feels like a world in flux, a world that's very very difficult to make any real

predictions for but I kind of enjoy these they're kind of fun so let's have

a go anyway. So here's five predictions to do with coffee that I think could be

a thing in 2019

Let's start at the beginning, let's start with coffee equipment, let's start with espresso

machines. Now, 2019 is a year where HOST is on. HOST is every two years, it's a

massive trade show in Italy in Milan where espresso machine manufacturers

come and show off their latest and greatest. it's a kind of major moment in

the calendar for every single espresso machine manufacturer. What I think we'll

see this year is a big swing towards automation and I'll tell you why:

Eversys. Eversys have had an incredible couple of years, they've taken on a bunch

of money. They've got themselves sorted out, their products are really

well received and they really seem relatively uncontested in the specialty

super-automatic world. It's kind of Eversys and then a big gap and then

everyone else, certainly in specialty coffees perceptions I don't think the

the other manufacturers are gonna let Eversys continue without some serious

challenge. So I suspect we'll see a ton of innovation in that particular area.

Every year I like to throw in a kind of business here prediction and for the UK,

well, if Brexit happens - which still feels like a weird if - it will be brutal. Brutal

to coffee and I'll tell you why: One, we already have what we call pretty low

consumer confidence; people are eating and drinking out less already. If a hard

Brexit happens it's only gonna get worse.

Couple that with, I suspect, an even greater fall in the value of our

currency... Well, prices are going to be going up

for cafes, consumers may be hesitant to spend more someone's gonna get caught in

the middle. So, however you feel about this political nonsense

if Brexit happens it is it is just bad for the coffee industry full stop.

For my third prediction I want to talk about alternative milk. Now 2018 could

comfortably be called the year of Oatley Oatley spent staggering amounts of money

on advertising, growing their brand and weirdly not nearly enough money actually

making product to meet said demand but nonetheless there's been a real growth

in in non-dairy milks alternative milks and I think the one for this year that

people will try and make happen is going to be hemp milk. Now that could be in

parallel with the rise of just general interest in CBD oil all of that kind of

stuff happening and happening just on the fringes of coffee too but I think

Oatley's gonna have some more competition but people are going to be

pushing non-oat products for example I think hemp's gonna be a thing.

Sso we'll see it's a little bit of an odd prediction but but you know I think it's

going to be a thing this year.

Fourth prediction I think this is going to be a year of a kind of a sea change

around packaging and coffee and I'll tell you why:

Vegan food. Now vegan food has exploded certainly in the UK recently now a lot

of that interest isn't just coming from people concerned about animal cruelty

it's also from people concerned about their environmental impact and the

impact of their diets and it's really starting to have a big impact on how

people choose to eat and coffee in the last year or two has picked up a

reputation of being a wasteful thing lose the whole discussion about take

away cups that was absolutely a big thing and I think this year packaging

around coffee generally is going to be a big topic whether we see new materials

in use whether we see a bigger shift away from traditional materials whether

we see people using alternatives to cardboard or other kinds of things like

that I don't really know but I'm pretty sure packaging is going to be a big deal

for coffee in 2019 and that leaves us with prediction

number five and that is going to be the return of specialty dark roasted coffee

now I should clarify what I mean by this this isn't just people who happen to

roast a bit dark buying specialty no no I mean specialty will begin to embrace

offering an additional darker roast of some coffees alongside what they're

currently doing now this is already happening you see go get em tiger

in LA starting to offer kind of a lighter and medium a darker roast of

their coffees and in some ways I think a lot of people will see that as being

given permission to follow suit again there's tons of competition right now in

coffee people want to find new consumers and there are some people to just like

darker roasts and there are people like Kevin Knox who've been around the

industry for a very long time who sang the praises of darker roasted well

sourced great raw green coffee and we've pushed back pretty hard against that as

an industry we've said dark resting is morally wrong it destroys the hard work

of great producers and and I understand that I see that argument I think we're

gonna start to see people say what what if people like dark roasts why can't

they have good green coffee why do they have to have lower quality greetin

coffees in that darker roast and done well I don't particularly enjoy them but

I do absolutely concede that you can taste the difference between great green

coffee and a dark roast and terrible green coffee in a dark roast like I said

I don't want to drink either that's just not what I enjoy but lots of people do

and I think this is going to be a year where the pendulum swings back towards

embracing more developed roasts selling them that way and being okay with it

we shall see so those are my five predictions for

coffee in 2019 I'll give one more little prediction which is for this channel

last year I did about 40 videos on this channel in 2018 this year I really want

to double that but I'm gonna aim for like 60 that's the goal at least 60

videos out in 2019 there's going to be a whole host of different stuff coming out

on this channel all pretty much connected to coffee from brewing guides

product reviews gonna step up a little bit just general vlog II kind of stuff

occasionally when I'm traveling and your input is also welcome what do you want

to see more of on this channel in 2019 feel free to leave me a comment down

below as always thank you so much for watching have a great day