Would you like a burrito with your coffee? Starbucks reportedly mulls Chipotle takeover. Plus, bacteria-boosted Liberica, and coffee farming in Sicily.
✉️ Coffee News Club: curated reflection on recent industry headlines.
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‘Starbucks Has Explored Takeover of Chipotle in Restaurant Megadeal’ – via Financial Times
In 2024, Starbucks appointed Chipotle head Brian Niccol as CEO, tasking him with reviving the coffee giant’s fortunes the way he did for the burrito chain. Last week the Financial Times (FT) reported that Starbucks has “explored a takeover” of Niccol’s former company.
According to reporting by James Fontanella-Khan, Arash Massoudi, Oliver Barnes, and Gregory Meyer, the “ambitious gambit” would represent the largest ever merger in the restaurant sector. Chipotle’s market value is nearly $39 billion, while Starbucks is worth around $107 billion, according to Reuters. A combined company would have annual sales of nearly $50 billion.
Starbucks has reportedly “worked with advisors” on a takeover proposal, although the FT’s sources indicate that the plans are preliminary and may never come to fruition due to the difficulty of completing a merger of this size. Starbucks declined to comment and Chipotle didn’t respond to the FT’s request.
In February, Scott Boatwright, who replaced Niccol as Chipotle CEO, launched his own turnaround plan for Chipotle dubbed “Recipe for Growth” in the wake of sluggish sales. Chipotle’s stock has fallen nearly 20% over the past year, according to the FT, in part due to consumer trepidation surrounding cyclospora outbreaks, a parasitic foodborne illness, tied to produce supplier Taylor Farms.
Read more on the potential megadeal here.
‘Gut Bacteria Recipe Turns Ordinary Liberica Coffee Into Award-Winning Specialty Beans’ – via Bioengineer.org
Fermentation is a crucial part of coffee processing, and over the years researchers have shown how particular techniques can significantly improve coffee quality. In 2025, Brazilian scientists used self-induced anaerobic fermentation to bring underripe cherries up to specialty grade, while earlier this year Chinese researchers used a naturally occurring fungus to do the same with commodity-grade coffee.
The latest approach comes from researchers at the University of Jambi in Indonesia, who explored the possibilities of improving the quality of Liberica coffee. Lactiplantibacillus plantarum and Leuconostoc mesenteroides are bacteria often used in the fermentation of food products like sauerkraut, and are also found in the digestive tracts of civets. Civets are the animals that eat and digest coffee cherries to produce the highly sought after—and highly controversial—kopi luwak.
Using starter cultures obtained from Indonesia’s National Research and Innovation Agency, the researchers fermented Liberica beans anaerobically for either 48 or 72 hours, before processing and roasting them. The resulting samples included coffee fermented with each bacterium for both durations, as well as the two bacteria combined.
A trio of trained tasters from the Indonesian Coffee and Cacao Research Institute then assessed the samples using the Specialty Coffee Association’s 100-point cupping form. All the samples scored above the specialty floor of 80 points, compared with the control’s score of 77.71. The 72-hour co-fermentation using both bacteria earned a score of 87.57.
The researchers noted increased presence of phenolic compounds such as flavonoids and caffeic acid in the fermented samples, as well as a rise in antioxidant activity. Intriguingly, caffeine content decreased by a statistically significant amount in the fermented samples, especially in the sample that combined the two bacteria.
The researchers hope their findings can help develop a way to produce “artificial” civet coffee and, more broadly, improve the sensory quality of Liberica coffee.
Read the full story on the inoculated coffee here.
‘A Lawsuit Accuses Starbucks of Mislabeling 8 ‘Sugar-Free’ Protein Drinks’ – via the Associated Press
Due to its size and prominence, Starbucks is often the target of lawsuits. The latest one, filed in federal court on October 2, alleges that eight protein lattes and matchas labeled “sugar-free” on the coffee giant’s menus are anything but. As Dee-Ann Durbin reports for the Associated Press, the lawsuit claims the drinks actually contain 13-21 grams of sugar per “venti” serving.
The drinks are made with milk and thus contain lactose, a naturally occurring sugar. Because of this, the complaint claims that the company’s marketing of the products as “sugar-free” violates federal labeling regulations. According to the complaint, the FDA requires food or beverages labeled as “sugar-free” to contain less than 0.5 grams of sugar.
This isn’t the first lawsuit Starbucks has faced in recent years. The coffee giant has been sued, more than once, for false advertising over its pledge of “100% ethical coffee sourcing”, and has also faced lawsuits over its “discriminatory” hiring practices and opposition to unionization.
“Consumers avoid sugar for various reasons, whether that be general health, diabetes and blood glucose levels or other factors, and for many, a staunch mislabeling like this is significant,” Steve Berman of the Hagens Berman law firm told the AP. Durbin reports that Hagens Berman specializes in class action cases, and is in fact the same firm that most recently sued Starbucks over its ethical sourcing claims.
A Starbucks spokesperson told the AP that the company “believe[s] these claims have no merit” and intends to “vigorously defend ourselves in this matter.”
Read more on the latest Starbucks lawsuit here.
More News
‘Six Months Later, The Co-Owner Of Farley’s Coffeehouse Is Still Missing’ – via Sprudge
‘EUDR Compliance Gaps Persist for Smallholders, New Report Finds’ – via Daily Coffee News
‘Keurig Dr Pepper names Russ Torres as CEO of future Global Coffee Co.’ – via Beverage Industry
‘Wingsure Launches AI-Powered Coffee Farm Intelligence Platform’ – via Daily Coffee News
Coffee and the Climate Crisis
As the climate changes and the planet heats, ideal areas for coffee production are shifting. Research indicates that more than half the world’s current coffee-growing land could become unsuitable by 2050. Some farmers are already moving their production uphill in search of cooler weather.
As coffee land is lost, new regions are also becoming viable. Scientists are exploring the possibility of growing coffee in Florida, while China’s ideal coffee-growing regions are expanding. Coffee production is even creeping northwards to Europe.
In Spain, Finca Castellvilar near Barcelona claims to be the “world’s first coffee plantation outside a tropical or subtropical climate.” However, so far it has only harvested a few kilos. To the south east, on the Italian island of Sicily, a farm on the outskirts of Palermo is further ahead. As Gabriele Barbati reports for Euronews, the Morettino family farm is now producing around 100 kilos of coffee cherries each year.
The project, which has been underway in some form for more than 30 years, is a collaboration with the Palermo’s Botanical Garden and the University of Palermo to study how tropical plants adapt to the Mediterranean climate. The harvests are still too small for commercial sale, but the Morettinos, who are coffee roasters, occasionally offer tastings at their coffee lab in Palermo.
While the Morettinos and others have demonstrated that coffee production in southern Europe is feasible, it may never be realistic at scale. Coffee requires stable, relatively cool temperatures and reliable rainfall to flourish. Europe has faced extreme heat and wildfires in recent years, with Sicily alone enduring a “brutal” drought as recently as 2024. The Italian National Research Council estimated that 70% of the island is at risk of desertification due to the climate crisis.
Beyond the Headlines
‘From Vietnam To Vienna, Exploring The Global World Of Coffee Museums’ by Jenn Chen
