Category: News

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Keurig launches Alta, a single-serve coffee system with compostable pods free of plastic and aluminum

Keurig, part of Keurig Dr Pepper, launched the Keurig Alta system on October 29, a single-serve coffee machine that drops plastic and aluminum entirely. The pods, called AltaRounds, are discs of pressed ground coffee wrapped in a plant-based coating made with seaweed-derived alginate, certified compostable in both home and industrial composting.

The machine reads a recipe code on each pod and automatically adjusts pressure (up to 10 bar for espresso), temperature and the water-to-coffee ratio. It has a built-in milk frother for lattes, cappuccinos and cortados, makes hot or iced drinks and remains compatible with K-Cup pods.

The system costs $499.99, and eight-packs of AltaRounds cost $9.99 to $10.99. The launch range has six varieties, with Peet’s Coffee set to follow. For now, Alta is sold only in the US, online; an initial pre-order run sold out in under 24 hours.

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Source: Tea & Coffee Trade Journal

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Bodum recalls 5.9 million French presses in the US after burn reports

Bodum USA, together with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), has announced a recall of about 5.9 million French presses sold in the US from 1974 through October 2026. The recall covers 8- and 12-cup models with a replaceable glass carafe: Bistro, Brazil, Caffettiera, Chambord, Crema, Java, Jesper and Kenya.

The company has received 70 reports of glass carafes breaking during use, 48 of which involved burns. The cause cited is stirring coffee with metal spoons or utensils, which can damage the glass so that it later fails.

The recall does not include refunds or new units: Bodum is offering a free plastic stirring spoon and a warning label. Owners are advised to stop using metal utensils in the carafe and to discard cracked or damaged carafes. The presses, made in Portugal and Thailand, sold for roughly $15 to $65.

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Source: Daily Coffee News

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Jim Beam launches its limited-edition Cadillac F1 bottle in the US

Jim Beam 4 Y.O. Kentucky Bourbon

Jim Beam has launched the limited-edition Jim Beam x Cadillac F1 Team bottle on the American market, unveiling it at the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas. The global launch took place earlier, at the British Grand Prix in July.

The 750ml bottle holds the classic Jim Beam bourbon, so the novelty lies entirely in the packaging: the design starts from the team’s helmet concept, with checkered-flag details and the two brand names placed side by side. The suggested US price is $21.99.

Jim Beam is Cadillac F1’s Official Spirits Partner under a multi-year global agreement announced in September 2025. Cadillac joined Formula 1 in 2026 as the 11th team on the grid, with drivers Sergio Pérez and Valtteri Bottas. Master distiller Freddie Noe described the collaboration as two “American icons” coming together.

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Source: The Whiskey Wash

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La Gran Cata: Honduras will hold its first cigar festival in many years this January

Honduras will host La Gran Cata, a new cigar festival, from January 23 to 27. The event is organized by the country’s cigar makers’ association (CATAH) in partnership with the Premium Cigar Association of America (PCA), and its driving forces include Christian Eiroa, owner of C.L.E. Cigars. The only precedent is Humo Jaguar, held just once, in 2011.

The program starts in the capital, Tegucigalpa, with a city tour and a trip to Picacho national park, then moves to Danlí, the heart of Honduran cigar production. There, participants will visit factories and tobacco farms, sample cigars and attend a gala dinner every evening. Producers taking part include Oliva, Plasencia, Rocky Patel, My Father, JRE Tobacco, Gran Habano and Scandinavian Tobacco Group.

The VIP package costs $2,500 per person and includes meals, lodging and transportation. In its first year, attendance is capped at 100 guests because of the limited hotel capacity in Danlí.

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Source: Cigar Aficionado

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Marvin R. Shanken, founder of Cigar Aficionado magazine, has died at 83

Marvin R. Shanken, founder, editor and publisher of Cigar Aficionado, died on October 29, 2026, at the age of 83. Born in 1943 in New Haven, Connecticut, Shanken built one of the most influential publishing houses in the worlds of wine, spirits and cigars.

His career began in 1972, when he bought a trade newsletter for the drinks industry. In 1979 he took over Wine Spectator, then a small free tabloid, and turned it into a leading magazine. In the fall of 1992 he launched Cigar Aficionado, which presented the cigar as a luxury product and coincided with a boom in US premium cigar imports, which roughly quadrupled in less than five years. His company, M. Shanken Communications, also created The Big Smoke event (since 1993), and in 2011 it relaunched Malt Advocate as Whisky Advocate.

Shanken is survived by his wife, Hazel, three daughters and four grandchildren.

