Why Does Shade Matter?
By Emma Bladyka, Coffee Science Manager, SCAA As the specialty coffee industry grows more concerned with sustainable practices at origin, we often find ourselves in conversations about shade-grown coffee. No one…
Addressing Hunger in the Coffeelands: The Next Great Sustainability Challenge in Specialty Coffee
By Michael Sheridan Over the past few years, I have had the privilege of working with smallholder coffee farmers in Central and South America as a project manager for Catholic Relief Services (CRS). Our…
Lower Impact Cafés: Simple Steps to Save Now & Contribute to Broader Mitigation Goals
By Tracy Ging, Deputy Executive Director, SCAA Feeling the Effects There is an axiom, you cannot manage what you cannot measure. Without hard data, there is a tendency to…
Responding to Climate Change: Building Community-Based Reliance
by Alexandra Katona-Carroll, on behalf of the Sustainability Council of SCAA In partnership with Dukunde Kawa Cooperative, PROGRESO, REDI and Thanksgiving Coffee Company This year, the SCAA’s Sustainability Council is proud to showcase the…
Expanding Our Understanding of Sustainability: What We Can Learn from the Retail Food Industry about Employee Wellness
By Samantha Veide As members of the coffee industry we have an opportunity—and a responsibility—to consider our impact on local communities and workplaces, as well as the communities from which we source coffee….
The Power of Story: Behind Cause Coffees
By Scott Conary “I don’t really like coffee…” And with these words, you are stopped short. All of your well-constructed arguments and delightfully thought out taste descriptions forced back in a choking cough….
Direct Trade: Going Straight to the Source
By Shanna Germain Direct trade has long been a hot button in the specialty coffee industry. Ask 10 coffee people what the phrase means, and you’ll get 10 different answers. Listen in at…
SCAA 2012 Special Event Lectures – Emerging Markets in Asia
During your time at The Event make sure to take advantage of all the educational lectures and presentations that will help you develop as a coffee professional. All presentations are given by respected…
This is Where We Start
By Sarah Beaubien, with contributions by Al Liu, Mark Stell and Janice Nadworny Historically, coffee has been a crop grown to satisfy the demand of the developed world at the cost of a…
To Market, To Market: What the New Economy Means for Sourcing Strategies
By Shanna Germain Increased pricing. Decreased availability. Contract defaults. Closer relationships with producers… The current market situation is having huge impacts all across the coffee industry, but perhaps nowhere more so than at…
