Trade Coffee’s Post

𝐃𝐢𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐧 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐤!? Our team just wrapped a whirlwind weekend in San Diego at World of Coffee 2026, with back-to-back roaster meetings, a lot of coffee tastings, and our Roaster Happy Hour for the third year running. On the coffee side: co-fermented lots were the talk of the floor, opinions split pretty evenly between the excited and the deeply skeptical. And the hot new alternative milk making the rounds? Corn 🌽 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐠 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞: roasters are geared up for growth. 2025 was a grind navigating tariffs and rising coffee prices, but the mood at WoC this year was noticeably different - more optimistic and more forward-looking. Several partners are opening new roasteries or expanding capacity. The industry is cautiously back in growth mode, and roasters see Trade Coffee as a key partner to help them get there. Some themes that arose from our roaster conversations: ☕ Premium coffee came up in almost every meeting — roasters have incredible inventory and want more ways to showcase it 🫙 Espresso is a major assortment expansion opportunity — several roasters are actively looking to expand into it, and for those already there, it's performing well 📣 Marketing collaboration is finally a real opportunity — roasters aren't just interested anymore, they're ready to act 🌱 Newer roasters are thriving and eager to grow From our Director of Coffee, Maciej Kasperowicz: "My favorite coffee was an Edwin Noreña Sidra from Little Waves — it transported me back to eating a wild strawberry in my grandpa's garden. We tasted around 50 coffees, many of which were wildly delicious." Lots of work to do, and excited to do it alongside our roaster partners 🚀