The SCAA staff was excited to watch a demonstration today in our Lab, presented by Eton Tsuno and Tommy Kim, on Japanese brewing techniques and products.Tommy Kim, trained at the Kono Coffee School in Japan, expertly demonstrated how different technique and brewing mechanism can greatly impact taste using the Kono, Killita and Hario V60 brewers. …

To quote the co-anchor a little past mid-way through…”perhaps your palate isn’t sophisticated enough to appreciate it?”This story about the Eithopian Nekisse currently being served at SCAA member coffee house Cafe Grumpy has been picked up by numerous media outlets both big and small as noted on Sprudge recently. The media interest is understandable given …

By: Ellie Hudson-MatuszakFor the very first time, SCAA in conjunction with our host, Coffee Express, delivered a two-day Regional Skill Building Workshop (RSBW) in Ann Arbor, MI. Three very generous sponsors underwrote the event registration fees to encourage as many people as possible to attend- and it was one of our largest RSBWs ever as …

Thanks to all the coffee people who participated in, hosted, volunteered, blogged or tweeted about the recent SCAA Skill Building Workshop this past weekend! I’ve added a few tweets below with links to photos and blog posts from the event. Make sure to follow these folks-and @SpecialtyCoffee too! .bbpBox14134540357 {background:url(http://a1.twimg.com/profile_background_images/82646572/Kohana-Twitter-Bird.GIF) #709397;padding:20px;} p.bbpTweet{background:#fff;padding:10px 12px 10px 12px;margin:0;min-height:48px;color:#000;font-size:18px …

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According to our recently released quarterly sector report, covering themes and trends within the Specialty Coffeehouse Industry, sales are improving and are expected to continue in a positive direction throughout 2010. In addition to monitoring top-line performance indicators, this report revealed some other interesting data around March year-over-year sales trends, traffic and check average patterns, …

The World Barista Championship is right around the corner. Stop by the WBC website to find all the details and how to register for the Caffe Culture Show and follow the WBC on Twitter by clicking on the Tweet below!:Join us at our 11th Annual World Barista Championship in London. The event will be held …

A recent industry change by the National Motor Freight and Transit Association (NMFTA) has affected the classification of green coffee. Going forward, price will be determined by a density calculation of the actual freight class. Refer to the chart below from the NMFTA. Most green coffee shipments have a density of 30 lbs/cubic feet or …

There was a slightly more intense tone at Symposium this year that I can only attribute to a deepened resolve. Specialty may be challenged by a weakened economy, significant consolidation of the market, and some dramatic new entries but the industry remains unabashedly focused on quality. The session on mass-market single cup options was divisive, …