Cold brew is red hot — let’s make sure it stays that way

The National Coffee Association is here to help your coffee business navigate cold brew’s evolving regulatory landscape.

Cold brew may not be new, but it’s never been hotter. Demand for the format is off the charts, with 17% of coffee drinkers having had a cup of cold brew in the past week, according to the National Coffee Association’s Spring 2023 National Coffee Data Trends report. Keep in mind, this survey was conducted in January 2023 – the dead of winter – and nearly one-fifth of coffee drinkers were still choosing cold brew each week!

The coffee industry is certainly stepping up to meet this soaring demand. In fact, Technavio reports that the market for cold brew is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 7.73% between 2022 and 2027, an increase of $439.93 million.

What hasn’t kept pace with this rapid growth, however, are clear rules, regulations, data, and guidelines governing cold brew’s safety. Like all coffee, cold brew is safe. But whether you manufacture airtight ready-to-drink cold brew products or serve it from a dispenser in a retail establishment, the patchwork of state and local laws that apply can leave even the most knowledgeable food service professional scratching their heads.

Given the National Coffee Association’s scope covering the entire U.S. coffee market and our vast in-house scientific and policy expertise, we are well-positioned to help fill in these knowledge gaps. To that end, we have been spending the past several years building a library of resources to help keep your bases covered and the cold brew flowing safely into customers’ cups.  The last thing you or your company needs is a damaging recall or costly lawsuit, so the NCA is here to make sure you’re prepared when the health inspector comes a-knocking.

Last year, we added several tools to our Cold Brew Safety Toolkit: a Cold Brew Safety Guide for Retailers, designed to help retail coffee shops maintain a food-safe environment; a model retail Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) Plan, to ensure you’re taking the necessary steps to protect your product and customers; a compliance checklist, to stay on top of what a health inspector might be checking for; plus, several videos and a webcast covering these tools and how to use them. These new resources complement our existing Cold Brew Safety Toolkit for Industry, geared towards manufacturers of airtight RTD cold brew products, originally released in 2018. We also have a comprehensive FAQ to answer, well, the most frequently asked questions about cold brew safety.

But NCA’s work is not done! The cold brew space continues to evolve, and we’re developing even more resources to keep you on top of the latest developments. This May 16th, 2023, I will be joined by Scott Hawks, food safety and quality expert with Toxstrategies, LLC, to lead a free, practical, hands-on workshop for NCA Members on the latest cold brew regulatory developments, NCA’s cold brew tools and resources, a forthcoming, hot-off-the-press challenge study, and more. (To learn more about the workshop, head to ncausa.org/CBWorkshop). If you’re not an NCA member and currently handle or sell cold brew, now’s a great time to join. A comparable workshop or training held by an outside consultancy could easily run your company much more than the cost of a small retailer’s annual membership with NCA (visit ncausa.org/join to learn more).  When you consider that top food science consultants charge rates exceeding $400 an hour, becoming part of NCA is a no-brainer, especially when you consider the vast wealth of other, non-cold brew-related resources you’ll also get immediate access to.

As we speak, NCA’s Science Leadership Council (SLC) is also finishing work on the aforementioned comprehensive microbial challenge study and whitepaper, which will be an essential (and required) tool for making the case to an inspector that retail cold brew is not a likely food for pathogens to grow in. I’ll be exploring top-line results of the study at our workshop in May.

On the advocacy front, NCA is working diligently with government and advocacy bodies to solidify a standard in the FDA’s Food Code for retail cold brew specifically. This will give some much-needed clarity to the many coffee companies serving this popular format. Many state and local authorities abide by or model their own regulations after those of the federal government, so this would have a cascading positive impact all the way down the chain.

This is just the beginning for cold brew and for the NCA. With more resources in the pipeline than ever before, NCA is working hard to continually live up to our motto: We Serve Coffee. To learn more about the National Coffee Association, visit ncausa.org.

Mark Corey, PhD. is NCA’s Director of Science and Policy. In this role, he oversees coffee science, regulatory, safety, and policy issues and serves as a technical resource to the industry. Mark holds a B.S. in Food Science and Human Health at the University of Maine, an M.S. in Food Science at the Pennsylvania State University, a Ph.D. in Food Science and Technology at the University of Georgia, and has completed a USDA National Needs fellowship in functional foods and human health. He is also a licensed Q-Arabica coffee grader and is PCQI-certified for Human Food.

