The Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) is delighted to announce that the Café Specialty Grind and Brew Coffee Maker has been awarded the SCA Certified Home Brewer mark. In a crowded and competitive market, the SCA Certified Home Brewer mark helps consumers find and choose the best coffee makers, backed by the science and experience of the Specialty Coffee Association.

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.

The SCA Poland Chapter has selected three new coordinators to join the committee until the current two-year term is complete in 2024.

Today, the SCA announced the slate of candidates for the 2023 SCA Board of Directors election. The Nominating Committee, chaired by SCA Board President Konstantinos Konstantinopoulos, has put forward a group of four professionals after an extensive interview process with the dozens of SCA members who responded to our call for nominations made in June. In addition, each year, the Board of Directors elects a 2nd Vice President, who serves an additional term of three years to ensure presidential succession. Andrew Tolley, Director of Tolley Coffee & Tea, has been selected by the board to serve in the role of 2nd Vice President.

The Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW), in collaboration with the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA), last call for registration for the October 2023 intake of the Certificate of Advanced Studies in Coffee Excellence. Registration is open until September 4, 2023 with a start date of October 2, 2023.

Drawing upon advances in sensory science, the global expansion of specialty coffee, and a commitment to making specialty coffee a thriving, equitable, sustainable activity for the entire value chain, SCA speakers Kim Elena Ionescu, Dr. Mario Fernández Alduenda, Peter Giuliano, and Jenn Rugolo make the case that the coffee industry's understanding of value has evolved over the past two decades and our tools - like the SCA Cupping Form - must evolve, as well.

In 2019, Colombia-based Azahar Coffee Company launched “A Sustainable Coffee Buyer’s Guide” to address the information asymmetry between green coffee buyers and sellers over the value of coffee. In this presentation, Vera Espindola Rafael will introduce the Guide and the methodology for data collection, reflect on how it has been used since it was published in 2019, and discuss with Summit attendees how green coffee buyers can use data to make ethical purchasing decisions that recognize the value that is created by specialty coffee producers and rewarded by specialty coffee drinkers in North America (and beyond).

Is impact investing just a buzzword, or are there concrete opportunities for operators in the coffee value chain? What approaches and synergies are best suited to access new sources of financing for sustainable coffee trade and production?

This session pairs high-quality national data with the personal experiences of specialty coffee professionals for an overview of coffee consumption in North America in 2022: who is drinking coffee, how their preferences are changing, and which companies are growing fastest to meet that demand.

The Algrano market report is a once-annual analysis of coffee sourcing and production trends, and to date has focused on the European market. Over the course of one hour, the panelists will discuss how the trends they identified at the end of 2021 and at the beginning of 2022 have evolved over the course of the past year, and they will provide insight into what these evolutions might mean for the coffee sector going forward.

Smallholder coffee farmers face unique challenges in improving their coffee production and productivity. Recognizing this, the coffee sector has rolled out a variety of interventions and programs over the past decade (or more) aimed at enhancing productivity, profitability, and eventually, the income of these smallholder farmers. But have these programs worked?

This session pairs high-quality national data with the personal experiences of specialty coffee professionals for an overview of coffee consumption in the UK and Europe in 2022: who is drinking coffee, how their preferences are changing, and which companies are growing fastest to meet that demand.

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.

The Specialty Coffee Association is pleased to announce that qualified testing of espresso machines for use in the World Latte Art Championship is now open. The criteria has been expanded to include fully-automatic espresso machine manufacturers who wish to bid for sponsorship in the 2024-2027 World Latte Art Championships.  

If you are an SCA member based in Poland, cast your vote for the SCA Poland Chapter committee now.

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.

The Coffee Roasters Guild (CRG) and Diedrich Roasters have announced the 2023 Diedrich Roasters Scholarship program for CRG Retreat, taking place September 28 to October 1 in Blaine, Washington, USA.