Air travel could soon be powered by coffee waste. Plus, analysts predict record harvests in Brazil, and a new meta-study finds that—surprise, surprise—coffee impacts sleep.
‘Brazil on Track for Record Coffee Harvest in 2026’ – via Global Coffee Report
Coffee analysts and traders are always keeping a close eye on harvests in Brazil. As the world’s largest coffee producer, the country wields outsized influence in the global commodity market. Unseasonal frost or heat can negatively impact production and send the C price soaring, while news of more favorable weather often has the opposite effect.
This year is predicted to be a record harvest. The latest survey from CONAB, Brazil’s equivalent to the USDA, forecasts that Brazil is set to harvest 66.7 million 60-kg bags of coffee. This would be an 18% increase over the previous year, and the largest harvest that CONAB has ever recorded. Other sources, such as Rabobank, predict an even higher yield of 73.3 million bags.
Part of the reason we’re seeing record numbers is due to circumstance. Brazil has a biennial production cycle, meaning coffee trees produce higher yields in alternating years (Brazil’s positive biennial harvest happens in even years). However, that’s not the only reason for the uptick—CONAB highlighted that weather conditions were favorable for coffee and noted that farmers were expanding to new production areas across the country.
In interviews with Valor International’s Cibelle Bouças, producers and other stakeholders expressed optimism about this year’s harvest. “The crop is in very good condition. The weather was favorable, with regular rainfall,” said Fabiano Tristão from the Capixaba Institute for Research, Technical Assistance, and Rural Extension.
Because Brazil is so large and the harvest spans months, forecasting the exact total is difficult. Others speaking with Bouças, therefore, were more cautious in their predictions. “The harvest will be good. It will not be bigger than in 2020, but it will be good,” said Juliana Paulino, president of the Coffee Growers Association in Southwestern Minas Gerais.
We’ll have to wait and see how this harvest affects coffee’s commodity price. The coffee C price hit record highs last year, spurred by supply concerns due to climate extremes and various geopolitical factors, such as tariffs, that drove prices higher. However, analysts have long speculated that the harvest in Brazil would be high, and futures market prices have been falling for months as a result.
Read the full story on Brazil’s record-breaking harvest here.
‘From Coffee Grounds to Animal Fat, Korea Turns to Organic Waste To Power Airplanes’ – via The Korea Times
Korea’s coffee sector is booming. With hundreds of new shops opening across the country—and more coffee being brewed—there’s also been an increase in spent coffee grounds. The country generated an estimated 150,000 metric tons of coffee grounds in 2021, most of which ended up in landfills.
Coffee waste is a longstanding problem. Researchers have been looking for ways to repurpose spent grounds, from using it to make concrete stronger to filtering polluted water and creating biofuels. Now, the Korean government wants to use coffee waste to fuel airplanes.
Aviation fuel prices have risen sharply since late February. In response to attacks from the United States and Israel, Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway in the global crude oil trade. Jet fuel production has plummeted, leading some countries to ration supplies.
Korea has launched a research initiative to develop methods for manufacturing sustainable aviation fuel from waste products such as coffee grounds. Korea is the world’s largest exporter of conventional jet fuel, but it has also begun focusing on sustainable alternatives. By 2035, all international flights departing Korean airports must use fuel containing 10% sustainable aviation fuel. Now the country is looking to expand the types of waste products it uses to create fuel.
At the moment, Korea’s fuel alternatives are mostly made from used cooking oil. But the government is seeking additional raw materials and has invested $32 million in the new program to assess the potential of various waste products, including coffee.
“This initiative marks a milestone in building a circular economy ecosystem,” said Kim Go-eung, from the Ministry of Climate, Energy, and Environment. “It transforms overlooked waste into a strategic resource for a crucial national industry.”
Read more on coffee-based jet fuel here.
More News
‘Starbucks Scraps AI Inventory Tool Across North America’ – via Reuters
‘Say It Ain’t So, Joe: Trump’s Tariffs Have Devastated Coffee Exports’ – via The Globe and Mail
‘Stolen Coffee Load Worth $132,000 Results in Insurance Lawsuit’ – via Daily Coffee News
‘La Marzocco Becomes First B Corp-Certified Espresso Manufacturer’ – via Global Coffee Report
‘The 2026 American AeroPress Championship is Heading to Boston’ – via Daily Coffee News
The Week in Coffee Unionizing
In December 2025, workers at Third Street Stuff and Coffee in Lexington, Kentucky, unionized. Staff requested better working conditions and input on workplace decisions.
“This isn’t about like squeezing blood from a stone,” organizer Aubrey Smith told WKYT at the time. “We really just want to improve the working conditions, and we want to feel safe and respected and like our voices are being heard.”
Last week, the company announced that it was being acquired by a new owner after its founder retired. In the meantime, the store would be closing for a “transition period,” it said on Facebook. As part of the transition, all 13 workers were laid off on June 1. Employees responded by going on strike, picketing the store alongside community members.
Ellie Browning, one of the union organizers, told Fox56 that workers were fired with no notice, no idea of when the shop would reopen, or if they would get their jobs back. “I have seen my coworkers, friends give so much to this business and be just disrespected in return,” Browning said. “We are asking to stay open, to stay respectful and stay communicating with the people who make this business possible.”
In a statement to Fox56, Third Street said it will reopen “following what we hope will be a short transition period.” The company said it “remains committed to bargain with the union in good faith as required by law.”
Is Coffee Good For You?
Coffee is famous for keeping us awake—for many people, that’s its main function. Researchers have long investigated caffeine’s impact on sleep, and haven’t always come to the conclusion you might think. In March, for example, we covered a study that found drinking coffee in the afternoon doesn’t necessarily affect sleep.
Now, researchers in Poland have delved even deeper, compiling and analyzing 32 previous studies on the subject of coffee and sleep. The meta-study, published in Nutrients, focused on research that utilized electroencephalography (EEG). This test measures the brain’s electrical activity and allows researchers to evaluate both the duration and quality of a participant’s sleep.
After analyzing the studies, the researchers concluded that caffeine “exerts a clear and physiologically coherent effect” on the brain during sleep. Caffeine makes it harder to fall asleep and “the brain may remain in a more activated, less restorative state during sleep,” they wrote. That means that even if you get a solid eight hours after drinking coffee, you might still wake up tired. One study they looked at showed that even drinking coffee in the morning was enough to alter sleep patterns that night.
The study also found that coffee’s impact on sleep varies between individuals. “Dose, timing, formulation, habitual caffeine use, withdrawal state, circadian context, age, and inter-individual biological susceptibility” all influence how our brains respond to caffeine. “This variability helps explain why some people show pronounced objective sleep disruption, whereas others show weaker or more selective changes despite similar intake,” the authors wrote.
Beyond the Headlines
‘The Portable Automatic Tamper Era is At Hand’ by Howard Bryman
