It\u2019s a battle of the brands! Luckin Coffee overtakes Starbucks in China. Plus, a new slate of world champions and coffee is basically a miracle substance.
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Much like the final film in a long-running movie franchise, the slate of coffee competitions that comprise the 2023 World Coffee Championships was split into two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In June, World of Coffee in Athens featured the finals of<\/a> the World Barista Championship, World Brewers Cup, World Cup Tasters Championship, and the World Cezve\/Ibrik Championship. Last week, Taipei hosted this year\u2019s final three coffee competitions at the Taiwan International Coffee Show<\/a>, where more than 60 national coffee champions fought it out to become the best of the best. <\/p>\n\n\n\n After a weekend of competition, the results are in:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Congratulations to all three!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Read the full story here<\/a>. The battle for China\u2019s coffee affection is heating up as the formerly crisis-hit Luckin Coffee finally overtakes Starbucks as China\u2019s most profitable coffee chain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After a scandal-ridden<\/a> couple of years when some of the company\u2019s top executives were accused of<\/a> committing massive accounting fraud, leading to its delisting on the Nasdaq exchange and eventual bankruptcy<\/a>, Luckin re-emerged in 2022<\/a> to challenge Starbucks\u2019 China supremacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n China is one of Starbucks\u2019 most important international markets, with then-Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz predicting that China <\/a>would overtake the United States to become the company\u2019s most profitable market by 2025. Starbucks aims to have 9,000 stores in the country by then, which is a lot, but it doesn\u2019t even come close to Luckin\u2019s near 11,000 locations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Luckin has always had an advantage on store growth due to its business model: most of Luckin\u2019s stores are small and geared towards mobile orders, making them relatively cheap to open. The company has combined this high-growth approach with low prices and innovative drinks\u2014raw cheese<\/a> or liquor-laced latte<\/a>, anyone?\u2014and this quarter, for the first time, brought in more money than Starbucks: $855 million in revenue compared to Starbucks\u2019 $822 million.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cStarbucks used to be quite popular among young Chinese consumers,\u201d Kiki Pang, a Guangdong-based marketing executive, told the Wall Street Journal<\/em><\/a>. \u201cNow that young people in China have more beverage options, the dynamics have changed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another home-grown rival is also expanding rapidly\u2014Cotti Coffee plans to operate 10,000 stores in China by 2025<\/a>. Cotti has a similar cheap-and-fast business model to Luckin, which is unsurprising given it was founded by<\/a> two former Luckin executives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Read the full story here<\/a>. Scientists have found yet another reason you should hang on to your used coffee grounds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n According to a new study from the University of Texas at El Paso<\/a> and published in Environmental Research<\/em><\/a>, nanoparticles called caffeic-acid-based Carbon Quantum Dots (or CACQDs for short) derived from spent coffee grounds could help protect brain cells from damage caused by neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer\u2019s or Parkinson\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCaffeic-acid based Carbon Quantum Dots have the potential to be transformative in the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders,\u201d lead author Jyotish Kumar said. \u201cThis is because none of the current treatments resolve the diseases; they only help manage the symptoms. Our aim is to find a cure by addressing the atomic and molecular underpinnings that drive these conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by the loss of neurons or brain cells. Although genetics plays a factor, when these diseases are caused by non-genetic factors, such as age or exposure to environmental chemicals, they can cause elevated levels of free radicals<\/a>\u2014molecules that attack cell membranes and cause inflammation and tissue damage. Researchers investigated whether CACQDs could protect brain cells from free radical damage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Carbon quantum dots, which are teeny tiny carbon crystals, are sought after for their stability and conductivity (fun fact: the concept of quantum dots won the 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry<\/a>). Right now, they\u2019re being used in bioimaging, medical diagnosis, and the development of solar cells. Caffeic acid is a unique antioxidant that can penetrate the blood-brain barrier and affect cells within the brain and is known for<\/a> its \u201cfree radical-scavenging\u201d abilities. The researchers extracted the CACQDs by \u201ccooking\u201d coffee grounds at 200 degrees for four hours to \u201creorient the caffeic acid\u2019s carbon structure and form CACQDs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to a news release from the university, \u201cKumar and his colleagues found that CACQDs were neuroprotective across test tube experiments, cell lines and other models of Parkinson\u2019s disease when the disorder was caused by a pesticide called paraquat.\u201d The team concluded that, in the earliest stages of such a condition, \u201ca treatment based on CACQDs can be effective in preventing full-on disease.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Read the full story here<\/a>. \u2018Volatile High-End Coffee Bean Market Can\u2019t Make Up Its Mind<\/a>\u2019 – via Bloomberg<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018Kona Coffee Farmers and Kroger Accuse Each Other of Breaching $13.5 Million Settlement<\/a>\u2019 – via Daily Coffee News<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018Turn Capital Acquires Flash Coffee\u2019s Business in Thailand<\/a>\u2019 – via World Coffee Portal<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018Dr. Bronner\u2019s Just Launched A Coffee And Oat Milk Chocolate Bar<\/a>\u2019 – via Sprudge<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018\u2018Generational Change\u2019 at JAB as Joachim Creus Appointed CEO<\/a>\u2019 – via World Coffee Portal<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018Three Questions with Aimerance Merveille of Semilla Coffee<\/a>\u2019 – via Daily Coffee News<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018From Skincare to Shampoo: World\u2019s First Coffee Biorefinery Creates New Uses for Upcycled Coffee Grounds<\/a>\u2019 – via Beverage Daily<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018SCA Releases Green Coffee Summit Schedule<\/a>\u2019 – via Global Coffee Report<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018With L\u00f6fbergs Backing, Danish Startup Growgrounds Seeks Environmental Change in Coffee<\/a>\u2019 – via Daily Coffee News<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite waning coverage, COVID-19 has not gone away<\/a>. US hospital admissions reached 16,000 the week ending November 11, 2023, and the Centers for Disease Control warns that<\/a> \u201cCOVID-19 activity remains elevated.\u201d However, along with masks, air filtration, and vaccines, there could be another way to protect yourself: coffee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Researchers from Taiwan found that<\/a> coffee can reduce the infection risk of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, regardless of the type of coffee, additions like sugar or milk, or variants like Delta and Omicron.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The study, published in Cell & Bioscience<\/em><\/a>, used in vitro lab testing of human cells to test their hypothesis, as well as conducting a small human trial of 64 participants who were given a \u201cpseudovirus,\u201d a benign version of a virus that can be used to study it safely. In both cases, coffee inhibited the virus. \u201cInterestingly, no matter what kind of coffee or adding additional intergrading (sugar or milk), it has the capability to reduce SARS-CoV-2 entering into host cells,\u201d the authors wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Previous research has also looked at coffee\u2019s possible protective properties against COVID-19:\u00a0one German study<\/a>\u00a0found that chlorogenic acid in coffee inhibited the virus from binding to human cells in a lab setting;\u00a0a 2021 study<\/a>\u00a0from Northwestern University found that \u201can immunoprotective effect of coffee against COVID-19 is plausible and merits further investigation.\u201d \u2018What Will Ferrell\u2019s \u201cElf\u201d Can Teach Us About Coffee\u2019 by Jackson O\u2019Brien<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2018Connecting the Dots: Inside the 2023 Coffee Barometer\u2019 by Fionn Pooler<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u2018Luckin Overtakes Starbucks as Top Coffee Chain in China\u2019 – via <\/strong>Nation\u2019s Restaurant News<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u2018Coffee Grounds May Hold Key to Preventing Neurodegenerative Diseases\u2019 – via <\/strong>EurekAlert<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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