Notes from World of Coffee Brussels 2026

Just getting back from Brussels 2026 and still processing everything from a week packed with sessions, cuppings, and conversations. A few highlights worth sharing — and a clear signal about where specialty coffee is headed.

Coffee’s economic weight — and how consumers want to hear about it. 

Coffee drives €582 billion in economic output across Europe and supports 4.7 million jobs. Specialty punches far above its volume share in value creation. The most useful insight: the messaging sequence consumers respond to is flavor first, story second, sustainability third. Lead with the cup. Back it with traceability and impact.

Green buying is about more than great coffee. 

The Fundamentals of Green Coffee Buying session I attended reframed sourcing as the management of quality, contracts, logistics, relationships, inventory, and cash flow. Pre-shipment samples are legal checkpoints. Payment terms shape who survives in this industry. Inventory is a perishable asset. It reaffirmed why we need to better match purchasing to sales velocity.

Traceability is now table stakes.

Two sessions on the EU Deforestation Regulation made one thing clear: traceability isn’t optional anymore. Every bag will need to trace back to a producer, with GPS coordinates and verifiable documentation. Buyers are already pulling back from high-risk origins, and agroforestry systems are especially vulnerable to false positives without strong records. Our Five Sourcing Principles already put us ahead here, and we’re building EUDR-ready workflows into our sourcing framework this year. As a U.S.-based roaster, we aren’t directly required to comply unless we place coffee on the EU market. But the deadline is real — EUDR takes effect December 30, 2026 for large and medium operators.  Here’s the thing: I appreciate what Europe is doing. They’re leading the way and drawing a clear line: we won’t keep buying products that destroy the environment. Following this regulation is about being on the right side of history, being a good global citizen, and doing right by future generations.

Shared value beats bolt-on sustainability. 

The 2026 Sustainability Award winners proved that the best impact work is integrated into the business model, not added on. Bean Voyage trained 1,383 women farmers, and Coffee Circle has invested €5 million back into coffee-growing communities. Measurable outcomes, not vague claims. That’s the bar. I look forward to partnering with Bean Voyage on a women-owned coffee project in Costa Rica for the 2026/2027 season.

Meeting our fellow B Corp Coffee Coalition members. 

The most meaningful part of the week wasn’t a session at all. It was sitting down with members of the B Corp Coffee Coalition — coffee professionals, roasters and importers from around the world using business as a force for good. We weren’t comparing market share. We were trading notes on how to improve the coffee supply chain for the better. Different countries, different scales, same commitment. During our meetup, the question was asked: "If the whole value circle — i.e., the B Corp Coffee Coalition — in this room built one thing together, what would it be?" The responses to a live word cloud survey were great. See Figure 1 below.

Connecting with partners.

A trade show is also a reunion — a rare chance to put faces to the people who make our coffee possible. Huge thanks to the origin partners who anchor everything we do: Carlos Pola and Edwin Norena, whose care at the farm level is the reason our cups taste the way they do. To our importers — Sucafina, Café Imports, and Ally — thank you for the logistics, financing, and trust that move green coffee from origin to our roastery. It was great to spend time with the industry organizations raising the bar for all of us, the SCA and Cup of Excellence; with the technology partners sharpening how we roast and measure, Cropster and ROEST; and with the equipment and wholesale partners who shape the cup on the other end — MiiR, Fetco, Timemore, and Eversys. Different roles, one shared ecosystem — and we're grateful to build alongside every one of them.

 Gathering with everyone this past week reminded me of the African proverb:

 “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

That’s true of the partners we work with — and true of you. Every bag you brew helps us go further — toward a better system for coffee. Thanks for growing, learning, and brewing with us.

Onward, together —

Gabe Damiani
Founder & Head Roaster 
Licensed Q Grader | CVA Certified | SCA Roasting Professional

References

• World of Coffee
• What Is the EU Deforestation Regulation?
• 2026 SCA Sustainability Awards
• Certified B Corporations – official B Lab site
  
• Bean Voyage supports women farmers across the value chain
• Coffee Circle – Sustainable & specialty coffee roaster 
• B Corp Coffee Coalition 

Partnerships

• Ally Coffee — Green coffee importer/exporter
• Cafe Imports — Specialty green coffee importer
• Campo Hermoso Coffee — Colombian producer known for innovative processing, Pink Bourbon, Sidra, and competition coffees
• Pola's Coffee Family Farms — Fifth-generation specialty coffee producer in Juayúa, El Salvador, led by Carlos Pola. Known for regenerative farming, traceability, experimental processing, and award-winning nanolots.
• Cropster — Roasting and production software
• Eversys S.A. — Swiss super-automatic espresso machines
• Fetco — Commercial brewing equipment
• MiiR — Premium drinkware and custom merchandise; Certified B Corp
• ROEST — Sample roasting systems
• Sucafina — Global green coffee merchant
• Timemore — Grinders, scales, and brewing equipment
• Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) — Global coffee standards, education, and events
• Cup of Excellence (COE) — World's premier coffee competition and auction platform