Building Youth Livelihoods in Nicaragua
By Rosemary Trent Every young person imagines what their future will look like and dreams of what they would like to become. For those who live in poverty, the surest path to a brighter future is an education, but in coffee producing communities in Nicaragua, many young people are forced to drop out of school …
Building Understanding: Making Coffee Better Through Research
By Peter Giuliano The new SCA Research Center has the potential to radically transform the world of specialty coffee. Since the very beginning, the ideal of specialty coffee has been about making coffee better, but how do we do that? How do we distinguish ‘better’ from ‘worse’? What tools can we develop to improve coffee …
Coffee Roasters and Retailers: Take Part In the 2017 Financial Benchmarking Study
By Heather Ward Within the last few years, SCA’s research initiatives have developed to focus more attention on business insights. The idea is to deliver business information to people and companies in the specialty coffee business, contributing to the support of more informed business decisions. One way to deliver insights is through the Specialty Coffee …
Beyond the Obvious: Why Volunteer?
By Theresa Maguire Why volunteering is so much more than earning a complimentary badge. I have found that those who volunteer for the Specialty Coffee Association are almost as passionate about volunteering as they are about coffee! Everyone takes a different path to their first volunteer experience. Maybe it all starts with a simple desire …
Scientific Poster Session To Be Held At The 2017 Global Specialty Coffee Expo
By Emma Sage We would like to invite you to the second year of the SCA Scientific Poster session! The posters will be displayed at the TCC (Lectures Campus) on levels 2 and 3 from Friday through Sunday of the Global Specialty Coffee Expo. The poster session meet-and-greet will be held on Friday, from 12–2 …
SCA Announces New Brewing Fundamentals Research at UC Davis
The fundamentals of coffee brewing are critically important to the coffee industry- the basic principles of extraction are the basis for widely used tools and resources like the Coffee Brewer’s Control Chart and the Coffee Brewers’ Handbook. These widely embraced tools are based primarily on scientific research led in the 1950s by MIT Prof. Earl …
2017 Re:co Symposium Fellowship Program
By Joanna Furgiuele One of the key traditions of the Re:co Symposium is the Fellowship program sponsored by S&D Coffee & Tea. This program provides an avenue to encourage growth in the community attending Symposium, and opening access to those who would not normally be able to attend, for financial or other reasons. A beneficial …
Kenya: The King of Coffee
By Phyllis Johnson Kenya is the official Portrait Country for the 2017 Global Specialty Coffee Expo in Seattle. Phyllis Johnson explains why Kenyan coffee’s distinct flavor profile and quality sets it apart from all other origins. I’ll always remember my introduction to Kenya coffee. It was April 1999 in an old dusty basement of a …
A New Sustainability Event on the Horizon
By Kim Elena Ionescu The creation of the Sustainability Center is a milestone for the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) and for the entire specialty coffee community. We know from surveys, volunteer leaders, and everyday experience that this community is full of passionate, knowledgeable, active people who pursue sustainability every day and at every stage …
Recognizing and Celebrating Past SCAA and SCAE Award Winners
By Ben Pitts This year’s Global Specialty Coffee Expo in Seattle marks a landmark occasion — it’s the first event post-unification of the Specialty Coffee Associations of America and Europe (SCAA and SCAE). This is a seismic shift, and it’s during this exciting time when we reflect on those who have played a huge role …
Honey Is Making Life Sweeter for Coffee Farmers
By Janice Nadworny When Food 4 Farmers started working with coffee farming communities in 2011, the reason was clear: coffee income alone was simply not enough to put food on the table year round for most farming families. This income gap was laid bare when, in 2012, coffee leaf rust started making its way through …
Java Jog Goes Global
After a one year hiatus, the Java Jog for a Cause event is back in Seattle and ready to welcome coffee aficionados, runners, walkers and friends for this annual fun run and fundraiser. Since 2013, Java Jog for a Cause has raised more than $75,000 for women in coffee growing communities in Ethiopia and the …