August 2018 in National Coffee Competitions: A Recap of New Champions from Around the Globe
Here is our recap of the winners of national coffee competitions from around the world in collaboration with World Coffee Events (WCE) for the month of August 2018. These dedicated coffee competitors have earned the right to represent their country in coffee competitions at the international level. For more information on upcoming world championships and …
Celebrating Erna Knutsen’s Specialty Coffee – 25 Magazine: Issue 6
Most deserved of our respect for so many reasons, Ms. Knutsen coined the phrase “specialty coffee” in a 1974 publication of Tea & Coffee Trade Journal in the US. Not only the identifier of our niche in the coffee industry, her verbal capture of this new blossoming sector, along with her own work as a …
Baristas, Coffee Culture’s Ambassadors – 25 Magazine: Issue 6
ELIZABETH DOERR explores how the Dominican Republic’s largest coffee company seeks to change local coffee culture through baristas in Issue 06 of 25 Magazine. Strong, short, and sweet – made by stovetop with the Greca coffee maker – is deemed “traditional” Dominican coffee. Part of this could be custom, but the sugar could also be …
Creating Financial Stability in Coffee Farming: Three Young Latin American Coffee Professionals’ Solutions – 25 Magazine: Issue 6
HORTENSIA SOLIS interviewed three young Latin American coffee professionals from three different countries to better understand their perspective on the future of coffee production, the industry’s most pressing challenges, and the steps they’re taking to resolve or otherwise navigate them. On paper, working in coffee production is an increasingly difficult path – a complicated conflagration …
The Impact of Mucilage Removers on Coffee Sustainability and Quality – 25 Magazine: Issue 6
CARLOS HENRIQUE JORGE BRANDO[i] traces the design changes that have brought water-saving demucilagers to the fore of a conversation about sustainability and coffee quality. As the name suggests, a “mucilage remover” is a machine that removes mucilage attached to parchment coffee either by itself, or in conjunction with fermentation. Generally, mechanical removal of the mucilage …
Benchmarking Your Business – 25 Magazine: Issue 6
HEATHER WARD explains another valuable series of ratios – financial ratios – that help coffee professionals understand and develop best practices to keep their roaster/retailer business healthy and financially sustainable in Issue 6 of 25 Magazine. SCA’s 2017 Roaster/Retailer Financial Benchmarking Report includes a series of financial ratios that reflect leading best practices and performance of …
Reinventing Yourself Through Coffee – 25 Magazine: Issue 6
MARÍA ESTHER LÓPEZ-THOME shares her story in Issue 6 of 25 Magazine. All photos by Andres Anaya. In Venezuela, we do not have seasons – we only have sun and rain. A perfect summer, 365 days a year. We have beaches, plains, mountains, and a very fertile soil; planting and cultivating have always been easy …
Subverting Expectations in Palazzolo Acreide – 25 Magazine: Issue 6
Despite Sicily’s profound traditional and cultural attachment to coffee, JENN RUGOLO has never harbored any expectation of finding the same concepts applied to coffee. An unexpected encounter – at a traditional bar in a tiny town in the south east of Sicily – made her question those expectations. Once the crossroads of the Mediterranean, Sicily …
SCAE Celebrates 20 Years – 25 Magazine: Issue 6
MICK WHEELER, past President and former Executive Director of SCAE, reflects on the early days of specialty coffee in Europe and the hurdles a nascent SCAE faced as it sought to build a community-focused organization across geographical and cultural borders. This is not a long, historical account of the SCAE – there are far too …
Sustainability Webinar: Coffee Prices and Farm Profitability
Update: Thanks to all who joined us for this second webinar in our Sustainability series on Farm Profitability and Prosperity recorded live on Tuesday, September 25th, at 8:00am PST / 4:00pm BST. Watch the recording above. Over the summer we have watched the coffee commodity futures market drop until on Tuesday, August 21, coffee opened at …
Climate Change & Coffee: Acting Globally & Locally
Excerpt from KIM ELENA IONESCU’s introduction of the newly republished SCA White Paper titled Climate Change & Coffee: Acting Globally & Locally. In the context of global shortfalls, it can feel glib or even disingenuous to applaud the efforts of individuals, but climate change isn’t only affecting the environment – it’s affecting people, and people are …
#24: Re:co Podcast – Vava Angwenyi on Building an Alternative Narrative for Kenya’s Coffee Farmers
On this episode of the Re:co Podcast, Kim Elena Ionescu speaks with Vava Angweni, Founder & Chief Coffaholic at Vava Coffee Ltd, and Co-Founder & Director of Gente Del Futuro. Vava sources coffee from farmers in Kenya and around East Africa, and most recently has worked with Fairtrade Africa to develop and launch two brands …