By Danny Pinnell, SCAA “This is a story of redemption,” Peter Giuliano said as he began his most recent coffee talk. Beginning with a brief background on cultivars–plant varieties that have been produced in cultivation by selective breeding–Peter told the story of the Castillo cultivar, a story that has proven controversial in the past. In …
The African Fine Coffee Association’s (AFCA) annual conference was recently held in Kenya and SCAA’s Executive Director, Ric Rhinehart, was in attendance. The AFCA is a descendant of the East African Coffee Association (EAFCA), and was born out of a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) project to help develop specialty coffee as a …
Milk is quickly becoming a hot topic in the specialty coffee community. At SCAA’s last Symposium, milk was in the spotlight as part of a general focus on consumer experience. Between lattes, cappuccinos, and cortados, what barista doesn’t spend a big part of his or her day using milk to craft quality beverages for their …
On January 11th, Garth Smith, founder of the Organic Products Trading Company and major figure in the specialty coffee trade, passed away. The news deeply affected his many admirers and friends in the coffee trade: those who worked with him considered him a mentor, a pioneer, and a visionary. Garth began his coffee career with …
Honoring those who contribute their expertise to the coffee industry, the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) has announced the recipients of its 2015 Recognition Awards and Sustainability Award. Each year, SCAA honors outstanding achievements in the specialty coffee industry and unique contributions to the association. These leaders have made contributions to the industry, resulting …
Candidate profiles for the 2015 Board of Directors election are now available! Electronic ballots will be sent on Monday, February 16, 2015 to eligible voting members. To learn more about the nomination and election process, you are encouraged to review the SCAA bylaws here. Candidate Profiles Heather Perry, Klatch Coffee Heather is the Director of Training and Consulting …
By Danny Pinnell, SCAA This week, our coffee talk focused on the space where coffee is consumed, the context in which we enjoy this beverage. Peter Giuliano led the talk, setting the scene in Ethiopia, the birthplace of the coffee industry. According to him, “All coffee conversations should start in Ethiopia because that’s where coffee started.” Coffee is native …
By Danny Pinnell, SCAA Nicholas Cho, a former member of the Barista Guild of America Executive Council and SCAA Board of Directors, stopped by the office for our most recent staff meeting to lead our weekly coffee talk. Among Nick’s many contributions to SCAA, he led the development of the U.S. Brewers Cup, a competition that is now …
By Danny Pinnell, SCAA We had the honor of hosting Portola Coffee Lab’s Jon Paul Doerr (pictured) at our last staff meeting, who graciously volunteered to come down to SCAA headquarters and make coffee for everyone in the office, bringing the coffee he plans to use in the U.S Barista Championship next month. He screen-sorted this …
By Kim Elena Ionescu, Counter Culture Coffee Symposium is our community’s annual opportunity to come together and address, collaboratively, the big issues we are all grappling with and trying to understand. Sometimes these issues emerge as threats, as coffee leaf rust did in 2013, and other times, they present us with the chance to learn …