Healthy Farmers are at the Root of Sustainability
By Pam Kahl, Grounds For Health In the coffee industry, more often than not sustainability means investing in programs that maximize yield, improve quality, and protect against disease. Rough estimates suggest major roasters have collectively invested sums of $25-$30 million in multi-year projects from Guatemala to Indonesia and everywhere in between. Capacity building programs educate …
3rd Annual Java Jog a Success, Raising Money for Ethiopia
By Laura Everage, Family Eats The 3rd annual Java Jog for a Cause was held Friday morning, April 10, 2015 at South Lake Union Park in Seattle. Nearly 200 runners joined the early morning 10k/5k run which brought together the coffee community for a fun event that helped raise money for a great cause. This …
Coffee Leaf Rust: A New Reality For Specialty Coffee
By Jesse Bladyka In the specialty coffee industry, we have heard a lot over the last few years about Coffee Rust (Roya in Spanish), also known as Hemileia vastatrix. This fungus has been affecting coffee crops in devastating ways since the late 19th century. While it can be managed through the use of hybrid cultivars, …
Presenting the Latest Consumer Research For Specialty Coffee
By Heather Ward, SCAA As SCAA’s research analyst, I work with the marketing and communications department to serve as our members’ primary contact for statistics, research, and coffee industry data. At this year’s Symposium, held during the two days prior to The Event, I was privileged to give a talk that covered some of our …
Barista Guild Membership: Providing a Network for Professional Baristas
By Sarah Leslie, Gimme! Coffee Lots of people ask why they should join the Barista Guild of America (BGA) and they are given a list of benefits and discounts that come with their annual membership dues. Certainly, if you are interested in attending an event, camp, or competition, the membership pays for itself with just …
A New Lease On Life For Coffee Kids
By Mike Ebert, Firedancer Coffee Consultants Coffee Kids was founded in 1988 by Bill Fishbein, David Abedon and Dean Cycon. Fishbein, a coffee shop owner in Providence, R.I., had been in the coffee business for several years. In 1988, Fishbein visited Guatemala and at the urging of friend, David Abedon, visited many small scale coffee farmers. …
SCAA Offers Education and Certificate Program Opportunities
By Mya Stark Maybe you have been thinking of getting certified, or even taken a few credits toward earning your certificate before the busyness of everyday life overtook you. Well, The Event is the perfect time to start down that path, or get back on track. Recently, SCAA published the findings of its first-ever Wages …
A Salute to 15 Years of the World Barista Championship
By Tracy Allen Years ago, a passionate handful of coffee folks committed to a vision. This vision was simple: bring awareness to our craft, create a common language, and seek excellence through competition. Thus the World Barista Championship was born. When I think back to the early days, I remember people like Alf Kramer, who …
Roasters Guild Offers Benefits to Members
By Joe Marrocco, Café Imports Many times the question is posed to us in the Roasters Guild, “Why should I join?” It is tempting to conjure a canned list of benefits doled out upon receipt of annual dues. This paints a picture of a very bleak future for our roasting community. For many within our …
Water: The Invisible Driver of Coffee | A Look Back at SCAA Symposium
By Hanna Neuschwander Water: It’s everywhere. It makes up 99% of a cup of coffee, 55% of human body mass, and 71% of the Earth’s surface. We can only survive three days without it. Yet, especially in a city like Seattle, where any tap will deliver unlimited qualities of clean, safe water on demand, it’s …
Symposium Provides Multi-Sensory Coffee Experiences
By Danny Pinnell, SCAA At Symposium 2015, coffee service and the Sensory Experience room sponsored by Swiss Water® were featured prominently on the Benaroya Hall Promenade. Coffee service has a reputation for being highly regarded at Symposium, and this year was no exception. Designed by 2014 U.S. Barista Champion Laila Ghambari, this year’s service featured …
Sustainability at The Event: Five Ways to Get Involved
By Samantha Veide, Mars Drinks According to the 2015 SCAA membership survey (hot off the presses!) sustainability is very important to you, our membership. 47 percent of you say that you would not belong to any association that did not dedicate resources toward conservation and sustainability; And 9 out of 10 of you are interested …