Is that Gesha really Gesha? Researchers find that sometimes it’s not. Plus, Starbucks opens in Xinjiang, and coffee is linked to lower mouth and throat cancer risk.
‘Genetic Analysis Reveals That Some Specialty Coffee Seeds Do Not Match Their Commercial Identity’ – via Phys.org
A coffee’s variety is important. It can impact how well the plant grows in certain conditions, how resistant it is to diseases, and how it roasts and tastes. Often—as in the case of Gesha—it influences the price a coffee sells for.
But how do we know the variety on the bag matches the tree itself? New research from Ecuador found that some plants grown from seeds marketed as Gesha or Sidra didn’t match their labels.
Coffee plants take years to mature enough to produce cherries. This means that, without proper certification, a farmer may not know which variety was actually planted until they’ve invested considerable time and money. The trees in this study had been growing on a farm in Ecuador for around three years before visual clues such as branch or leaf shape prompted researchers to run a genetic analysis.
The researchers collected samples from four morphotypes, or groups of plants with shared physical traits, each chosen to represent a variety. Using genetic fingerprinting, they found that two of the four morphotypes did not match their declared variety. One plant sold as Sidra, a cross between Bourbon and Typica, was actually genetically closer to Batian, a Kenyan variety. The Gesha plants, bought from someone who had imported them from Panama, were similar but not identical to the famous variety that has long dominated coffee competitions.
The researchers caution that their small sample size means they can’t draw conclusions about seed misidentification more broadly in Ecuador or beyond. Still, they say their findings show the importance of accessible verification procedures for farmers. “Without such measures, the premium value associated with specialty cultivars cannot be reliably linked to their genetic identity,” they wrote.
Read the full story on the misidentified coffee plants here.
‘Starbucks Opens First Cafés in China’s Xinjiang’ – via the Financial Times
In November 2025, Starbucks announced a deal to sell 60% of its Chinese business to private equity firm Boyu Capital. The joint venture, which was finalized in April, valued the business at $4 billion and was “designed to enhance Starbucks’ ability to expand its footprint, deepen local relevance, and elevate the customer experience,” according to a press release.
At the beginning of October, Starbucks opened its first stores in Xinjiang, an autonomous region in the country’s northwest where international organizations and governments have accused China of committing human rights abuses. The opening led to criticism from, among others, U.S. congressman John Moolenaar, who called the decision “morally bankrupt.”
Since 2017, according to Amnesty International, the Chinese government has “carried out massive and systematic abuses” against Muslims in Xinjiang, including mass internment and torture. In 2022, the United Nations’ High Commissioner for Human Rights said that China’s actions in the region amount to “crimes against humanity.”
The U.S., among other countries, has labeled the persecution of Uyghurs a genocide. China has consistently denied the allegations and worked to censor criticism. Despite the international outcry, tourism in Xinjiang has boomed in recent years, with international companies from Hilton to McDonald’s investing in the region.
Maya Wang from Human Rights Watch told the Financial Times that Starbucks’ entry to Xinjiang helped lend “a veneer of normalcy” and “fits in the party-state’s narrative that there’s nothing wrong about the region to the outside world.” In response, a Starbucks spokesperson said that “every Starbucks coffeehouse, wherever it is located, operates under the same Starbucks brand standards and values, including those related to responsible business practices.”
Read more on Starbucks’ Xinjiang controversy here.
‘The Bitter Founder Feud That Rocked Compass Coffee Is Finally Over’ – via Inc
In January 2025, Harrison Suarez filed a lawsuit against his Compass Coffee co-founder Michael Haft alleging fraud and racketeering. Suarez also accused Haft and his father of misusing millions of dollars in federal COVID-19 relief funds. That lawsuit has now been settled.
In his original filing, Suarez accused the Hafts of a “pattern of defrauding business partners and others to unlawfully enrich themselves,” alleging that their “series of schemes amount to a pattern of racketeering activity.” The Hafts denied the allegations and tried to have the complaint thrown out last November. As Kevin Haynes reports for Inc, the judge dismissed the racketeering claims but allowed the lawsuit to continue.
Last week, the two sides agreed to settle. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but lawyers for both sides filed for voluntary dismissal, stating that Suarez’ claims had been resolved. Neither party replied to Haynes’ request for comment.
As the lawsuit progressed, Compass ran into financial difficulties. In January, the company filed for bankruptcy protection following legal battles over unpaid rent. Founded in 2014 by Haft and Suarez, the Washington, D.C.-based company grew to operate 25 cafes in the region. Compass blamed its financial struggles on a changed retail landscape and listed liabilities between $10 million and $50 million. A month later, U.K. chain Caffe Nero bought Compass’ assets in a bankruptcy auction for $4.75 million.
Read the full story on the Compass Coffee lawsuit conclusion here.
More News
‘Starbucks Says Not Buying Chipotle, Ends Takeover Speculation’ – via Reuters
‘Dole Food To Cease Coffee Farm Operations on Oahu’ – via the Honolulu Star-Advertiser
‘Roast Magazine Launches iRoast — a Community for Coffee Roasting Professionals’ – via Daily Coffee News
‘StoneX To Acquire Colombian Coffee Exporter Integra’ – via Global Coffee Report
Is Coffee Good for You?
Drinking coffee could be good for your throat, according to a new study. Researchers in China found that those who consumed higher amounts of coffee had a significantly reduced chance of developing oral and pharyngeal (throat) cancer compared with those who drank little to no coffee.
For the study, published in the journal BMC Cancer, researchers conducted a meta-analysis of 20 observational studies on the subject of coffee and cancers of the mouth and throat. They found that higher coffee consumption was associated with a 43% lower risk of oral and pharyngeal cancer, compared with low or no consumption.
The researchers pointed to coffee’s antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties as possible reasons for the findings, but noted that the studies analyzed were all observational, so a direct causal link cannot be proven. Exact consumption was hard to quantify because each study recorded it differently—some measured detailed cup-per-day consumption, others used much broader categories.
Beyond the Headlines
‘Specialty Coffee Shines from the Heart of Mexico City’ by Jen Roberts
