As presented to SCA members on August 30, the SCA Board of Directors, led by President Pamela Chng, nominated a group of seven professionals from a pool of dozens who responded to our annual call for nominations made in June. As the number of candidates this year is equal to the number of open seats, there is no need to proceed with a voting process, and the SCA Board has confirmed the seven professionals listed below as members of the SCA Board of Directors, in accordance with Section 7.4(f) of the SCA Bylaws.

The coffee sector is in constant flux. Increasingly our definitions of consumer, creator, and producer are blurring. The way we drink coffee is changing, even how we define the term “coffee” itself.

JENN RUGOLO, Specialty Coffee Association Innovation Officer, shares early insights from a project exploring the possibility of building a common language around green coffee identity.

Green coffee sales representative and author KOSTA KALLIVROUSIS offers insights and new marketing strategies that engage “digital natives,” the postmillennial generation that is evolving the relationship between brands and consumers.

The SCA’s Publications Manager, LAUREL CARMICHAEL, introduces a Coffee Science Foundation research project on the sensory impact of physical defects in green coffee, undertaken at the Coffee Excellence Center at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences. 

Scholar and PhD candidate JORDAN BUCHANAN shares their research into the rise of the specialty café scene in Puebla state, Mexico, focusing on the journey and testimony of coffee-shop owners.

PhD student ANNA LUIZA SANTANA NEVES shares their research into Brazil’s everyday and culturally informed coffee and food pairings, from pão de queijo to chocolate.

Communications expert and researcher DANIEL MURAGA shares insights into Kenya’s domestic specialty coffee consumption, tracing how migration, economic shifts, and urbanization have fueled a dynamic local café and roasting scene, blurring the distinction between “producing country” and “consuming country.”

Writer and anthropologist ALEXA ROMANO and researcher and strategist VERA ESPÍNDOLA RAFAEL draw on two intentional dialogues, held at the Women-Powered Coffee Summit in 2024, to look at the value of dialogue to understand the needs and realities of coffee producers, particularly women.

En la Women Powered Coffee Summit 2024 (WPCS) se llevaron a cabo dos diálogos que la escritora y antropóloga ALEXA ROMANO y la investigadora y estratega VERA ESPÍNDOLA RAFAEL retoman para reflexionar sobre el valor del diálogo en la comprensión de las realidades y necesidades de los productores de café, en particular de las mujeres.

Today during the first round of the 2025 World Barista Championship at HostMilano, Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) CEO Yannis Apostolopoulos and Colombian Coffee Growers Federation/Federación Nacional de Cafeteros de Colombia (FNC) CEO Germán Alberto Bahamón Jaramillo took to the competition stage to jointly confirm and announce World of Coffee Bogotá 2027 featuring the 2027 World Brewers Cup, set to take place over three days from September 30 – October 2, 2027 in Bogotá, Colombia.

2024 was an eventful and important year for us at the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA). Over the year, we adopted and published the remaining standards for our Coffee Value Assessment, officially replacing the 2004 Cupping Form, brought World of Coffee to Asia and announced its first iteration in a coffee producing country.  Dive in to the newly published 2024 SCA Annual Report

Today, Q Grader courses launch as part of the updated program with the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) for the first time. The globally respected license for coffee professionals to evaluate and communicate coffee quality has been updated to align with the latest in coffee science. Many courses are now available, with more locations, languages, and dates to be added continuously over the coming months. 

Today during SCAJ2025 World Specialty Coffee Conference, the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA), Exporum Inc., and the Specialty Coffee Association of Japan (SCAJ) formally agreed and announced that Tokyo, Japan will host World of Coffee Asia and the World Barista Championship in 2027. The signing ceremony featured SCA CEO Yannis Apostolopoulos, Exporum Inc. CEO Danny Shin, and SCAJ President, Yoshi Kato and will mark the fourth edition of World of Coffee Asia following successful events held in Busan and Jakarta. World of Coffee Tokyo 2027 will take place April 28 – May 1, 2027 at Tokyo Big Sight (3-11-1, Ariake, Koto-ku, Tokyo) and will feature the 27th annual World Barista Championship (WBC).

The Specialty Coffee Association of Japan (SCAJ) and the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the SCAJ Conference in Tokyo Big Sight, marking a milestone in global collaboration for specialty coffee education. 

The partnership between the STORM Barista Attitude and World Barista Championship has been four years passion. These years have been full of challenges faced with heart. Four years of emotions shared along a path that transformed every encounter into an opportunity for growth.

In case you missed it, we are excited to be bringing the Experience Lounge to this year’s SCAJ Conference in Tokyo. This new initiative is designed to bring the Coffee Value Assessment (CVA) to life for both professionals and consumers, creating a space for learning, connection, and engagement. 

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Today, it is my pleasure to present the slate of candidates for the 2026-2028 SCA Board of Directors elections. The Nominating Committee, chaired by SCA Board President Garfield Kerr, has put forward the following professionals after an extensive interview process with the dozens of SCA members who responded to our call for nominations made in June 2025.