Specialty Coffee Association of America's Seattle Conf. & Exhibition Sets Record for...

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- The Specialty Coffee Association of America's (SCAA) 17th Annual Conference & Exhibition, held April 15 - 18 at the Washington State Convention & Trade Center in Seattle, Wash., assembled more than 10,000 participants from

more than 40 countries. For SCAA and the industry, the conference marks the largest worldwide gathering of coffee professionals in history. The SCAA will bring this major industry event to Charlotte, N.C., April 7 - 10, 2006. More than 8,000 attendees are expected next year.

At the recent Seattle conference, many of the attendees represented coffee producers, exporters & importers, roasters, retailers and manufacturers. Baristas and specialty coffee connoisseurs were also in attendance. Delegates explored more than 850 exhibit booths featuring everything relating to coffee. The exhibition featured over 500 specialty coffee companies showcasing their products and services. Starbucks was the official host sponsor.

SCAA Recognition Awards

During the event, the SCAA recognized leading experts and professionals who made outstanding contributions to the specialty coffee industry.

--Lifetime Achievement Award: The Diedrich Family, including: Carl Diedrich, Sr., Martin Diedrich and Stephan Diedrich. Carl Diedrich was a strong influence in the coffee industry as a coffee grower, importer, retailer, builder of roasters and father of two influential specialty coffee people: Stephan Diedrich, founder of Diedrich Manufacturing, and Martin Diedrich, founder of Diedrich Coffee.

--Outstanding Contributions to the Association Award: Paul Songer, a private consultant who serves on the SCAA's Technical Standards Committee and is technical director for the Cup of Excellence.

--Distinguished Publisher Award: Ward Barbee, founder of Fresh Cup Magazine. His magazine has won more national awards than any other beverage trade publication. This year, Fresh Cup debuts insidecoffee, a consumer book explaining the mystique of specialty coffee. It will be sold through coffee retailers around the country.

--Special Recognition Award: John Sanders, a member of the Roasters Guild and the SCAA who currently sits on sub-committees for the United States Barista Championship Committee, Technical Standards Committee and Seattle Conference Planning Committee. Sanders is also co-owner of Hines Public Market Coffee in Seattle.

Sustainability Awards

Sustainability awards were also presented by the SCAA to:

--Las Nubes Coffee, a project of the Fisher Fund for Neotropical Conservation and Timothy's World Coffee. The program seeks to protect the Las Nubes rainforest ecosystem and develop sustainable livelihoods within the surrounding region, including the reforestation of coffee farms and the phasing out of chemical pesticides and fertilizers.

--Portland Roasting's Farm Friendly Direct Programs, which focus primarily on sustainable, shade-grown and organic coffees. The programs involve paying growers a premium above the negotiated market price for their coffee, and 100 percent of the premium goes to farm and community projects.

--Starbucks Coffee Company's Coffee and Farmer Equity Practices. This project promotes the future supply of high-quality coffee while protecting and improving the environment and rewarding farmers for sustainable coffee production through quality, economic, environmental and social responsibility criteria.

Best New Product Awards at SCAA

On the final day of the exhibition, the SCAA's Best New Product Awards were presented to:

--Best New Coffee Preparation Equipment: Piazza Espresso's Coffee Brewing System

--Best New Coffee Accessory Product: Planetary Design's 20-ounce wide-based French press table

--Best New Ready to Drink Product: Mont Blanc's Haute Chocolate

--Best New Cold/Frozen Beverage: Dr. Smoothie's Acai.

--Best New Tea or Tea Product (tie): two leaves & a bud's Dilmah Teas and Serendipitea's Fair Trade Masala Chai

--Best New Beverage Accompaniment: Schokinag Chocolate's European Drinking Chocolate

--Best New Food Product: Caffe D' Amore's Bellagio Sipping Chocolate

--Best New Packaging Product: Insulair's Snap 'n Drink splash proof dome lid

--Best New Education and Training Product (Electronic): Coffee Lab International's Coffee Cupping System & Software

--Best New Education and Training Product (Print): Bellissimo Coffee InfoGroup's "Effective & Essential Marketing for the Specialty Coffee Retailer" by Bruce Milletto

--Best Exhibition Booth - less than 200 square feet: Mighty Leaf Tea Company

--Best Exhibition Booth - over 200 square feet: a tie between Colombian Coffee Federation and Espresso Parts NW

World Barista Championship

The 2005 World Barista Championship also took place in conjunction with the SCAA's 17th Annual Conference & Exhibition. Almost 40 international Baristas competed for the top spot. The championship title was presented to master barista Troels Overdal Poulsen of Cafe Europa in Denmark.

2005 Seattle Cupping Pavilion Results

During the conference, the SCAA hosted a Cupping Pavilion, which provided roasters and green coffee buyers with the opportunity to blind cup exceptional, carefully vetted coffees in a controlled environment. Coffee cupping is a method of systematically evaluating the aroma and taste characteristics of a sample of coffee beans. The Cupping Pavilion competition allowed specialty coffees to compete from Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Panama, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Mexico, India, Indonesia, Colombia, Bolivia and Africa. The all around winner and highest scoring competitor of the Cupping Pavilion competition was Hacienda La Esmeralda from Panama.

Conference Highlights

As the world's largest coffee event, the conference curriculum provided over 200 hours of education on topics such as growing and processing, roasting, brewing and serving, quality and standards, sustainability, industry trends, coffee cupping, business best practices and espresso basics, among others. The conference theme was "Back to the Future: The Pursuit of Perfection."

Dr. Jane Goodall, Ph.D., DBE, the United Nations Messenger of Peace, world-renowned conservationist and founder of the Jane Goodall Institute, was the keynote speaker. Goodall's overall message focused on "Reasons for Hope" for the world and environment.

Mark Your Calendar

The Specialty Coffee Association of America's 18th Annual Conference & Exhibition takes place in Charlotte, N.C., April 7 - 10, 2006. The conference theme is "Quality Tools for the Specialty Trade."

About the SCAA

Founded in 1982, SCAA is the world's largest coffee trade association with over 3,000 member companies. SCAA members are located in over 40 countries and represent every segment of the specialty coffee industry, from coffee growers to coffee roasters and retailers. The SCAA's mission is to be the recognized authority on specialty coffee, providing a common forum for the development and promotion of coffee excellence and sustainability. The SCAA's dedication to excellence in coffee is realized through the setting of quality standards for the industry; conducting research on coffee, equipment and perfection of craft; and providing education, training, resources and business services for members. The SCAA's annual conference is held in a different U.S. city each year and is the coffee industry's largest gathering and exhibition.