The Making of a Global Commodity | Part 2: Coffee Comes to the Americas
By Steven Topik Read Part 1: The Making of a Global Commodity | Part 1: Out of Arabia After the advent of a Muslim coffee economy in the sixteenth century and the arrival of Europeans to the world of coffee as described in The Making of a Global Commodity: Out of Arabia, coffee truly flourished in …
SCAA Announces Starbucks as Official Host Sponsor of 2014/15 Exposition and Peru as Portrait Country In 2014
The Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) has announced that Starbucks will serve as the Official Host Sponsor of the 26th and 27th Annual Exposition, “The Event,” to be held in Seattle April 24-27, 2014 and April 9-12, 2015. Peru has also been named the Official Portrait Country Sponsor for the 2014 SCAA Event. 2014 …
SCAA Announces Changes to Regional Coffee Competitions Structure and Dates of First Event
Big Central Registration Opens September 4, 2013 The Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) is pleased to announce that the Big Central Event, hosted by Café Imports and Wilbur Curtis Co., will be held October 25-27, 2013 at Uppercut Boxing Gym in Minneapolis, MN. The North Central and South Central regional competitions will be held …
2014 SCAA Board of Directors Nominations Now Being Accepted
2014 SCAA Board of Directors Call for Recommendations to the Nominating Committee Recommendations must be received by September 12, 2013 Recommendations to the Nominating Committee for the SCAA Board of Directors for 2014 are now being accepted. The Nominating Committee will be evaluating candidates and creating an election slate for the following: Directors: Four Seats …
SCAA is Hiring for Event Positions
Position #1 | Event Coordinator – Skill Building Workshops Position type: Part-time, Contractor position. 20-30 Hours Per Week. Reports to: Event Manager, Supports Professional Development and Events Department Role Description: Primarily responsible for coordinating Skill Building Workshops at SCAA Annual Expo and supporting Barista Camps (2-4 times per year) Key Duties and Responsibilities: General oversight …
Translating the Language of Water
By Peter Giuliano, Director of Symposium, Specialty Coffee Association of America We think we are in the coffee business, but really, we’re in the water business. It takes something like 35 gallons of water to make a cup of coffee, mostly as water consumed by the coffee plant itself. We then often use water to …
Dissecting SCAA’s Water Quality Standard
By Emma Sage, Coffee Science Manager, Specialty Coffee Association of America Water (H2O) is comprised of one oxygen and two hydrogen molecules, and the bonds between and among them lead it to be a unique and fascinating biological molecule. As we know, depending on the coffee beverage (espresso versus drip-based) water can contribute 94-98% of …
Beyond the Quality of the Water in Your Cup: Coffee and Water Resources at Origin
“When water is diverted from streams and rivers, it is no longer available for use by small communities that may already have limited alternatives. Without sufficient water in the stream, aquatic organisms can be wiped out.” By Adam Kline, Coffee Importer, Atlantic Specialty Coffee Inc.; Andrew Stubblefield, Associate Professor, Humboldt State University; Paul Hicks, Water Resources …
More Than A Schwag Bag: What I Took Home From Symposium V
By Jesse Bladyka, Roasters Guild Member and SCAA Credentialed Instructor, Symposium 2013 Attendee In April, I had the opportunity to attend the fifth SCAA Symposium in Boston. I am employed as a coffee roaster by a company with fewer than 30 employees. Having watched Symposium through the lens of social media since its inception, I was …
2013 Sustainability Award Selection Process
By Adam Pesce, Director of Coffee, Reunion Island Coffee Deciding on this year’s Sustainability Award winner was one of the most difficult in recent memory, not just because of the volume of applications – a record setting 18 – but because of the quality of the applications. Of the 18 entries, quite literally all of them …
The Use of Water in Processing
By Carlos H. J. Brando Water entered coffee processing when Arabicas began being planted in areas that were hotter and/or more humid than the highlands of Ethiopia. Recently harvested coffee cherries fermented rather quickly in these new areas, with adverse impacts on cup quality. The solution at the time was to remove the sugar-rich, fermentation-prone …
Industry Responds to Need for Global Water Conservation Initiatives (And What You Can do to Support the Effort)
By Samantha Veide, Global Drinks Education Manager, Mars Drinks This issue of water and sustainability is complex. It is about water scarcity—by 2025, 1.8 billion people will be living in countries or regions with absolute water scarcity, and two-thirds of the world’s population could be living under water stressed conditions1. It is about water despoilment—all the …