Join the Coffee Roasters Guild (CRG) on Friday, May 8, for a conversation with North Central College on their direct trade relationship with coffee farmers in Guatemala.

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

Dr. ILJA CROIJMANS explores why the vocabulary we use to describe aromas matters, sharing findings of previous research on the evolution of sensory language from hunter-gathers to wine and coffee professionals.

JENN RUGOLO distils findings of the SCA’s Price Crisis Response (PCR) report and offers some ways we can begin to put some of the report’s recommendations into practice immediately.

Specialty Coffee Association CEO YANNIS APOSTOLOPOULOS shares findings from the recent Coffee Growth Dynamics Report from Euromonitor International.

We know that high-quality coffee comes at a cost, but what are the unseen costs of selling that coffee with a story? EVER MEISTER asks herself this question every day—and now she’s asking all of us.

NOA BERGER explores some of the different ways packaging helps to construct different types of authenticity.

Sitting at the crossroads between Scandinavia and the Baltics, Helsinki has this wonderfully Finnish feeling about it while remaining accessible, vibrant, and dynamic.

“An update on the status of coffee vocabulary is very much called for,” wrote Ilja. And so, when presenting this work at Sensory Summit in Zurich—complete with wine and coffee samples—Ilja also collected data.

While we can’t join together in Portland as planned, we've been working hard in the background to bring some of Expo's features to all of you online throughout something we're calling #ExpoSeason.

After many weeks of discussions with our partners regarding the impacts of COVID-19 on SCA events, today we are sad to announce that the 2020 Re:co Symposium and Specialty Coffee Expo scheduled to take place in Portland in April will be canceled.

Después de muchas semanas de discusiones con nuestros socios sobre los impactos de COVID-19 en los eventos de SCA, hoy nos entristece anunciar que Re:co Symposium 2020 y la Specialty Coffee Expo programados para realizarse en Portland en abril ahora están cancelados.

As a part of the global specialty coffee community, the SCA is deeply concerned about the welfare of the businesses that form the basis of our professional network. In an attempt to understand and document the impact that COVID-19 is having on the specialty coffee industry, we have created this snapshot poll of the specialty coffee industry.

We’ve put together a living database to collect some of the many resources being shared by our community across social media and from business to business as we look for answers on how to manage the rapidly evolving situation. 

Today, we are announcing an agreement with our partners at PTAK Warsaw Expo to postpone World of Coffee to October 15–17, 2020, the only dates available in 2020. We have informed all of our exhibitors and visitors via email, and our exhibitions team will be sharing more information next week.

Today, the 2020 Melbourne International Coffee Expo (MICE), featuring the 2020 World Barista Championship and World Brewers Cup, has been postponed by the show organizers to November 3-6, 2020. 

SCA members in Lithuania have cast their ballots in the 2020 elections to select their new leadership. Today, we are delighted to welcome the SCA Lithuania Chapter’s new committee.

SUSIE KEALY draws a spotlight to one of our long-term volunteers in a series on SCA News. This month, she’s interviewed DAVID MILLER, a content creator for the new Coffee Technicians Program (CTechP) and chair of the Coffee Technicians Guild (CTG) Education Committee.

World Coffee Research (WCR) has designed a global survey on agricultural research priorities with input from other coffee organizations including the SCA. The survey aims to understand the needs of the coffee industry in agricultural research and development.

In this month's SCA Chapter Spotlight, we caught up with Jeremy Ho, National Coordinator of the SCA Canada Chapter. Learn more about Jeremy and the SCA Canada team here.