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Jenki opens a matcha bar in Soho and targets 11 London sites by the end of 2026

Jenki, the matcha brand founded in 2020 by Claudia and Otto Boyer, opened a new bar on September 3 at 100 Berwick Street in London’s Soho. The site was designed by KAI Interiors as a nod to Japan’s tea fields: wood flooring with curves mimicking planting rows, natural clay walls, timber, natural fibres and suspended fabric “sails” that echo the shading of tea bushes before harvest.

At the centre of the space is a station where first-harvest matcha, sourced directly from Japan, is whisked in full view. The bar also includes a retail area with matcha powder, preparation tools and a lifestyle collection.

The opening is part of an accelerated expansion plan: from its six existing sites (Selfridges, Spitalfields, Covent Garden, Borough Market, Canary Wharf and Battersea Power Station), Jenki wants to reach 11 in London by year-end, with Liverpool Street, St Paul’s, Fitzrovia and Marylebone on the list, and from 2027 it is looking at other UK cities. The company says this would make it Europe’s largest dedicated matcha bar operator.

Source: The Grocer

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Lavazza brings Tablì, its capsule-free single-serve coffee system, to the UK

Lavazza launched Tablì on the British market in September, a single-serve coffee system that does away with the capsule entirely. Instead, the machine uses a tab of ground, pressed coffee with no coatings or binders, which can go straight into food waste after brewing.

The machine, with a recommended price of £199, features a bean-shaped slider and a servo-assisted piston that inserts and ejects the tab. The “Crema Plus” technology promises a rich crema layer, and the menu covers espresso, lungo and double espresso. Wi-Fi connectivity allows integration with Alexa, Google Home and the brand’s app. The tabs cost £5.49 for 12 single doses or £6.89 for 12 double doses.

In the first phase the system is exclusive to John Lewis, and from November 1 it will also be sold on Lavazza.co.uk and through other online retailers. Emanuele Pellegrino, regional director for Lavazza UK & Nordics, described Tablì as an entirely new product category for the industry.

Until it reaches our region too, the coffee selection at Mister Tabaco remains on hand for those who prefer beans and ground coffee.

Source: Tea & Coffee Trade Journal

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Johnnie Walker releases a limited-edition Black Label bottle designed by Sabrina Carpenter

Whisky Johnnie Walker Black Label 0.7l

Johnnie Walker is extending its multi-year partnership with artist Sabrina Carpenter through a limited-edition Black Label bottle, launched on September 8 in Great Britain. The design draws on her album “Man’s Best Friend”: a light-blue colourway dubbed “Sabrina blue” and dog-paw motifs surrounding the classic label.

The whisky inside remains the same 40% ABV blended Scotch, offered in 70 cl and 75 cl formats, and the price is in line with the regular Black Label bottle. After Great Britain, the edition is set to reach Mexico, India and selected markets in Europe and Asia-Pacific.

The collaboration, announced in August 2026, was timed with the final leg of the “Short n’ Sweet” tour and also introduced a signature serve, the Go Go Highball. For Diageo, which sells over 22 million cases of Johnnie Walker a year, the move targets a younger audience without changing the liquid.

The classic version is available in the shop: Johnnie Walker Black Label 0.7 l at Mister Tabaco.

Source: The Whiskey Wash

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Pappy Van Winkle 2026: the annual collection returns with six whiskeys aged 10 to 23 years

The Van Winkle family announced on September 11 the 2026 edition of its annual collection, produced at the Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery and Buffalo Trace in Frankfort, Kentucky. As usual, the range comprises six expressions: Old Rip Van Winkle 10 Year Old ($169.99), Van Winkle Special Reserve 12 Year Old ($199.99), Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve 15 Year Old ($299.99), 20 Year Old ($399.99) and 23 Year Old ($499.99), plus the Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye 13 Year Old ($299.99).

The barrels are selected by master distiller Harlen Wheatley together with the family, and the bottles reach US shops, bars and restaurants through Sazerac’s distribution network. The prices above are the suggested ones — on the secondary market these whiskeys usually trade at several times that.

Preston Van Winkle, a fourth-generation family member, summed up the house philosophy: there are “no shortcuts” when whiskey has aged this long.

Even though Van Winkle bottles are nearly impossible to find outside the US, the bourbon and whisky selection at Mister Tabaco covers many other classic Kentucky houses.

Source: The Whiskey Wash

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Gellis Family Cigars launches Essentials, a petit corona sold in 50-count cabinets

Gellis Family Cigars, the personal brand of Warped Cigars founder Kyle Gellis, is preparing to ship a new compact format: Essentials, a 4½-inch petit corona with a 32 ring gauge. The cigar reaches retailers in 50-count slide-lid cabinets at around $6.99 per stick, or roughly $349.50 for the full cabinet.

The blend pairs an Ecuadoran-grown Connecticut wrapper with an Ecuadoran binder and Nicaraguan filler tobaccos. Production takes place at Tabacalera La Isla in the Dominican Republic. Although the pale wrapper suggests a mild smoke, the maker cautions that the cigar was designed to deliver more strength than its size implies.

For those who want to carry their cigars around, Gellis separately offers a green leather travel case for six sticks at about $100. The first cabinets are expected to reach US shops in the coming weeks.

Fans of small formats can browse the cigar selection available at Mister Tabaco.

