Over three days starting from Thursday, December 12th HOTELEX will host the first Coffee Value Summit in China at Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center.

Rules & Regulations Released for the 2025 World Brewers Cup

Following a preliminary release in June, the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) is proud to announce the adoption of three Coffee Value Assessment components as its official cupping standards: SCA-102 Sample Preparation and Cupping Mechanics, SCA-103 Descriptive Assessment, and SCA-104 Affective Assessment. These standards, approved by the SCA Standards Development Panel, supersede the 2004 Cupping Protocol and Form, advancing the SCA’s comprehensive approach to coffee evaluation. Use these free resources in your cupping practice at sca.coffee/value-assessment

Rules & Regulations Released for the 2025 World Coffee Roasting Championship

Following the success of the 2023 Educator Summits, the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) is thrilled to announce the upcoming dates and locations for the Educator Summit 2024 Series across Asia. Happening December 3, 2024 in Juengpyeong, Korea, December 8, 2024 in Bangkok, Thailand and December 10, 2024 in Taipei, Taiwan. Learn more and register at education.sca.coffee

The SCA is looking for people who would like to contribute more time and skills by holding lead volunteer roles for the 2025 World Coffee Championships in Houston, Jakarta, and Geneva. These positions require a greater time commitment but are perfect for specialty coffee professionals who are open for leadership roles and would like to be more involved with the behind-the-scenes support of the event.

The Specialty Coffee Association is excited to announce the launch of a new education program, designed for those looking to learn more about the World Coffee Championships and begin their journey towards becoming a World Coffee Championships (WCC) Certified Judge. The new WCC Judge Skills Program will launch this November 8-10, with a trial event hosted at Lucca Café in Curitiba, Brazil.

As presented to SCA members on August 30, the SCA Board of Directors, led by President Pamela Chng, nominated a group of seven 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 seven professionals listed below as members of the SCA Board of Directors, in accordance with Section 7.4(f) of the SCA Bylaws.

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.

LAUREL CARMICHAEL, SCA Publications Manager, provides an update on the CVA, with a focus on its capacity for information-sharing.

For her master's degree, environmental science researcher LORENA PIEDRA CASTILLO set out to model how climate change could affect coffee flavor, in the hope of providing coffee growers with valuable information to develop strategies to ensure the continued availability of high-quality coffee in Veracruz state, Mexico in the future. 

Senior Program Manager for Coffee at IDH, the Sustainable Trade Initiative, METTE-MARIE HANSEN shares key insights from the recently published report, The Grounds for Sharing. The report was commissioned by the Global Coffee Platform, IDH, and Solidaridad and traces how value for coffees sold in the German retail sector is created and distributed along supply chains.

EILEEN GORDON-LAITY, Secretary General of the European Coffee Federation, shares what we know (and what we don’t know) about the EU Deforestation Regulation coming into effect in the future.

Researchers Dr. NANCY CORDOBA and Dr. DEVIN PETERSON, joined by PETER GIULIANO, share early results of a multi-year Coffee Science Foundation research project, undertaken at the Flavor Research and Education Center at Ohio State University, to establish foundational knowledge about the phenomenon of sweetness in coffee.

Director of the University of California Davis Coffee Center, Professor WILLIAM RISTENPART shares a summary of a four-year-long project on cold brew.

World Coffee Research’s MAEVE HOLLER and Dr. ROBERT KAWUKI write about how the organization is fast-tracking innovation for robusta to forge the future of coffee. 

 The recording of our recent webinar, Upcycled Value: Innovations in Coffee and Consumer-Facing Products with Circular Solutions, is now available to watch.

Sponsored Content by Stronghold Technologies, Inc.

In the specialty coffee industry, the journey to the perfect cup begins with selecting high-quality beans and ends with the delicate process of roasting. A key element in this journey is the coffee roaster, which can dramatically impact the flavor, aroma, and overall quality of the coffee. Among the top choices for professionals and enthusiasts alike is the Stronghold roaster, a cutting-edge machine known for its innovation and precision. 

The Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) and the Slow Food Coffee Coalition (SFCC) are proud to announce their partnership, shaping a new pathway towards impactful change within the global coffee industry. This collaboration, initiated at the beginning of 2024, was formalized with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding during Terra Madre Salone del Gusto, the Slow Food flagship event, this weekend in Turin, Italy.

The Coffee Value Assessment (CVA) for Cuppers Course is a two-day, immersive professional development experience tailored specifically for coffee cuppers and other sensory professionals.