By Meredith Taylor Water management is a difficult issue to address in coffee-growing regions because many of the impacts tied to water pollution and shortages are often downstream from their causes—both literally and temporally. While the issues around water as it relates to coffee are complex, they fall into two basic, overlapping categories: having enough …
By Miguel Zamora The issue of farmworkers was very present at this year’s SCAA Expo. The Sustainability Council of the SCAA organized a panel to discuss some of the challenges we face as an industry in this regard. This is the third year in a row that Sustainability Council members have moderated panels to discuss farmworkers and that …
SCAA’s Specialty Coffee Retail Sentiment Index (RSI) is a semiannual indicator that measures coffee retailers’ degree of optimism on their own situation and the industry. The purpose is to provide data that reflects the overall sentiment and, over time, it will be used to identify trends and offer insight on the segment’s movement. The RSI …
By Ashley Prentice During SCAA Expo, two excellent sessions on the cost of sustainable coffee production were presented, but why is this topic important and relevant to our industry today? As Chad Trewick best explained it in his article, Why Learn About the Cost of Production (Read Here), “The coffee industry—and not only the specialty sector, …
By Vera Espindola “Exploring the Cost of Sustainable Production,” the second in a series of Sustainability sessions during the 2016 SCAA Expo, was an opportunity to share updates and information about ongoing research on the economics of coffee production. A panel representing research partnerships presented their indicators, methodologies and early findings. Presenter 1: Pascale Schuit | …
By Tracy Ging, 2nd Vice President, SCAA Board of Directors The Specialty Coffee Association of America exists today for the fundamental purpose of recognizing, developing and promoting specialty coffee. Our current reality is that we strive to laud the art and craft of coffee to ensure its future for our stakeholders across the value chain. …
By Dave Merkin What happens that moment after you realize your coffee brewer is pouring cold water? How about the feeling of turning a steam knob and having nothing come out? Have you ever considered what to do when your grinder stops grinding? If you are lucky, you have a Coffee Technician that you trust. …
Every coffee roaster brings a unique and personal approach to their machine. Coffee people don’t always agree on extraction techniques or brew ratios. We can debate for hours on the most efficient or ethical way to trade coffee, or how the farming and processing method has impacted the quality of a coffee positively or negatively. …
By Bronwen Serna, The New Black I wake up every day in my new neighborhood and see myriad people begin their day. Like every morning all over the world, their day often begins in the common gathering place–the local cafe. What’s different for me now is that my days are currently spent in Southeast Asia, …
By Ric Rhinehart As I sit here in the capital city of the birthplace of coffee (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia), after attending the International Coffee Organization’s 4th World Coffee Conference, I am driven to reflect on the conversations at the conference, in the hallways, and over dinner. The state of the global coffee market and the …