stay current with the latest in the specialty coffee world. a look at rising arabica prices, championship results, and major industry shifts shaping today's trends.
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the aroma of freshly ground beans fills the air at huracán coffee as they celebrate a win at the global coffee awards. meanwhile, in the heart of panama city, anticipation builds for the upcoming world barista championship. these events mark significant moments in a year where arabica prices have soared to their highest since january. the specialty coffee scene is buzzing with new trends, from co-fermented brews to questions about the importance of origin. it seems every corner of the globe is brewing something unique, with a story to tell.
the c-market has been, to put it plainly, a mess. arabica futures reached an all-time high of 440.85 usd/lb in february 2025, and while prices have pulled back from that peak, the market is still trading at levels that would have seemed extraordinary just a few years ago. as of late may 2026, arabica sat around 271 usd/lb. down from the top, yes. but still historically brutal for roasters trying to hold a price list together.
so what is actually driving this? two things, mostly.
demand, meanwhile, has kept climbing. carabello coffee's justin wrote recently that we are in "a prolonged coffee crisis unlike anything we've experienced since the 1970s." that is not hyperbole for effect. it is a reasonable read of the data.
the near-term forecast is for modest recovery. stocks are expected to rebuild through 2026/27 as brazil enters a stronger production year. but "modest recovery" still means expensive coffee. if you are buying bags at retail and wondering why your favourite roaster's prices crept up again, this is why. it is not margin grabs. it is survival arithmetic.
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huracán coffee won the global coffee awards world championship. full stop. that is the headline, and it deserves a moment without qualification.
for anyone who has followed huracán's trajectory, the win feels earned rather than surprising. they have been producing work that consistently rewards attention, the kind of coffee that makes you put your cup down and think. the global coffee awards are not a small thing. the field is international, the judging rigorous, and the title means something in rooms where specialty coffee is taken seriously.
separately, roast magazine announced its 2026 roasters of the year: kafiex roasters and driftaway coffee both received the honour in the 22nd edition of the awards. kafiex has been doing interesting work on sourcing transparency. driftaway, based in new york, built their model around subscription and education from the start, and watching that approach get recognised at this level is satisfying for anyone who thought the "teach people about their coffee" model had legs.
what all three of these wins have in common is that none of them are about novelty for novelty's sake. no gimmicks, no shock-processing for instagram points. just really good coffee, explained well, executed consistently. worth paying attention to.
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six championships. four cities. three continents. the 2026 world coffee championships calendar is genuinely exciting, and the geographic spread matters more than it might seem at first glance.
here is the full schedule:
| date | event | location |
|---|---|---|
| april 10–12, 2026 | world latte art championship | san diego, california |
| may 7–9, 2026 | world cup tasters championship | bangkok, thailand |
| june 25–27, 2026 | world brewers cup, world coffee roasting championship, world coffee in good spirits championship | brussels, belgium |
| october 23–25, 2026 | world barista championship | panama city, panama |
the world barista championship landing in panama city is not just a scheduling decision. it is a statement. this will be the first world of coffee trade show ever held in central america. panama, for all its fame in specialty circles thanks to geisha, has historically been a place people talk about rather than travel to for industry events. hosting the wbc there, at the panama convention center from october 23–25, flips that. producers from across the region will have meaningful access to the global competition circuit in a way that simply was not possible when the show was always in europe or north america.
the specialty coffee association is producing the event in partnership with the specialty coffee association of panama and the chamber of commerce, industries and agriculture of panama. that local partnership structure is the right call. these are not just venue logistics. they are about who gets a seat at the table.
bangkok in may for the world cup tasters championship makes sense given the region's growing consumption and roasting scene. the bangkok specialty coffee community has matured fast. brussels in late june, hosting three championships at once, will be a sprint of a week for anyone attending. bring comfortable shoes and a flexible palate.