Next Gen Interview with Bambi Semroc of Conservation International

NCA Next Gen recently had the chance to chat with Bambi Semroc, VP of Sustainable Markets and Strategy at Conservation International. The following Q&A has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

Next Gen: How did you first become interested in conservation and sustainability work?  Did your Peace Corps work in Togo help set you on this path?

Bambi: As I was finishing undergrad, I started becoming more and more interested in international development and in working overseas.  One of my professors, however, challenged me, asking what skillset I would bring with me if I went abroad. What can you do that those in your hosting region couldn’t do better?  So, realizing I needed to bolster my skill set, I went back to school to study international development with a concentration on the relationship between gender and successful agroforestry systems. This led perfectly to my Peace Corps assignment in Togo, where I was living in small, rural community located next to a protected area and worked on agroforestry and other community development programs. Returning from Togo, I joined Conservational International (CI), which was just developing its Center for Environmental Leadership in Business, and haven’t looked back since.

Next Gen: You’ve spent most of your career with Conservation International (CI) following your time in the Peace Corps. What about the work and culture at CI keeps you excited and motivated?

Bambi: Well, when I first joined CI, the idea of an environmental NGO working with the private sector was still relatively new. It took some effort to convince the corporations we approached that we were not looking to launch an attack, but rather that we wanted to collaborate with them. It was an exciting time. Overall, CI has a culture of innovation. It allows you to stake a course for yourself, and there always seems to be something new and exciting to work on. 

Next Gen: How has your career at CI evolved and how did you come to lead the Sustainable Coffee Challenge (SCC)? Have you always had an interest in sustainability within the coffee sector?

Bambi: It’s evolved from an internship while in grad school to now leading the coffee program and forming a new Center for Sustainable Lands and Waters.  And while I have worked on coffee the entire time, I don’t actually drink coffee. Rather than a love of the beverage, my drive comes from a love of the coffee tree.  It’s a crop that can grow under a tree canopy and holds great potential for rural development. So, my role at CI is constantly evolving, and coffee is only a portion of the work I do. Leading the SCC, however, is basically a dream job: managing the coffee program, engaging with major corporate leaders, and working closely with local communities.  Can’t ask for much more than that. 

Next Gen: It seems that leading the SCC you wear many hats. Do you have a favorite part of the job?  A least favorite?

Bambi: Overall, I could name two favorite parts. The first would be getting to meet and speak with producers, visit coffee farms, and see amazing natural areas.  The second would be trying to get industry participants aligned on sustainability efforts and goals. Seeing this alignment happen is extremely fulfilling and rewarding.  And, well, my least favorite part would be… trying to get the industry participants aligned on sustainability efforts and goals. While seeing the alignment happen is fulfilling, it takes a lot of time and I know that, when it comes to our gravest environmental concerns, time is not a luxury we have. So, I worry about not being able to drive collective action and alignment fast enough.

Next Gen: You’ve taken on a very exciting role within sustainability and coffee industry. Is there anything you can point to that helped you achieve this success?

Bambi: In the first place, you have to find your passion, then you have to work hard. My first role at CI was an internship in which I had one task: research how to grow cocoa sustainably in one region of West Africa. I poured my heart and soul into that internship. As a result, my research grew and grew, and I received recognition within CI for this effort. I’ve been working side by side for the last 18 years with that same manager who took over the cocoa program while I was an intern.

Next Gen: The SCC’s mission is to make coffee the world’s first sustainable agricultural product. It seems “sustainability” means something different to each actor in the industry – what does “sustainability” mean in the context of the SCC?

Bambi: SCC recognized that there was not alignment regarding what sustainability means throughout the industry, so we set out to try to establish a common framework. The framework is based around four compass points: Improve livelihoods, conserve nature, sustain supply, strengthen market demand. We are now embedding carbon sequestration more formally in the conserve nature point. However, in additional to a common alignment on sustainability, we’ve also developed a common definition for success.  But yes, in the end, the question still comes up: What counts as sustainable coffee?

Next Gen: During your tenure leading the SCC, are you happy with the changes and improvements you’ve seen across the industry? In terms of sustainability, where do you see the industry heading?

Bambi: We have seen a lot of progress but, ultimately, I feel we are never moving fast enough. This is the reason behind forming the SCC:  How do we catalyze more effort? We have major challenges—climate change, deforestation, freshwater degradation, etc.—but we can get there.  Moving forward, we need to see more innovation around sustainability. We need to talk more about living incomes for producers and workers. We need to talk more about capturing CO2. And, in the end, we need to take a very holistic approach and ask what is good for the producers, communities, landscapes, and regions.

