As we move closer to the end of another busy year, we're reminded that great coffee is about much more than what's in the cup. It's about the conversations, connections and shared learning that bring our community together. In this month's newsletter, we're sharing the latest market insights, reflecting on our recent Beans & Banter exploration of Brazil, and looking ahead to a special series of events welcoming Café Granja La Esperanza's Alejandra Giron to Australia. We hope you'll enjoy catching up on the latest from around the coffee world and joining us for the exciting opportunities ahead.

MARKET REPORT

If any of these terms in the market report are confusing, we urge you to use Investopedia to make sense of them. We have found it to be a brilliant tool when learning about all things trading, futures and currency.

A key theme throughout the October coffee market was the disconnect between bearish long-term fundamentals and the short-term bullish structure. With Brazil harvesting one of its largest crops in recent years and favourable early weather conditions pointing to a good 2027-28 season, the reasonable expectation was that the market would respond to these fundamentals and ease off. The reality, however, was a highly volatile month for coffee trade, with the December Arabica terminal (KCZ26) trading between 284 and 318 usc/lb before finishing the month near 287 usc/lb.

Arabica NY C Graph

This volatility was largely driven by a combination of concerns over historically low certified Arabica stocks, a persistently strong Dec/March inversion, an ongoing slowdown of producers commercialising their crop (despite elevated price levels) and, more recently, uncertainty surrounding the Brazilian presidential election. Rather than responding to fundamental factors, which remain broadly bearish in anticipation of Brazil’s record crop, we saw the market continue to rally sharply whenever physical or certified stock levels were low. Without producers actively selling physical stock, the market is extremely sensitive to speculative flows, resulting in exaggerated price swings throughout the month.

The upcoming Central American harvest remains under scrutiny, with increasing worries around the El Niño weather cycle, which will bring hot and dry conditions to the region. Honduras is facing the impact of prolonged dry weather, leading to downward revision in crop expectations that have supported firm differentials. Meanwhile, Guatemala has experienced heavy rainfall in the Central Highlands, sparking concerns around quality and yields, which may affect exportable volumes. As a result, the region’s overall washed Arabica supply is expected to be lower than average, which has reinforced uncertainty about the availability of washed Arabica and led to elevated premiums across the board. As we head into harvest activity, the focus will be on monitoring actual yields and quality as deliveries begin and the season processes.

Robusta London Graph

In comparison to Arabica, the Robusta market experienced more bearish conditions, informed by expectations of a large upcoming Vietnamese crop, improving certified inventories and strong performance of Brazilian Conilon exports, which led to a widening Arabica-Robusta arbitrage in October. 

OCTOBER BEANS & BANTER – EXPLORING BRAZIL

Our latest Beans & Banter took us to Brazil, combining a little learning, plenty of cupping, and a friendly competition through quizzes and blind tasting.

Diego kicked things off with a presentation on Brazil’s history and coffee growing landscape, giving everyone more context about one of the world’s most important coffee origins. Following this, Tom shared fresh insights from his recent trip to origin, including harvest updates, producer market influence, and potential political landscape for the coffee sector. From there, we moved to the cupping table, where we selected 8 different coffees showcasing a diverse range of Brazilian regions and coffee types, from 600 defects coffee to Brazil Gesha! It was a great opportunity to taste the differences side by side and put some of what we had just learned into the cup. 

Cupping a diverse range of Brazillian coffee grades with Diego.

Of course, we couldn’t make it too easy. We put everyone’s memory and palate to the test with a quiz based on Diego’s presentation, with a few blind-tasting questions thrown into the mix. Three mystery coffees were put onto the table for everyone to identify and submit their best guesses. Thank you everyone for joining Bennetts in a fun and insightful afternoon. We hope you enjoyed exploring Brazil through the cup and through the delicious homemade Pão de queijo kindly prepared by Diego's wife as much as we did.

Till next time!

CELEBRATING CAFÉ GRANJA LA ESPERANZA!

We’re delighted to share that we’ll be hosting (CGLE) Café Granja La Esperanza’s Sales Manager, Alejandra Giron during her first visit to Australia later in November.

Throughout the month, we’ll be lining up a roadshow on the east coast with three events planned where you’ll hear directly from Alejandra about what goes into producing CGLE’s award winning microlots. You’ll also learn more about the history of CGLE and their long-standing relationship with Bennetts and the Australian roasting community.

We’ll be putting on cupping of CGLE’s outstanding selection of this season’s offers, that showcases the very best from this pioneering producer. Attending roasters will have the opportunity to purchase their favourites from the table, which will be added to Bennett’s next shipment to sail.

More information about the events will be published soon, so stay tuned via our socials!

MELBOURNE CUP PUBLIC HOLIDAY CLOSURE

As the Melbourne Cup public holiday in Victoria is scheduled for Tuesday the 3^rd of November 2026, our office will be closed tomorrow.

If you have any queries regarding your order, please contact your Bennetts Account Manager, or our office on (03) 9853 0328.

Happy Roasting,
The Bennetts Team