Posts in Features
Announcing the 2023 SCA Annual Report

Last year was an exciting and inspiring year for us at the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA). Throughout 2023, the hard work of many enabled us to engage in research, develop standards, expand education, create events, and design experiences with a global reach—all in service on our continuous journey to fulfill our association’s commitment to make coffee better.  Dive in to the newly published 2023 SCA Annual Report

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The Specialty Coffee Association is Launching a New Membership Model

In 2024, the SCA will introduce the first major overhaul to its membership program in decades. The new model will focus on providing value and connectivity to the growing international community, enhanced features for companies, and new pricing structure.

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Now Accepting Nominations for the 2024 Sustainability Awards

We’re thrilled to announce that nominations are now open for the 2024 Sustainability Awards! The deadline to submit an application is January 31, 2024. The 2024 Sustainability Awards will recognize for-profit and non-profit organizations that advance sustainability in the coffee sector while inspiring others to design and initiate similar endeavors innovations.

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Registration Now Open for 2024 Specialty Coffee Expo!

Registration is now open for 2024 Specialty Coffee Expo taking place in Chicago, USA next April. Expo is North America’s largest B2B event for specialty coffee professionals and will be taking place at the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago from April 12-14, 2024.

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The Future is Velvety Smooth: Modernizing the South Indian Filter | 2023 Re:co Fellow Feature — Raghunath Rajaram

2023 Re:co Fellow RAGHUNATH RAJARAM, co-founder of Aramse, links their work to revive and modernize the South Indian Filter to the concept of value creation, reminding us that solutions to existing or emerging problems may already exist—and that they may hold the key to keeping more value where it’s created.

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Gentrification, Specialty Coffee, and Third Wave Cafés in Portland, Oregon | 2023 Re:co Fellow Feature — Dennis Cote

2023 Re:co Fellow DENNIS COTE, an ALM (Master of Liberal Arts in History) graduate candidate at Harvard Extension School, shared some of their thesis work on specialty coffee and gentrification in Portland, this year’s host city, from 1995-2020.

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An Invitation to Re-generate Our Sustainability Approach: Re-think/Restore/Replenish | 2023 Re:co Fellow Feature — Olga L Cuellar-Gomez

2023 Re:co Fellow OLGA L CUELLAR-GOMEZ, a social entrepreneur working with extensive experience structuring sustainability projects, reflects on the industry’s recent focus on green house gas (GHG) emissions and offers a methodology to ensure farmers’ voices and perspectives are integrated into new sustainability initiatives.

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Brewing a Robust Future: Harnessing Diversity and Equity in the Specialty Coffee Industry | 2023 Re:co Fellow Feature — Garry Johnson III

2023 Re:co Fellow GARRY JOHNSON III, the Founder and CEO of BVP Coffee Co., sheds light on the significance of Black history, the value of diversity, the importance of equity, and the role of education in fostering inclusivity. Here, he explains how embracing diversity and pursuing equity can lead to a robust and sustainable future for the specialty coffee industry.

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Social Innovation: A Design Tool to (Intentionally) Create Value

In the third in a series of features on sustainability frameworks and their relationship to the SCA’s sustainability agenda of equitable value distribution, SCA Sustainability Director ANDRÉS MONTENEGRO explores the concept of “social innovation.”  

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Re-engaging Puerto Rico Through Values, Respect, and Education | 2023 Re:co Fellow Feature — Arnaldo Gratacos

The coffee industry in Puerto Rico is an integral part of the island's culture and identity, and the motivation to be better every day is crucial to the local economy and the well-being of communities. 2023 Re:co Fellow ARNALDO GRATACOS, a young Puerto Rican specialty coffee entrepreneur and educator, is on a mission to revitalize the island’s coffee industry: here, he shares a little of its history and offers a path forward.

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Participate in the Extrinsic Assessment Survey

The five-minute SCA Extrinsic Assessment Survey is your chance to collaborate with the Specialty Coffee Association and play a pivotal role in shaping the ultimate Extrinsic Attribute list for Coffee Value Assessment. Take the survey today.

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Doughnut Economics Webinar

SCA Sustainability Director ANDRÉS MONTENEGRO hosts a conversation on doughnuts & coffee with ERINCH SAHAN of the Doughnut Economics Action Lab; discussing how embracing the circular economy can lead the coffee sector to a sustainable future and make coffee better, for all. Register on Zoom for Thursday August 17, at 4pm BST.

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The Coffee Science Foundation Releases New Specialty Labor Research

The Coffee Science Foundation is excited to announce this output from a project intended to understand the role of labor in specialty coffee.

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Beta Version of the Coffee Value Assessment Protocol and Forms Unveiled at Re:co Symposium

Earlier today, SCA CEO Yannis Apostolopoulos formally introduced the beta version of the SCA Coffee Value Assessment on the Re:co Symposium stage, a thought leadership event that takes place prior to the Specialty Coffee Expo in Portland, Oregon. Yannis also unveiled an Early Adopter program designed to help the SCA refine the system’s protocol and forms through community feedback before it moves through the SCA’s standards development procedures.

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Coffee and a Doughnut: Understanding “Circular Economy” Frameworks

In the second in a series of features on sustainability frameworks and their relationship to the SCA’s sustainability agenda of equitable value distribution, SCA Sustainability Director ANDRÉS MONTENEGRO explains the concept of the circular economy through the use of a doughnut-and-coffee metaphor.

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The Coffee Science Foundation and Keurig Dr Pepper Partner for Farmer Prosperity Research

The Coffee Science Foundation (CSF) and Keurig Dr Pepper (KDP), in their continuing partnership, have announced this new research project.  Together, we will support an extensive literature review, which will endeavor to understand the impact of interventions on farmers’ incomes and whether such interventions can improve the livelihoods of the millions of resource-poor around the world.

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Submissions open for the 2023 Coffee Design Awards Portland

Submissions now open for the 2023 Coffee Design Awards taking place at Specialty Coffee Expo in Portland, Oregon, USA from April 21-23, 2023.

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Submissions open for the 2023 Best New Product Awards Portland

Submissions now open for the 2023 Best New Product Awards taking place at Specialty Coffee Expo in Portland, Oregon, USA from April 21-23, 2023.

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Registration Now Open for 2023 Specialty Coffee Expo & Re:co Symposium!
It’s All in the Mind(set): Understanding the “Climate Justice” Approach

In this series, SCA Sustainability Director, ANDRÉS MONTENEGRO, explores different sustainability frameworks in relation to the SCA’s sustainability agenda of equitable value distribution, beginning with “climate justice.”

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