The Sublime Non-Science Behind an iPad Point-of-Sale System
By Andy Freivogel, Science Retail A successful niche retailer and I sat down yesterday in preparation for what promised to be an ugly phone call with a point-of-sale (POS) company, whose software was inexplicably failing. The retailer asked me, “Who are these guys? Are other guys better? Take sign makers, for example. I had a …
Climate Change: Adapting to a Changing Environment
By Alex Morgan, Rainforest Alliance. Contributions from Meredith Taylor, Counter Culture and Alvaro Gaitan, Ph.D. head of Plant Pathology, Cenicafe. Climate change has already made the difficult even more difficult. Coffee farmers around the world are feeling the impacts of these changes, whether through increased frequency of floods or droughts, pest outbreaks, or catastrophic weather …
Technology & the Changing Role of Coffee Traders
By Rob Stephen & Hayden Kwast, Olam Specialty Coffee Over the past few decades, technology has changed the very nature of human interactions and relationships. Phone calls, letter writing, and in-person meetings have been complemented–and in many cases–replaced by social media posts, text messages, and video chats. The historically conventional and traditional coffee importer has …
People of Specialty Coffee: An Interview With Brant Curtis
Brant Curtis is the Director of Communication and Innovation at Curtis. How long has Curtis been manufacturing coffee brewing equipment? How did the company get started? We’re so stoked, because this year Curtis is celebrating it’s 75th anniversary, making it the nation’s oldest manufacturer of commercial coffee brewers. In 1941, my Great Grandfather (Wilbur Curtis) …
SCAA Expo Preview: A Message From the Executive Director
Dear Coffee Professional: One of the great challenges of producing an Expo that has a 28-year tradition is finding the balance between tradition and innovation. It is thus a real pleasure for me to write a few words about this year’s annual gathering of the specialty coffee community as we embark on our 28th edition. …
Welcome to the SCAA Expo from Royal Cup
From all of us at Royal Cup Coffee welcome to SCAA’s 28th Annual Expo! Royal Cup, Inc. is proud to sponsor the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s 28th annual exposition in Atlanta—a city with an iconic coffee history and burgeoning specialty coffee market. The South has a long tradition of hospitality, which is a staple …
Selamat Datang pecinta kopi Indonesia!
By Evan Gilman and John Cossette (Royal Coffee, Inc.) SCAA welcomes this year’s portrait country, Indonesia, a diverse and fascinating archipelago of over 17,000 islands and hundreds of languages. Indonesia is the supplier of some of the world’s finest and most famous coffees, and the home of some of the world’s first coffee plantations. Coffee …
Exploring the Exhibit Hall
By Lisa Pacini, SCAA Back in the Southeast after a seven year absence, the exhibit hall at the 28th annual SCAA Expo in Atlanta will prove to be the only place to discover the newest and the hottest items in specialty coffee. You won’t want to miss out! With a nearly sold out show floor, …
SCAA Educational Pathways: Opportunities at Expo and Beyond
By Todd Arnette, Academy of Coffee Excellence I have been in the specialty coffee industry for 20 years. About 15 years ago I asked a colleague, “How do I become a better coffee professional?” Ironically, the answer then is the same now. However, the accessibility to, and the depth and breadth of, the answer is vastly …
Sustainability at the Show: Reduce, Recycle, Report
By Kim Elena Ionescu, SCAA Expo, the biggest event of the year for the specialty coffee community, is a unique opportunity to model our commitment to insuring and improving coffee’s future. In 2016 we will continue hustling to make the event better than ever by both environmental and social measures, all the while recognizing the …
Re:co Symposium: Carrying on the Conversation
By Peter Giuliano, SCAA Eight years ago, we had a new idea: what if we brought together the leaders in coffee to discuss new ideas, future challenges, scientific research and the other issues facing us in Specialty Coffee? The result was the Specialty Coffee Symposium, and we had our very first Symposium in Atlanta, just …
U.S. Coffee Championship Arena
By Lara Gallagher, SCAA Welcome to the 2016 U.S Coffee Championship season! This year in the USCC Arena, we’ll be holding the Final rounds of the United States Barista Championship and the United States Brewers Cup along with the newly re-named United States Roaster Championship. Prior to arriving in Atlanta, Barista and Brewers Cup competitors …