Source: Cigar Aficionado

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Birchall Invests £1 Million to Premiumise Britain’s Tea Habit

British family company Birchall, now in its fifth generation, is launching a £1 million marketing campaign in September for its flagship product, Great Rift Breakfast Tea, a blend recognised at the Great Taste Awards for 16 consecutive years. The campaign includes a 30-second TV advert on ITV1, digital and social media content, plus retail activity in Waitrose stores and on Ocado.

The centrepiece is a six-part documentary series of roughly two minutes per episode, filmed in Rwanda and Kenya, in which founder Dan Graham introduces the estates and the people behind the tea, alongside representatives of the conservation charity Tusk. A share of Great Rift sales supports Tusk’s African wildlife protection projects.

The stated aim is to persuade Britons to choose tea with the same care they apply to specialty coffee, with a focus on origin and production method. Graham said that for years tea has largely been bought “out of habit”. Since 2011, Birchall has collected 101 Great Taste awards across its entire range.

Follow the latest news from the world of tea and coffee on the Mister Tabaco blog.

Source: Tea & Coffee Trade Journal

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Mubadala Takes a Stake in Luckin Coffee in a $1 Billion Deal

Abu Dhabi’s sovereign fund Mubadala announced on September 10 that it is acquiring a minority stake in Luckin Coffee, China’s largest coffee chain, in a transaction valued at roughly $1 billion. Centurium Capital, the shareholder that has controlled Luckin since 2022, is co-investing alongside Mubadala. The exact percentage and the amount invested by each party were not disclosed, and completion is subject to customary closing conditions.

The numbers explain the investors’ interest: Luckin ended 2025 with 31,048 stores after opening more than 8,700 in a single year, and had reached 36,310 units by June 30, 2026. Second-quarter revenue rose 28.5% to RMB 15.9 billion ($2.34 billion), with 112.7 million average monthly transacting customers.

The company, founded in 2017, went through an accounting scandal in 2020 and was delisted from Nasdaq, but recovered and expanded into Singapore, Malaysia and, since 2025, New York. Mubadala’s representative described Luckin as a “differentiated, technology-enabled” business.

Discover the coffee selection available at Mister Tabaco.

Source: Daily Coffee News

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SMWS Launches Whisky Equinox: Two 35cl Single Malts to Open the Whisky Season

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society (SMWS) released two 35cl bottles on September 10 to mark Whisky Equinox, an initiative through which the Edinburgh-based society wants to turn the autumn equinox — September 23 at 01:06 — into the official start of the “whisky season”.

The two expressions carry the playful names typical of SMWS: “Riesling Spritz in the Sun”, a 12-year-old Speyside, and “Spice It Up After Dark”, an 11-year-old Highland. Each half-bottle costs £39 (around $52), and the pair £75. The novelty is that both can also be bought by people who are not members of the society, something rarely seen at SMWS, which usually reserves its bottlings for members.

The launch will be celebrated on September 23 at the Members’ Room on Queen Street, Edinburgh, with a guided tasting, and a second session takes place on October 15. By the end of the year, SMWS promises around 100 limited editions, with an emphasis on peated and sherry-cask whiskies.

Discover the single malt whisky selection available at Mister Tabaco in the Alcohol category.

Source: The Whiskey Wash

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Germany Suspends Distribution of Cuban Cigars After EU Sanctions Against a Habanos Shareholder

Behike bhk 52

5th Avenue Products Trading, the official Habanos distributor for Germany, Austria and Poland, announced on September 8 that it is halting shipments of Cuban cigars to retailers in the region. The decision follows the European Union’s July 2026 sanctions against Chen Zhi, founder of Prince Holding Group, for serious human rights violations. The same businessman had been indicted in the United States in October 2025 on charges of wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy.

The link to the cigar world: since 2020, Prince Group has held, through intermediary companies, half of Habanos S.A., the firm that markets brands such as Cohiba, Montecristo and Partagás worldwide. Germany is Habanos’ fifth-largest market, and the distribution pause comes at a time when Cuban cigars are already hard to find and more expensive than ever. The topic is certain to dominate conversations at InterTabac, the trade fair opening this week in Dortmund.

For enthusiasts in Moldova, Mister Tabaco continues to offer a selection of Cuban and other cigars in the Cigars category.

Source: Cigar Aficionado

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Aganorsa Leaf Readies Two New Cigars for International Markets: JFR Clara and Supreme Leaf Worldwide

Aganorsa Leaf Supreme Leaf

Nicaraguan producer Aganorsa Leaf will present two cigars at the InterTabac fair in Dortmund that are designed first and foremost for markets outside the United States. Both are rolled at the company’s own factory in Estelí, Nicaragua, and will reach international distributors in November 2026.

JFR Clara is a milder take on the JFR line: an Ecuadorian-grown Connecticut wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and filler. It launches in three sizes — Corona (5½ x 44), Robusto (5 x 50) and Toro (6 x 50) — packed in boxes of 21.

Supreme Leaf Worldwide uses an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper over all-Nicaraguan tobaccos and comes in two vitolas, Cañonazo (5⅞ x 52) and Robusto Clásico (4⅞ x 50), in boxes of 10. In the US, where it will only arrive in March 2027, the expected price is around $15 per cigar; vice president Terence Reilly noted that pricing will differ from country to country.

The current Supreme Leaf line is already part of the Mister Tabaco selection: Aganorsa Leaf Supreme Leaf. Browse the rest of the range in our Cigars category.

Source: Cigar Aficionado