Coffee is a subject that grows more intricate the deeper you explore it. This seems daunting at times, but the opportunity for endless learning is what draws so many of us to this field.

As incoming editor of 25, I’ve seen my first issue as a great reminder that every conversation we have about coffee is a chance to interrogate what we think we know.

Despite entering my sixth year of editing 25, I’m (somehow) still astonished at the organic way the editorial team often ends up with some kind of unifying link between all the features despite our best efforts to avoid any “theming” at the start of each cycle.

If you’ve been following along with the SCA’s project to evolve the 2004 cupping system into a Coffee Value Assessment, there’s a good chance you’re already aware of the importance of extrinsic, or symbolic, attributes.

We’re never entirely sure what the future holds, but the past few years have made it feel particularly unpredictable.

On a very basic level, we all know that our present actions are the seeds of our future—but it can be easy to forget the exact steps you took to get to where you are, unless you deliberately stop to mentally retrace them.

Issue 17 may feel like an odd milestone for a publication named 25, but it coincides with our rapidly approaching fifth anniversary, both as a publication and as a unified organization.

We’ve written quite a bit, recently, about the value of coffee.

Even the simplest communication requires two parties for a message to truly “transmit”: a sender and a receiver.

In some ways, this issue is all about rebuilding our industry’s foundations.

In this issue, we’re taking a step back and focusing on some big questions that could shape the future of our industry.

There’s no doubt that, as 2019 comes to a close, our community’s conversations have been dominated by the Coffee Price Crisis.

“It’s not easy to know that you are sacrificing your income, that what you are working on is subsidizing the coffee industry.”

Two years ago in Budapest, we released our first-ever 25 Magazine. It’s exciting to begin our third year of insights, stories, and research with the release of Issue 09!

Welcome to Issue 8 of 25, your quarterly SCA publication sharing specialty coffee research, insights, trends, and stories from our specialty community.

In my last welcome as SCA President, I would like to thank all our members and community at large for the support and encouragement offered to SCA over the last two years.

My welcome to Issue 6 of 25 is deservedly dominated by a note of celebration and sadness, paying respect to the extraordinary Erna Knutsen, a true innovator who passed recently.

It’s been a year since 25 first debuted at World of Coffee in Budapest; I hope you are continuing to enjoy its stories and insights from our global specialty community.

Welcome to our fourth issue of 25, your SCA publication sharing specialty coffee insights, trends, and most importantly stories from our specialty community.