't find his regular grinder and in a fit of innovation decided he would use his in-built coffee grinder to achieve the perfect blunt.
In terms of actually cleaning this poor machine - suggestions included: coffee, vodka, isopropyl, uncooked rice and basically 'good luck'.
In the end, the answer was very boring. Take the damn thing apart and clean it piece by piece with a toothbrush. Who would have thunk it? The problem was that the brother was drinking weed-infused coffee while he was trying to solve the problem.
Diletta Bello+ Goes On Sale
The new Bella+ looks great and is nice to see on the market. It's a single-boiler PID controlled unit with E61 Grouphead and a heat exchanger. It's retailing at around 1900 USD which puts it in competitive category of home machines.
The ECM Classika has a PID and single boiler but lacks the heat exchanger. That heat exchanger will give you 'fresher' water and allows for greater steam pressure after a shot has been pulled. They are a fair bit cheaper at ~1200 GBP.
The closest machine is probably a Profitec Pro 500 that has the heat exchanger and PID inbuilt as well and retails for similar prices. There's some additional shot programming available on the Bella+ which may tip it for some buyers.
Everything else
Square Mile Coffee Offering Cupping Sessions on the 7th of October
Liquor-laced latte brews up a hit with Chinese coffee lovers via France 24
Panamanian Geisha Wins Record High Price of $10,005 per Kilogram via STiR
Death Wish Coffee files lawsuit against Australian company via Times Union
Exhibition Registration Begins for Manchester Coffee Festival
Exhibitor Registration begins for Specialty Coffee Expo 2024 in Chicago