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Source: Cigar Aficionado

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British roaster Rounton Coffee moves to a headquarters three times larger

Rounton Coffee, an independent roaster in northern England, is moving from its former home, The Granary near Northallerton, to a 6,000 sq ft (about 560 m²) unit on the Teesside Industrial Estate in Thornaby. The new space is roughly three times larger, and the investment is close to £100,000.

The brand was launched in 2013 by Dave Beattie, a former chemical engineer, at local farmers’ markets. Today it roasts up to one tonne of coffee a day and ships as far as the Outer Hebrides and Ireland. Last month its range received seven Great Taste Awards.

At the new site, where green coffee silos are already installed, production, warehousing and training will be brought under one roof. The company expects three new jobs at first and is considering barista training, cupping sessions and equipment demonstrations. Beattie stresses that the coffee itself is not changing.

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Source: Tea & Coffee Trade Journal

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World of Coffee Panama 2026, the first in Latin America, drew 20,000 visitors

World of Coffee Panama 2026, the first World of Coffee event held in Latin America, has closed after three days at the Panama Convention Center. Organized by the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) and the Panamanian association SCAP, together with Panama’s Chamber of Commerce, the show drew around 20,000 visitors.

According to preliminary data, almost half of registered participants (48.6%) came from abroad, mainly from Colombia, Costa Rica, the United States and Nicaragua. Exhibitors and competitors represented countries on five continents, from Kenya and Saudi Arabia to Japan and Norway.

The World Barista Championship ran alongside the show and was won by Pan Wei, representing China. Panama’s Benjamín Roque reached the semifinals, finishing in the top 16. Organizers also announced a $25,000 donation to the Panamanian Red Cross to support families affected by the October 9 earthquake.

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Source: Tea & Coffee Trade Journal

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Heaven Hill Phoenix: an anniversary bourbon 30 years after the fire that destroyed the distillery

Heaven Hill has launched Phoenix, a one-time Kentucky Straight Bourbon release marking 30 years since the fire that destroyed its original Bardstown distillery. On November 7, 1996, lightning sparked a blaze that consumed the 1935 distillery and seven rickhouses holding nearly 100,000 barrels of bourbon, a loss valued at $30 million. No lives were lost, no employees lost their jobs, and the company’s proprietary yeast strain survived.

Phoenix combines an 18-year-old bourbon, distilled in March 2008 and matured in heavy-char barrels, with 30-year-old whiskey made at the old distillery itself. It is bottled at 107 proof (53.5% ABV), and the official notes mention caramel, cinnamon and baked apples. The suggested price is $325, with shipments to select markets starting in October.

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Source: The Whiskey Wash

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Bunnahabhain 12 Year Old Cask Strength 2026: a sweeter, creamier edition

Bunnahabhain distillery on Islay has released the 2026 edition of its 12-year-old single malt bottled at cask strength. The whisky is 55.8% ABV, non-chill-filtered and has no added colouring.

Unlike the sherry-led 2025 edition, the new version is described as sweeter and creamier. The spirit was matured in equal parts first-fill Oloroso casks and bourbon casks. The official notes mention raisins, figs, dates, honeyed vanilla and spice, followed by stewed fruit and toasted coconut, with a long finish of dried fruit and oak.

Master blender Julieann Fernandez says the annual cask-strength release shows Bunnahabhain “in its purest form.” The 70cl bottle costs £90 and is available on the distillery’s website and from specialist retailers.

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Source: The Whiskey Wash

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SPINK Hong Kong auctions the “Havana Hidden Gems” collection of rare Cuban cigars

Behike bhk 52

Auction house SPINK in Hong Kong will hold the “Havana Hidden Gems” sale on November 5, 2026, with 287 lots of Cuban cigars. Its centerpiece is the “A” Collection (lots 1-234), assembled over two decades by a European collector and kept in a walk-in humidor with round-the-clock climate control.

The catalog includes 48 lots of Limited Editions and 58 of Regional Editions. Highlights include the Cohiba Pirámides Edición Limitada 2001 (the brand’s first limited edition), Cohiba Siglo VI Gran Reserva Cosecha 2003, more than 30 Bolívar lots (among them regional editions for Greece, Germany and Benelux, each made in fewer than 3,000 boxes) and a vertical run of Montecristo Edición Limitada releases from 2000 to 2008. The sale also features a Cubatabaco Grand Corona 1492 humidor, launched in 1992 in just 501 numbered pieces.

Bids can be placed in the room, in writing, by phone or online. Price estimates have not been published.

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Source: Cigar Journal