The world of coffee is abuzz. But what does the future hold? In an exclusive interview Yannis Apostolopoulos, CEO of the Specialty Coffee Association, looks forward to the future.

What are the trends in the coffee industry right now?

We are certainly seeing some interesting developments in the coffee industry. Coffee consumers are savvier than before. With coffee shops and other coffee retail establishments returning, consumers are drinking coffee out-of-home again and we believe this will continue to grow. We’re also seeing that the price of green coffee is at a relatively higher level than in pre-pandemic times.

Climate change, Covid and war have pushed up the cost of coffee. What does SCA have to say about this, and how it will impact the regular daily cup and the lives of coffee shop owners?

Sure, the price of green coffee is up. But we also know that coffee prices, which are extremely volatile, were very low for a very long period of time. The question is whether coffee is priced fairly and properly. SCA’s research reveals that prices paid to farmers were too low even before the pandemic.

So, while it is true that the cost of coffee to consumers may be impacted by the global crises and the increases in green coffee prices, green coffee prices have been way too low for way too long. I would also add that if you actually look at the price of a cup of coffee, you will find that the cost of green coffee is a small sliver of the final cost to the consumer. Real estate, labour, operational costs and taxes are what constitutes most of the cost of a cup of coffee. Yes, prices for consumers may go up with all the crises in the world, but it’s important to remember that there are many other factors that contribute to that.

How would you judge the SCA experience at HostMilano 2021?

It was an absolute delight for everyone at SCA to take part in HostMilano last year. Reminiscing about the event, many of us felt like the world stopped at Host 2019 (the pandemic started a few months later). The world, and life as we know it, resumed for many of us with Host in 2021. It was the first big world fair for hospitality and coffee post-pandemic and it was lovely to connect with people and do business again in person. We’re very grateful for the support and the hospitality of Fiera Milano to host the World Coffee Championships in Milan and we can’t wait to be back at HOST.

The RE:Co Symposium in Boston took place as an in-person event on 6 and 7 April. What are the “hot” topics for the world of coffee at the moment?

Over the past 30 years, the concurrent internet-led waves of coffee and globalisation have had a profound impact on our coffee consumption habits. The coffee market has increased by more than 60% over the past two decades, driven by an increase in domestic consumption and emerging markets, causing our preferences to shift and become fragmented. This year's Re:co Symposium programme revisited our basic assumptions about specialty coffee and its consumers through the lens of increasing fragmentation and the accompanying opportunities it brings to redress market dynamics: What is specialty coffee? Who is consuming it, and how? What attributes are becoming increasingly valuable?