Next Gen: What challenges do Covid-19 pose to the work of the SCC and, more broadly, to the sustainability efforts across the coffee industry?

Bambi: Covid-19 brings tremendous challenges to the entire coffee sector. It’s changed where people drink their coffee, which has profound impacts on retailers and roasters in particular. Covid-19 also forces us to recognize the fragility of the coffee industry – from the safety and availability of workers picking the coffee to those milling and roasting the coffee. Then, it also gives us a moment to reflect on why we are so fragile and how we can find a better balance with people and nature. With regards to sustainability in general, Covid-19 only emphasizes how important the work we are pursuing is.

Next Gen: What advice do you have for someone trying to get involved in sustainability within the coffee industry?

Bambi: Again, first you have to find your passion.  If you want to get involved in sustainability, find exactly what it is within the space drives you and gets you excited.  Then, on a very practical level, field experience in invaluable. It gives you empathy and an understanding of the reality on the ground in some of the world’s most vulnerable places.

Next Gen: What changes would you like to see in the coffee industry moving forward? The audience of this interview is comprised of the young coffee professionals that will drive the coffee industry in the future—what message do you have for them?

Bambi: I see so much hope with the younger generations.  These are generations in which the majority actually care about social and environmental issues. So my hope is that this generation sparks a new wave of sustainability in the sector – that harnesses this interest and passion to truly transition the entire sector to a sustainable and resilient future.

What the Science Says About Common Coffee and Health Myths

Study after study has found that coffee has a host of potential health benefits. Yet there’s still a lot of confusion among consumers and in the media. 

Surprisingly, 69% of Americans report that they have not even heard of any studies related to coffee and disease prevention, according to recent NCA market research.

And despite the fact that people already have less than the 3-5 cups daily recommended for optimal physical benefit, limiting caffeine intake was cited as the leading reason to cut coffee consumption.

Here’s a quick glance at some of the most common misconceptions on coffee and health – and what the science really says.

To learn more about coffee, caffeine, and health, join the NCA Science Leadership Council for the Coffee Science Fair at the NCA Convention in Atlanta, March 7-9.

What the Research Really Shows on Coffee & Cancer

Coffee may lower the risk of several types of cancer, according to recent studies reviewed by researchers at the American Cancer Society.

The following excerpt was originally posted at the American Cancer Society. 

AICR has named February Cancer Month. Learn more. 

To learn more about science, coffee, and why the research matters, join the experts from the NCA Scientific Leadership Council for “The Coffee Science Fair: A Fun Look at a Serious Topic,” a special educational session at the NCA 2019 Convention in Atlanta, GA on March 8.

Scientists have been investigating the links between coffee and cancer for decades. And while our understanding of coffee’s potential health benefits has improved with advances in research, there’s still more to learn.

In 2016, an expert panel convened by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) — the arm of the World Health Organization that is responsible for assessing whether certain substances cause cancer — could not conclude that drinking coffee is carcinogenic based on the current evidence available.

Yet the coffee-cancer connection has recently reappeared in the news, due to the ongoing Prop 65 legislation in California to put misleading “cancer warning labels” on coffee.

So, what do coffee drinkers need to know?

In following interview written by Elizabeth Mendes, American Cancer Society researchers Susan Gapstur, PhD, and Marjorie McCullough, ScD, explain what the studies really show when it comes to coffee and cancer, and discuss what other research is still needed.

What does the research show about the link between coffee and cancer?

Numerous studies have shown that coffee drinking is associated with a lower risk of dying from all causes of death. However, associations with cancer overall or with specific types of cancer are unclear.

The evidence was judged to be inadequate for other cancer types. Reasons for the lack of convincing evidence included inconsistent results across studies and issues with data quality.

Additionally, because smokers also tend to be coffee drinkers, it is difficult to completely account for tobacco use in studies of coffee and strongly tobacco-related cancers. These issues can be addressed by examining risk in non-smokers, or with detailed statistical adjustment for smoking. For example, early research suggested that coffee increased the risk of bladder cancer, but the true causal factor was later found to be smoking.

What about research into whether coffee is associated with a lower cancer risk?

