Researchers discover why we love bitter coffee. Plus, Kraft Heinz sells its coffee arm to private equity, and El Niño continues to threaten coffee production.
✉️ Coffee News Club: curated reflection on recent industry headlines.
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‘Kraft Heinz To Sell North American Coffee Business to Private Equity Firm’ – via Food Dive
Kraft Heinz, one of the world’s largest food multinationals, is selling its North American coffee arm to private equity firm One Rock Capital Partners. The deal, which the company expects to close in mid-2027, is valued at $650 million and includes the brands Maxwell House, Sanka, Tassimo, and Gevalia.
As part of the deal, Kraft Heinz will retain a 30% stake in the business. “We are proud of the role these brands have played in the lives of generations of coffee drinkers, and our continued stake reflects the confidence we have in their long-term potential under One Rock’s focused ownership,” Kraft Heinz CEO Steve Cahillane said in a press release.
It isn’t the first time the conglomerate, which has often struggled since its creation via a merger in 2015, has looked to sell off its coffee business. In 2019 it employed the bank Credit Suisse to “review options” for its coffee segment. Back then, CNBC reported that a sale could be worth $3 billion.
Although Kraft Heinz didn’t disclose its coffee segment’s revenue, independent analysts have estimated that it brought in around $860 million in 2025. The company is one of the largest coffee conglomerates in the U.S., with one analysis finding it responsible for nearly 12% of all coffee sales in the country in 2021.
“We have long admired Kraft Heinz’s iconic coffee brands, such as Maxwell House and Gevalia, which have been household staples for more than 100 years,” said Tony W. Lee, One Rock’s managing partner. “We intend to accelerate investment across the brand portfolio to drive growth and innovation, enhance the consumer experience, and strengthen relationships with retail partners.”
Read the full story on the Kraft coffee divestment here.
‘Why Bitter Coffee Starts to Taste So Good to Your Brain’ – via Neuroscience News
Coffee is very much an acquired taste. It is bitter, and that bitter taste is usually considered a warning to avoid potentially toxic food. So why and how do we learn to love coffee?
According to a new study led by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, it all leads back to dopamine. But instead of the quick dopamine effects that are activated by external stimuli, caffeine triggers an internal circuit that connects the gut and brain—what the authors call a “slow” dopamine pathway. “We’ve shown that this slow dopamine system is what drives us to learn to like certain foods over time, and we can see where and how that happens,” said UCSF professor of physiology and senior author Zachary Knight in a press release.
The stimulating property of caffeine is one of the main reasons many of us drink coffee, but it is also responsible for coffee’s bitter flavor. As the researchers describe it, the internal circuit sends signals to our brain as we drink coffee, associating the bitter flavor with the positive effects of caffeine. Once that association—the slow dopamine effect—happens, Knight said, “that coffee starts to taste a lot better.”
Read more on coffee’s slow dopamine effect here.
‘Seoul’s Most Architectural Cafes Are Made for More Than Coffee’ – via The Korea Herald
A common complaint about modern coffee shops is that they all look the same. Researchers have even studied the phenomenon, pointing to the influence of social media algorithms as well as high startup costs as potential reasons why so many cafes use reclaimed materials and minimalist aesthetics.
Not every cafe fits that mold, though, and in Seoul several have won a prestigious architecture award. According to The Korea Herald’s Hong Yoo, the Seoul Architecture Awards “honor buildings and spaces that serve the public and improve residents’ quality of life.”
Cafe Tank6, the grand prize winner, sits in the Oil Tank Culture Park, which was created on the site of a former oil reserve. Five of the giant, disused tanks were turned into exhibition and performance spaces, and the remaining materials were used to create a community space that includes the cafe.
Other winners include bronze medalist Jmcoffee Sinsa Lounge with its six stories of interlinked triangular balconies, and silver medalist Comfort Seoul, which is built around a huge concrete staircase that leads to a rooftop terrace.
Read the full story on the architecture-award-winning cafes here.
More News
‘Keurig and Luckin Report Growth Amid Coffee Market Shifts’ – via Daily Coffee News
‘Here Is Everyone Moving On From The First 2027 US Barista Championship Qualifier’ – via Sprudge
‘Keurig Must Face Antitrust Claims Over Coffee Pods, Judge Rules’ – via Daily Coffee News
‘Starbucks Drive-Thru AI Could Know What You Want Before You Do’ – via CNET
‘Simonelli Group Unveils Science Driven Coffee Cup Programme’ – via Global Coffee Report
Coffee and the Climate Crisis
El Niño is a climate pattern in the Pacific Ocean that can supercharge storms, droughts, and floods. This year’s phenomenon is forecast to be particularly strong—a “super” or even “Godzilla” El Niño—with researchers connecting this strength to climate change.
Climate shocks fueled by this year’s “super” El Niño continue to impact coffee production around the world. Over the past two months, back-to-back storms battered Hawaiʻi while wildfires scorched coffee farms in Indonesia and Colombia.
Although authorities believe many of the wildfires in Colombia were deliberately set, they were fueled by a drought that is impacting the country’s ongoing coffee harvest. According to the financial services company StoneX, recent rains have provided some relief but farmers report “significant damage” from pests and lower overall yields.
The National Federation of Coffee Growers (FNC) announced several support measures for farmers including raising the price it pays for pasilla, low-grade coffee that isn’t exported and is instead sold on the domestic market. This higher price allows farmers to still receive value from drought-damaged beans.
In Costa Rica, farmers expect the country’s harvest to be 10–15% smaller this year because of El Niño-driven erratic rainfall and increasing heat. Miguel Barquero, deputy director of Costa Rica’s coffee institute Icafe, said the organization expects the quality of the harvest to also be affected.
In Uganda, meanwhile, prolonged drought led to a near-14% fall in coffee exports in August. And Bloomberg reported that India’s coffee board has lowered its harvest forecast due to below-normal monsoon season rains—also linked to El Niño.
Beyond the Headlines
‘Hey Chat, Help Me Dial in: How AI Is Dividing Home Brewers’ by Chloé Skye Weiser
‘A Living Income—What Does It Mean for Coffee Producers?’ by Sunghee Tark
‘How Flavored Syrup Became a Coffee-Shop Culture War’ by Bettina Makalintal
