Jenny Willits needed a career change, a fresh challenge. A job that would enable her to make an impact and add value. And after 17 years in advertising, Jenny felt the time for change was right.

Consumption of African coffee is changing.

New South Wales firefighters congregate at The Lott café in Cooma, Australia. Photo courtesy of The Lott It’s been a tough few months in Australia. Since September, the bushfire crisis has continued to spread throughout the nation, resulting in destroyed land, lost homes, and deaths.

Ben Johnson’s The New Paradigm Coffee Roasters company is a roaster with an agenda.

The Russian Romantic poet Aleksandr Pushkin described the imperial city as a “northern prodigy” that put “ancient Moscow in the shade”. For many years, St Petersburg has been a muse for writers such as Dostoyevsky, Chekhov and Mandelstam.

Freezing roasted coffee beans is a practice that often divides the coffee community. For some, it’s about enhancing flavour while for others it’s about playing with controversies. But whatever the cause, it is clear that freezing beans is gaining momentum, especially as a way to reduce coffee wastage.

Saxon Wright is driven by passion, science and a will to eradicate single-use disposables in the coffee industry. After opening Pablo & Rusty’s in 2003 and seeing first-hand the full spectrum of the coffee supply chain – from the farm through to the end consumer – Saxon set an objective: What would it look like to create zero waste through the whole supply chain? From this initial thought came Huskee, a sustainable alternative to single-use takeaway cups.

It all started in 1996. It was the year of the first Australian Grand Prix held in Melbourne and Kate Reid, together with her brother Cameron, was to watch the much-anticipated motorsport race. The annual ritual would influence Kate Reid to become an aerodynamic engineer for Williams F1 and, further down the road, open what is now dubbed the “world’s best croissanterie”.

Neil Suthar wanted more control over his coffee program. He wasn’t unhappy with the coffees he had from a couple of local roasters. And his shop, Foundation Grounds, had experienced plenty of success as a neighborhood anchor in the thriving St. Louis suburb of Maplewood, Missouri, both before and since he took ownership in 2016.

SAME CUP, an Australian organization aiming to improve the success, empowerment, and visibility of womxn and the LGBTQI+ folk in the Australian specialty coffee scene, has announced the launch of its monthly subscription service. Orders for September are open now until September 1; subscribers who place an order after that will receive the October roast.

It is no new fact that sexual harassment and discrimination exist across all industry sectors. It is also no new fact that the perpetrators leading the pact of exclusivity tend to get away retribution-free, as a result of ingrained ideas and traditional justice systems—or lack of. The specialty coffee industry is no exception. But what does make the industry different are the people behind the machines who are challenging the status quo to ensure individuals feel safe and heard.

In 2017 market research firm, Mintel reported that plant-based milk sales increased by 30% since 2015 – reaching a total of £367 million. Additionally, the Mordor Intelligence report Europe Dairy Alternative Market – Growth, Trends, and Forecasts (2018-2023) indicated that the European dairy alternative market is anticipated to register an annual growth rate of 14.5%, during the forecast period, 2018-2023. All this makes one thing clear, consumer preferences have shifted.

From simple to premium; a new wave of kettles for your ritual brew.

Off the back of the rising consumption of black coffee and in a move to slash waiting times, Sydney-based coffee roaster Single O has installed a self-serve batch tap prototype at their newly renovated Surry Hills flagship café.

Starting off as a grassroots movement in the U.S., the current wave of coffee activism has become a global movement binding the industry together. In the wake of #MeToo, stories from professionals in the coffee industry have been surfacing and made alight to push against sexual assault, intimidation, and harassment.

Late last week, Amethyst Coffee owner and founder of Cherry Roast Elle Jensen made an announcement that the inclusive coffee platform and competition was coming to an end.

Compared to the likes of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, the Central Coast may not come to mind as a specialty coffee destination. Yet, away from the city crowds, close to the water and without the urban dwellers, are a number of local cafes serving freshly roasted brews in a sustainable and ethical manner.

Australia’s only coffee-dedicated trade show, the Melbourne International Coffee Expo (MICE), held for the first time at Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC), brought more than 140 local and international exhibitors together from Thursday, February 7, through Saturday, February 9, to network, educate, and celebrate.

More so recognized for its wine, hearty Aussie brunches, and coffee consumption, Australia is not a nation one immediately thinks of when it comes to coffee production.

From South Africa to Russia, the UK and Australia, the global specialty coffee industry is not skipping a beat.