Recent studies find that coffee may lower the risk of several types of cancer, including head and neck, colorectal, breast, and liver cancer, although the potential beneficial effects of coffee are not completely understood.

Hundreds of biologically active compounds including caffeine, flavonoids, lignans, and other polyphenols are found in roasted coffee. These and other coffee compounds have been shown to increase energy expenditure, inhibit cellular damage, regulate genes involved in DNA repair, have anti-inflammatory properties and/or inhibit metastasis, among other activities.

There is also evidence that coffee consumption is associated with lower risk of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.

What is acrylamide [the chemical in question under California’s coffee and Prop 65 legislation], and what do we know about its link to cancer?

Coffee can contain acrylamide, a chemical that is also used in certain industrial processes and has been commercially available since the 1950s. In addition to coffee, acrylamide is also found in French fries (frying causes acrylamide formation), toasted bread, snack foods, like potato chips and pretzels, crackers, biscuits, cookies and cereals, and in tobacco products. Acrylamide is classified by IARC as a “probable carcinogen,” based primarily on genotoxicity experiments in animals.

In 2002, Swedish scientists discovered that acrylamide could be formed from asparagine (an amino acid) and sugar during high-heat cooking. This discovery led to intensified research into the association between acrylamide intake from diet and cancer risk in humans. In 2011 and 2014, two large studies summarized the evidence in humans and found no association between dietary acrylamide and risk of several cancers.

What is the bottom line when it comes to coffee – should people be worried about drinking it?

Overall, it seems that there may be health benefits to coffee drinking, but the risks remain unclear. Further research is needed to more fully understand the biologic mechanisms underlying associations of coffee drinking, acrylamide exposure, and cancer risk.

Regardless, when considering behavioral approaches to reduce cancer risk, it is worth keeping in mind that preventing smoking initiation and improving smoking cessation rates remain the most important ways to reduce cancer mortality rates worldwide. After smoking, we also know that certain healthy lifestyle habits can significantly minimize cancer risk: these include limiting alcohol consumption, maintaining a healthy body weight throughout adulthood, being physically active, and consuming a mostly plant-based diet.

If you are concerned about acrylamide exposure, you may also consider limiting intake of French fries, chips, and cookies, which is consistent with the American Cancer Society’s dietary guidelines.

Read the original interview at the American Cancer Society

Related: What Science Can Teach Us About Coffee

Visit the National Coffee Association to learn more about coffee, caffeine, and your health

Coffee Clickbait Goes Bananas

New research on coffee and climate change indicates an urgent situation for crops at origin

Behind the headlines on the future of coffee, according to science – and how you can get involved.

By William (Bill) Murray, NCA CEO & President
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Complete with the typical clickbait-style headline, a recent article intoned that the global population is imminently doomed to a world without coffee – and “not much” can be done about this “on a personal level.”

Sounds grim.

But it could be easy to miss the glimmer of hope buried in the last line:

“This future could look bleak for morning coffee drinkers, but with the help of farmers and scientists, our cup of joe can be protected.”

Of course, there’s no taking issue with the underlying research (conducted by Aaron Davis, et al) that triggered this report.  It’s true that many of the native coffee species in the wild are threatened due to deforestation and climate change.

Coffea arabica (Arabica coffee) and Coffea canephora (Robusta coffee), the most commercially cultivated coffee crops, share a lot of the same genetic genome.  The less diverse a species is genetically, the more susceptible it can be to disease.  (Learn more about how bananas are even more vulnerable.)

While the coffee situation is urgent, the article failed to capture the amount of energy, commitment, and resources that are being directed by the coffee community towards sustainability and research.

The first example? More than 100 companies that have joined the Sustainable Coffee Challenge, under the auspices of Conservation International, committing to help make coffee the world’s first 100% sustainable commodity. These commitments span a wide range of areas – from gender equity to water access and conservation – but include “technical assistance” and “renovation” (replanting or pruning trees to enhance productivity), which includes agronomy assistance.

When it comes to gathering, protecting, understanding, exploring, and researching coffee genetics, there are a number of scientists and organizations working specifically on this issue, supported by coffee companies and others.

Scientists, like  Dr. Christophe Montagnon and Dr. Timothy Schilling from World Coffee Research, have visited field gene banks  in Madagascar, Kenya, Ethiopia, Panama, Colombia, and other places  to collect samples and identify unique genetic traits in wild and cultivated coffee species. Conferring these genetic traits to domestically cultivated coffee species and varietals, such as Arabica and Robusta, could potentially convey greater disease resistance, drought tolerance, or improve quality or yield.

