“But I Need It!” continues the story of the World Barista Championships from where we left off in Episode 03, nearly halfway through the competition’s journey, to today. Along the way, co-host Rouki Delrue leads us through stories of evolutionary meetings, competitors who played in the grey areas of the rules, wildcards, and the drive to “bring the trophy” through interviews with Carl Sara, Federico Bolanos, María Esther López-Thome, Martin Shabaya, Innocent Niyongabo, and Annet Nyakaisiki.
Read MoreIn this episode, Scott Manley, Technical Support Supervisor at La Marzocco USA, will take your questions on Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) used in determining water quality for specialty coffee. Scott will review the equipment used to measure TDS, demonstrate how to test for and document results, and talk about how you can interpret test results for equipment maintenance and coffee extraction.
Read MoreIn the final episode of the Systems Map Discussion Series, we look at brewing and roasting with coffee professionals working in these activities. You can watch the video recording here.
Read MoreThe 2021 World Latte Art Championship (WLAC), World Coffee In Good Spirits Championship (WCIGS), and World Coffee Roasting Championship (WCRC) are heading to the Taiwan International Coffee Show.
Read MoreThe Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) has chosen the University of Oregon for a four-year espresso extraction research project, supported by the Simonelli Group, "Towards a Deeper Understanding of Espresso Extraction."
Read MoreThe project is slated to run for two years and is aimed at understanding how packaging affects and influences consumers’ perceptions of specialty coffee quality, attributes, and value.
Read MoreThis week, BRITTANY HORN, co-owner, co-founder, and Authorized Specialty Coffee Trainer (AST) tells us about Pacific Coffee Research’s Premiere Training Campus located in Kailua Kona, Hawaiʻi Island.
Read More“We Were the Punks” traces the early days of the World Barista Championships from a rag-tag group of volunteers looking to raise specialty coffee awareness to a powerful, monetizable stage grappling with questions of scale and professionalism. Along the way, co-host Sonja Bjork Grant leads us through stories of spit buckets, snakeskin boots, backstage woes, intensifying competition preparation, and devastating debriefs through interviews with Tone Elian Liavaag, Emma Markland-Webster, Simi Benzadon, Paul Basset, and Heather Perry.
Read MoreYou may have seen more World Coffee Championships branding on our social media channels this year. As all of the competitions continue to grow and branch into new digital features, we want to make sure they continue to have a cohesive identity.
Read MoreMeet the six professionals in the slate of candidates for the 2020 CTG Leadership Council elections. In the latest post of the CTG blog, CTG Chair Hylan Joseph presents the technicians selected this year by the Nominating Committee.
Read MoreToday, it is my pleasure to present the slate of candidates in the 2020 CRG Leadership Council elections. The CRG Election Committee, chaired by Past Chair Sonja Björk Grant, has put forward a list of five professionals after an extensive interview process.
Read MoreThis week, ANA LUIZA PELLICER, originally from Monte Santo de Minas, shares the beginning her journey into specialty coffee and experience with distance learning.
Read MoreIn this week’s episode, Recap explores the recent Communiqué from the International Coffee Organization: Where did it come from? What does it mean? Widely reported as the first time that major private sector actors across the value chain came together to agree to jointly implement solutions to the economic unsustainability of coffee production, the Communiqué and corresponding Annex outlines an ambitious ten-year plan across four areas of action and seven technical workstreams.
Read More“Paint a Picture” traces the history and evolution of the World Latte Art Championship through the medium itself, from early etchings to the innovative realistic pours that grace the competition’s stage today. Along the way, co-host Rie Moustakis leads us through stories about the role of the rules, the value of art, and family dynamics through interviews with Carl Sara, Daniel Acosta Busch, and Um Paul.
Read MoreCoffee has always been in Licor 43’s roots, going back to the Café Asiatico in Cartagena and the Café Barraquito in Tenerife in the 1950s - there has always been an appreciation for the natural marriage of aromas and flavors between the two.
Read MoreLast week we looked at all things exporting in episode #2 of our new discussion series. This week it's time to explore the other side of the coin—importing! Join us for the latest episode in our series about the Coffee Systems Map.
Read MoreAs presented to SCA members on September 1, the SCA Board of Directors, led by President Christina Meinl, nominated a group of eight 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 eight professionals listed below as members of the SCA Board of Directors, in accordance with Section 7.4(h) of the SCA Bylaws.
Read More“It’s a YES!!” traces the history and evolution of the World Cup Tasters Championship through stories about rule-breakers, phone calls home mid-competition, and backstage ballet. Co-hosted by Gloria Pedroza, this episode features interviews with Alf Kramer, Kim Staalman, José Joaquín Ordoñez, and Chloe King.
Read MoreAcross six weekly episodes, the series will offer a glimpse behind the scenes of the different World Coffee Championships, bringing to light some of the hidden stories woven in and around these annual skill-based competitions that serve as the culmination of local and regional events around the globe.
Read MoreThis week, PASTOR VALERO, a lead barista and production roaster in a café in Buenos Aires, Argentina, shares his experience of distance learning. While living in Venezuela, Pastor fell in love with coffee after taking a course and receiving an SCA certificate in 2013.
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