STiR coffee and tea magazine

14 STiR coffee and tea / Issue 4, 2021 (August / September) Mansoor Akarbally (Akbar Brothers): The automation of Colombo tea auction from an initial outcry system – in place for over 100 years – drastically changed the way in which we procure our key material – tea – in Sri Lanka. The political instability of key markets in the Middle East is recurringly an issue, posing many challenges over the last 10 years. Also, the exchange rate fluctuations and depreciations in Sri Lanka may create short-term benefit to exporters but long-term uncertainty for the economy at large. Cindi Bigelow (Bigelow Tea): Over the last 25 years, a proliferation of university-based studies merged touting the naturally healthy aspects of tea and how that translates to the tea drinker. Today, more than ever, consumers look for products that are good for the body, and mind, and homing in on plant-based foods and beverages. Which means tea, being a beverage that is a product of the Camelia sinensis plant, is meeting a true consumer need. As global warming and other environmental and social issues continue to cause concern, challenges around the availability, consistency, and quality of tea and other botanicals continues to be a major issue. This issue appears to be growing and getting more intense. William Murray (National Coffee Association): Perhaps the biggest impact has been made along generational lines – primarily younger coffee drinkers. Ten years ago, most American coffee drinkers primarily purchased traditional coffee from traditional supermarkets. Over time, coffee's solid consumer base, changing demographics, innovative products, and new delivery channels have really diversified STiR 10th Anniversary Executive Forum: Question #1 Over the past 10 years or so, what developments would you underscore as having the most effect on the coffee and/or tea industries? STiR's 10th Anniversary: Executive Forum Q&A en years goes by quite quickly, and that's where we stand with STiR – realizing it's the magazine's 10th anniversary yet feeling like it wasn't that long ago we completed all the exciting work to transform Tea & Coffee Asia magazine into the global STiR coffee and tea. Not the least of that work was coming up with a name which didn't limit us to a region, didn't sound like another magazine, and didn't use the words "coffee" or "tea" used in virtually every other magazine covering our industries. For a few seconds, we thought our 10th Anniversary would be a great time to go over our milestones, breakthrough reports, our growing base of subscribers and advertising support. But, instead, we decided a much better way to celebrate our 10th would be to hear you – our coffee and tea friends, readers, and supporters. So, for STiR's 10th anniversary we invited some industry leaders to give us their input. We asked them only three questions, but these were not very easy questions. For all our readers, we wanted to get these decision-makers' input on 1) key events of the past 10 years, 2) what we have learned and adopted from the Covid-19 period, and 3) what the future holds. We are quite thankful to have this incredible range of executives taking the time to give their thoughts and views. We have input from a wide T variety of celebrated and leading coffee and tea industry manufacturers and suppliers, such as: Mansoor Akarbally of Akbar Brothers, tea exporter from Sri Lanka; Dr Monika Beutgen of Tea & Herbal Infusions Europe, industry tea association; Cindi Bigelow of Bigelow Tea, tea blenders since 1942; Doug Bishop of BUNN, world leader in dispensing equipment; Marcus Clauson of Dethlefsen & Balk, supplying the wholesale specialty coffee and tea trade; Peter Goggi of the Tea Association of the USA; Sunalini Menon of Coffeelab, and ambassador of coffee from India; William Murray of NCA, National Coffee Association of the US; Nicola Panzani of IMA Coffee Petroncini, leader in coffee process - ing, packaging, and roasting; Holger Preibisch of Deutscher Kaffeeverband e.V, the largest German coffee association; and Ralf Torenz of Neuhaus Neotec, leading manufacturing of coffee processing equipment; Without further ado. Let's hear what they have to say… that. Specialty coffee is increas- ingly popular, different retail channels attract more consumers, and even specific drinks have popped up on the radar. For example, cold brew was considered a niche product just six years ago, and now it is the third most popular method of coffee preparation. Today, specialty single origin coffee, cold brew, and espresso-based drinks have begun to change that picture. One way to describe what's happening on the specialty side is "premiumization" – meaning consumer tastes are becoming more varied and sophisticated. More recently, independent scientific studies consistently show that drinking coffee can be part of a healthy diet and is associated with reduced risk of multiple cancers, chronic diseases, and even depression. The evidence is mounting: coffee drinkers live longer, health, happier lives. Q&A STiR 10 th Anniversary Executive Forum: Question #1

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