In fact, World Coffee Research is wholly dedicated to this very topic, and the Colombian Coffee Federation – known to Americans for their Juan Valdez campaigns – conducts similar kinds of research through Cenicafé, one of the world’s leading centers for scientific coffee research.

So, what can be done at a personal level?

Empower yourself with the facts – not soundbites.

1. While politicians are arguing over whether or not they “believe in” climate change, you can get informed by learning from credible organizations that offer facts and data.
2. You can also learn more about the brands you love, how they are getting involved, and the impact they are having.

As you read beyond the headlines you’ll learn that there are companies, organizations, and dedicated individuals working hard to ensure a future for coffee.  They know that coffee’s future isn’t just about  your cup of morning coffee:  the livelihoods of coffee farmers all around the world are depending upon coffee’s future. (The NCA Coffee Gives Back and Coffee Sustainability Showcases highlight just a few organizations doing good work.)

By taking a few minutes to fully understand the issue – beyond the clickbait or an Instagram caption – and supporting those companies, organizations, and individuals working hard for the future of coffee, you can make a difference. In fact, you can even join (at an individual level) organizations like World Coffee Research, and make a contribution.

Why should you get involved? Because when you are holding your morning cup of coffee, you are also holding coffee’s future.

Read the original study:

High extinction risk for wild coffee species and implications for coffee sector sustainability

Two Compounds in Coffee May Work Together to Fight Parkinson’s and Protect Brain Health

New research suggests that coffee’s potential health benefits are about more than caffeine.

via ScienceDaily

Rutgers scientists have found a compound in coffee that may team up with caffeine to fight Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia — two progressive and currently incurable diseases associated with brain degeneration.

The discovery, recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggests these two compounds combined may become a therapeutic option to slow brain degeneration.

Lead author M. Maral Mouradian, director of the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School Institute for Neurological Therapeutics and William Dow Lovett Professor of Neurology, said prior research has shown that drinking coffee may reduce the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease.

While caffeine has traditionally been credited as coffee’s special protective agent, coffee beans contain more than a thousand other compounds that are less well known.

The Rutgers study focused on a fatty acid derivative of the neurotransmitter serotonin, called EHT (Eicosanoyl-5-hydroxytryptamide), found in the bean’s waxy coating. The researchers found that EHT protects the brains of mice against abnormal protein accumulation associated with Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia.

Mouradian said further research is needed to determine the proper amounts and ratio of EHT and caffeine required for the protective effect in people.

Read the full post at Read the full post at ScienceDaily

Journal Reference: 

1. Run Yan, Jie Zhang, Hye-Jin Park, Eun S. Park, Stephanie Oh, Haiyan Zheng, Eunsung Junn, Michael Voronkov, Jeffry B. Stock, M. Maral Mouradian. Synergistic neuroprotection by coffee components eicosanoyl-5-hydroxytryptamide and caffeine in models of Parkinson’s disease and DLB. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2018; 201813365 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1813365115

A Bitter Buzz: The Psychology Behind Our Love of Coffee

A new study found that coffee drinkers are actually more sensitive to the bitter taste of caffeine.

Coffee is a complex beverage – and it’s experienced differently by everyone.

Your appreciation (or not) of coffee is largely driven by genetics, which control a host of factors raging from your caffeine tolerance to sensory perception.

A new study from Northwestern University, recently published in Scientific Reports, found that coffee lovers aren’t less sensitive to the bitter taste of coffee – instead, the opposite is true.

This suggests an interesting psychological phenomenon behind our love of coffee.

People with genes indicating high sensitivity to quinine and propylthiouracil tended to drink less coffee on average, Forbes reports.

But humans generally have a genetic “inborn aversion towards bitterness,” to stop us from eating  poisonous food. So why do we keep refilling our cups?

Researchers suggest a psychological phenomenon: “It is possible that coffee consumers acquire a taste for (or an ability to detect) caffeine given the learned positive reinforcement (i.e. stimulation) elicited by caffeine.”

This means that coffee is literally an acquired taste, driven by our Pavlovian response associating the bitterness to the subsequent energy boost over time.

Read more: The Funny Psychology Of Why We Love The Taste Of Coffee

Related: Is Caffeine In Your Genes?

Gif via Giphy