In case you haven’t heard, cof­fee prices are high (and con­tinue to rise). Supplies are con­strained, so prices are likely to remain ele­vated. This new mar­ket and result­ing dynam­ics are forc­ing some chal­leng­ing ques­tions, namely, “Can Specialty Coffee Continue to Grow?”

Of course it can.

However, it is not going to grow in the same man­ner as it has over the past twenty years nor will the same strate­gies apply. There is an urgent need for new think­ing, more col­lab­o­ra­tion, and new solu­tions. It is a chal­lenge, but one we approach with a great deal of opti­mism because one thing we know for sure, a big rea­son spe­cialty cof­fee is so spe­cial, is because of the com­mu­nity behind it. So it is our great honor, every year, to host the largest gath­er­ing of cof­fee pro­fes­sion­als in the world – the event for the spe­cialty cof­fee community.

This year, the set­ting is Houston. While not known as a cof­fee city, a host of cool inde­pen­dent roast­ers and retail­ers keep pop­ping up to tell me how wrong I am. Guy Burdett of InterAmerican Coffee, our host spon­sor, reminds me of Houston’s sig­nif­i­cance as a port for cof­fee enter­ing the United States. And as our friends from por­trait coun­try Brazil are demon­strat­ing, it is a major hub for the Americas (more than 500 Brazilians are expected to be at The Event – great news for any­one want­ing to do busi­ness with what will soon become the largest cof­fee con­sum­ing coun­try in the world).

The con­nec­tion point with pro­duc­ing coun­tries is extremely impor­tant as we think about the global chal­lenges for spe­cialty cof­fee. Despite all efforts to be envi­ron­men­tally and socially respon­si­ble, deeply com­pli­cated issues per­sist around cli­mate change, poverty, and jus­tice. I know many come to The Event to do busi­ness, but let me sug­gest these issues are our busi­ness as well. Solutions will not emerge with­out a strong con­nec­tion between Origin and con­sum­ing coun­tries, so at the risk of sound­ing preachy, please take at least one moment to talk to some­one you may not nor­mally have a chance to – just to ask their per­spec­tive on things. I promise it will enhance the expe­ri­ence of Expo.

But on to the expe­ri­ence of Expo…more exhibits, big­ger exhibits, new prod­ucts, new tech­nol­ogy, new classes, new com­pe­ti­tions, more events, cool venues for the after-parties, and a host of tried and true clas­sics (the Rainforest Alliance Kick-Off Cocktail Party, Opening Ceremonies and Welcome Reception, the United States Barista Championship, New Products Showcase, Coffee Kids Reception, International Women in Coffee Alliance Breakfast, the Coffee Quality Institute Annual Lunch, and the Grounds for Heath Reception, plus Guild parties).

Pause. Breath. Okay, there’s more…
The SCAA Event is more than a trade show; it is a place of inspi­ra­tion. It is where direc­tion takes shape and the plat­form for a strong future is set. The SCAA works con­tin­u­ously, not just to pro­duce this event, but help build the spe­cialty cof­fee com­mu­nity, build knowl­edge and skills of cof­fee pro­fes­sion­als, and help busi­nesses build their brands. This year, you will see evi­dence of our progress and glimpses of what’s next.

You’ll see an empha­sis on col­lab­o­ra­tion. As busi­nesses brace them­selves around ris­ing prices, we are look­ing at struc­tural causes. One of which is the fail­ure to invest ade­quately and sci­en­tif­i­cally in the sup­ply chain. The newly formed Global Coffee Quality Research Initiative will be very present this year at The Event as one impor­tant and viable solu­tion to that prob­lem. We will con­tinue to empha­size sus­tain­able prac­tices. The Specialty Coffee indus­try is sup­ported by a com­mit­ment to actively do good in the world. As part of our com­mit­ment under the United Nations Global Compact, we are launch­ing START – a sus­tain­abil­ity track­ing and report­ing tool for cor­po­rate social respon­si­bil­ity activ­i­ties. This six-figure tech­nol­ogy will be made avail­able to com­pa­nies for just a lit­tle over one hun­dred dol­lars per year and will be hugely impact­ful in help­ing us to define future areas of focus. And lastly, you will hear much more dis­cus­sion about con­sumer engage­ment. At our exec­u­tive series, Symposium, we will hear from retail exec­u­tives, chal­leng­ing us to think more (and more hon­estly) about cus­tomer ser­vice, com­mu­ni­ca­tion, and edu­ca­tion – prompt­ing answers to the ques­tion, “Can Specialty Coffee Continue to Grow?”

Of course it can. But we have some work to do fig­ur­ing out exactly how, we have to do some hon­est self-examination, and we have to keep work­ing together; a great place to start is the 23^rd Annual Specialty Coffee Association of American Symposium and Exposition, scaaevent.org | scaasymposium.org | scaa.org