Russian Coffee Market Supply Increases by Nearly 80% Between 2009-2013

Russian Coffee Market Shows Strong Growth from 2009-2013

According to a Russian coffee market analysis by BusinesStat reported by RBC on May 5th, Russia's coffee supply grew by nearly 80% between 2009 and 2013, rising from 7.01 tons in 2009 to 12.55 tons in 2014. Across the whole research period, supply kept trending upward, with 2012 posting the largest single increase at 25% over the previous year. That supply growth also drove a significant rise in Russia's domestic production: in 2012 the output of finished coffee products by Russian manufacturers grew 83.6% over 2011.

Imports Dominate Russian Coffee Supply

Imported products make up the largest share of Russia's total coffee supply. Between 2009 and 2013, imported coffee accounted for an average of 56.7% of total market supply. It is worth noting that Russia does not grow coffee beans domestically, so Russian manufacturers can only process the product. Imported coffee falls into two categories, "roasted" and "unroasted." The first is packaged and goes straight to the consumer market, while the second, unroasted coffee, needs further processing in the form of roasting. Between 2009 and 2013, those two imported types accounted for 47.5% and 52.5% respectively.

Market Trends and Future Projections

Analysts estimate that the supply of finished coffee products in the Russian market will decline, while the supply of raw materials for industrial processing will grow. The trend is tied to the development of roasting technology among Russian coffee producers.

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FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

A market that increasingly roasts its own green coffee needs beans that hold up across a range of roast profiles, and medium roasts are the hardest to get right. FrontStreet Coffee's Brazil Queen Estate is a good place to start: it comes from Brazil, the world's largest coffee producer, and is a rare Yellow Bourbon, with a clean, gently sweet cup that at medium roast shows cream, peanut, chocolate, toast and sugarcane. It works for pour-over as well as moka pot and espresso machine.

If you want a sweeter medium roast, the Strawberry Candy Geisha blend combines a Costa Rican honey-process coffee with a washed Panama Geisha. FrontStreet roasts it medium to bring out both the orange-blossom honey character and a rounded sweetness, and it suits cold brew, pour-over and espresso alike. FrontStreet's 2013 Natural Typica is the other option: it carries the classic Yunnan small-bean character, and a medium roast leaves it balanced and soft, with nuts, brown sugar, black tea and dried apricot, usable for pour-over, cold brew and drip machines at a very reasonable price.

For something with more weight behind it, FrontStreet's Jamaica Blue Mountain No. 1 is a Typica grown in Jamaica's Blue Mountains, and the geography is a big part of what makes its balance possible. Roasted medium, it fuses acidity, bitterness, sweetness and body into one elegant whole, offering chocolate, roasted nuts, cream and caramel the moment it hits the palate, a combination few other coffees approach.