The unity of Ukraine’s coffee community and support from international associations like SCA help local businesses survive during challenging times. Photo credit: Anna Sokolova
For over three years, Ukraine has been at war with Russia. However, despite constant shelling and the immense challenges of running a business during conflict, the local coffee community has made inspiring achievements.
Bombs and Blackouts: Still Serving Great Coffee
The war has damaged or destroyed many industry processes and entire businesses. And this isn’t just happening in frontline cities like Kharkiv, Kherson, or Odesa. There are dozens of examples of coffee shops reduced to rubble by Russian missiles in Kyiv or even Lviv, nearly 65 km from the Polish border. Yet, the unity of Ukraine’s coffee community and support from the world community helped businesses survive the war’s most challenging months—and continues to do so.
Through joint efforts, Ukrainians have relocated some coffee companies to safer areas and created the world's largest Roasting Coworking space to support the national roasters who lost their facilities. Later, local enthusiasts launched Roasted in Ukraine–a one-of-a-kind project uniting dozens of coffee roasters from across the country under a single brand. Its goal was to support export, logistics, and international marketing. The project is currently on hold, but Ukrainians keep pushing forward.
As of 2024, coffee shops are one of only two segments in Ukraine’s restaurant industry that have shown growth (+35%) during the full-scale war—the other being fast food. To anyone familiar with the daily struggles industry professionals face, this sounds nothing short of a miracle. According to research by the national restaurant management software Poster POS, the most common challenges cafes faced in 2024 were:
- Hiring and retaining a team – 68%
- Blackouts – 56%
- Employee mobilization (to the armed forces) – 35%
- Lack of personal motivation – 26%
Boost in Community Activities
The Ukrainian coffee community adapted to the realities of war and started an era of activities that aimed not only to provide professional development or coffee fun but also to contribute to Ukraine’s victory. For example, charitable brew battles like Dotyk Battle, which promotes Dotyk, the first-ever Ukrainian-made coffee dripper, created during the war, are frequently held. These events energize the community, reveal new names, and raise funds to support the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
In 2023, the Ukrainian coffee community resumed its National Championships with strong support from the SCA. It was no easy task–numerous adjustments and new procedures had to be implemented to ensure the competitions were both eligible and safe. Ukraine’s success at the 2023 WOC in Athens made history when Ukraine won the bronze in the WCTC and reached the WBC semifinals for the first time ever. The following year in Copenhagen, Ivan Bilousov took third place in the World Cezve/Ibrik Championship.
Thinking Big
Another challenge Ukrainians face due to the war is a sense of isolation from the global coffee community, events, and trends caused by limited travel opportunities. To improve professional education, SCA Ukraine launched a series of themed ‘Villages’–educational events featuring lectures and workshops in different spheres such as latte art, coffee roasting, sensory skills, etc. Additionally, they have established specialized hubs in different Ukrainian cities to hold AST and other professional programs.
Ukrainians are successfully dealing with even more profound things in the industry. Until now, the local coffee roasting business has been regulated by decades-old standards implemented during the Soviet era. However, thanks to the initiative of coffee technologist, former National Roasting Champion, and National Coordinator Kristina Havrysh, the community continues to work on new documentation. The New National Standard for Roasted Coffee project was financially supported by Emma Haines, who generously donated all the funds from her Global Coffee Calibration to the Ukrainian coffee community.
Kristina and her team also launched a Master's Program in the "Technology of Subtropical Products" field at the National University of Chernivtsi with a professional laboratory, allowing them to conduct coffee research. The first cohort begins in September. The Ukrainians call it a small victory and believe many more are ahead!