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walk into a serious specialty shop right now and there is a reasonable chance the filter menu has at least one co-fermented or infused coffee on it. lactic fermentation, yeast inoculation, fruit co-fermentation with mango or passionfruit pulp. the processing experimentation that started as genuine innovation has become, in some quarters, a way to paper over mediocre green with exciting flavour.
the question coffee intelligence has been asking is a good one: are these coffees reshaping consumer expectations, or are they just reshaping what consumers expect a coffee to taste like, to the point where clean, natural terroir-driven flavour reads as "boring"? that is a real risk. a barista i spoke to at a shop on bermondsey street put it bluntly: "i've had customers taste a stunning washed yirgacheffe and ask me why it tastes like coffee." that is a problem. not with the yirgacheffe.
the honest answer is that co-fermented coffees done well are extraordinary. but the market is not all done well. buyers should taste critically, not just reward novelty.
this one is thornier. the data suggests that "ethiopia" or "colombia" on a bag still influences purchase decisions, but the gap is narrowing. younger consumers, particularly those coming to specialty coffee through convenience channels or canned rtd products, are increasingly brand-first. they trust the roaster's curation more than they interrogate the origin.
for producers, this is a quietly alarming shift. origin premiums exist because of consumer demand for provenance. if that demand softens, the economics trickle back negatively all the way to farm level. the specialty coffee industry should probably take this seriously rather than assume the educated consumer cohort will keep growing indefinitely.
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new openings in specialty coffee tend to cluster in predictable neighbourhoods: the converted industrial arches, the gentrifying high streets, the hotel lobbies of boutique properties. some of that is formula. but a few openings in recent months are genuinely worth attention.
the most interesting pattern right now is the divergence between physical café investment and distribution investment. major brands are, according to coffee intelligence analysis, quietly pulling back from owning and operating physical locations while doubling down on getting their coffee into more channels. supermarket partnerships, office supply contracts, rtd. the flagship café is expensive to run. the 12-bag wholesale account scales more easily.
for independent operators, this creates an opening. the consumer still wants a third place, a space to sit with a flat white and a book and not be asked to leave after 45 minutes. independents can provide that in a way a brand optimising for distribution cannot.
a few things worth looking for in a new opening right now:
if you are a café owner reading this: the opening is the easy part. the second year is where most of the good work happens, and most of the interesting places close.
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the short version: less supply, more demand, and a supply chain that costs more to run than it did three years ago. brazil had consecutive difficult harvests, vietnam's robusta crop also underperformed, and global green stocks fell sharply through 2024–2025. meanwhile, consumer demand kept growing. freight and financing costs added more pressure. prices peaked at 440.85 usd/lb in february 2025 and have come down since, but they are still well above historical averages. roasters are absorbing what they can and passing on the rest.
huracán coffee took the world title at the global coffee awards. on the roasting side, roast magazine named kafiex roasters and driftaway coffee as its 2026 roasters of the year in the 22nd edition of the awards.
panama city. october 23–25, 2026, at the panama convention center. it will be held as part of world of coffee panama, the first world of coffee trade show ever staged in central america. the event is co-produced by the specialty coffee association of panama and the chamber of commerce, industries and agriculture of panama.
co-fermented coffees are processed using additional fermentation inputs alongside the coffee cherry, often fruit pulps, specific yeasts, or lactic bacteria, to introduce flavour compounds that would not develop through standard washed or natural processing. they can be remarkable. the argument is about whether they represent genuine exploration of flavour potential or whether they are masking lower-quality green with exciting processing noise. both things are true, depending on which bag you are holding.
maybe. the trend data from coffee intelligence points to a growing segment of consumers who are brand-loyal rather than origin-curious. they trust the roaster to make good choices and do not particularly want to learn about the farm. this is not inherently bad, but if it becomes dominant it has real implications for producer premiums and the economic case for quality at farm level. the specialty coffee industry built a lot of its identity on direct trade and origin storytelling. whether that holds as the market broadens is one of the more genuinely interesting questions of the next five years.
as the world of specialty coffee continues to evolve, one thing is clear: this isn't just about a cup of joe anymore. whether it's a championship triumph or a rise in arabica prices, each development adds a new layer to our understanding and appreciation of coffee. so next time you sip your brew, think about the world of stories and trends that swirl within it.
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