selVa neGra CoFFee estate FOCUSES ON SUStAinAbiLitY Coffee 2_4_08.pdf · 2-5, 2008, and one or two...

JAn feb 2008

selVa neGra CoFFee estate FOCUSES ON SUStAinAbiLitYORIGIN:a PHoto essay

Go loCalWITH AUTHOR MiCHAeL SHUMAn,SCAA 2008KeYnote PreSenter

SPeCiALtY Coffee brinGS reCoverYIn rWanda

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On the cover: Specialty Coffee Association of America member Selva Negra Coffee Estate makes sustainability a key focus in all aspects of its business. The estate won SCAA’s 2007 Sustainability Award. To learn more about the estate in Nicaragua, see page 10.

� The Specialty Coffee Chronicle

jan feb 2008 a P u b l i c at i o n o f th e S P e c i a lt y c o ff e e a S S o c i at i o n o f a m e r i c a

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3 ......................................... From the President

4 ........................ From the Executive Director

28 ........................................Industry Calendar

29 ......................................................Classifieds

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conference countdown• Author and SCAA 2008 keynote

presenter Michael Shuman talks about his presentation at the upcoming Minneapolis conference, and offers revelations from his book, “The Small-Mart Revolution.”…Page 6

• SCAA previews the 20th Annual Conference & Exhibition…Page 8

life at Selva negraNicaragua’s “black forest” coffee estate, Selva Negra, focuses on sustainability for its business and the environment.

SPecialty coffee bringS recovery, reconciliation in rwandaKarol Boudreaux and Daniel Sacks report on the growing specialty coffee industry in Rwanda and how it is helping poor farmers increase their incomes and improve their standard of living.

KeePing uP with the joneSeSFor these SCAA members, the specialty coffee industry is a family affair.

origin: a SPecialty coffee Photo eSSayClay Enos takes a look at specialty coffee through the eye of his camera.

Path to the uSbcAs SCAA gears up for the 2008 United States Barista Championship (USBC), another Regional Barista Competition champion is declared. The winner goes on to compete in the upcoming USBC.

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The Specialty Coffee Chronicle �

In just a few short months, we will go back to our “Roots” at our 2008 conference and exhibition in Minneapolis, Minn. Have you made plans yet?

When we live in a world as complex and ever-changing as ours is today, it is particularly important to cherish and celebrate the roots that support us and keep us strong. The coffee world is also changing, so I encourage you to attend the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) annual conference in Minneapolis in May 2008. It is the best place to see the latest product developments, marketing innovations and business issues being explored in the specialty coffee industry today.

Now is a good time to think about what specialty coffee “roots” mean to you. I would like to share some of what they mean to me…

…Specialty coffee is rooted in quality that is verifiable, transparent and sustainable. It starts on the farm, with a farmer who has a face and a family whom we know as friends. The product quality we create together cannot be owned by any individual or company, but is the result of sustained and questing relationships between all coffee partners, including our precious customers. This quality results in price premiums that are deserved and fairly shared with the farmers who grow the product we all depend upon for our livelihoods.

…Specialty coffee is rooted in community and the fundamental act of sharing, created through having a cup of fine coffee with another person. This invitation to have a cup of coffee really means, “hey, let’s sit down together and tell each other what we’re thinking.” So specialty coffee has become a valuable weapon of mass production which can be kindly, thoughtfully deployed just about anywhere, including your local coffeehouse and kitchen table.

…Specialty coffee is rooted in innovation and the perseverance it takes to turn dreams into realities. More Americans are seeking a better quality cup of coffee than ever before, because the specialty coffee industry has changed people’s perceptions of what a good cup of coffee should taste like. And more people than ever before are becoming aware of the constructive power of coffee to impact the lives of the millions of hardworking people around the world who are our development partners and allies.

So please, if you haven’t already done so, make your plans to join us at the SCAA 2007 Conference & Exhibition in Minneapolis, Minn., May 2-5, 2008.

I look forward to sharing a delicious cup of specialty coffee with you…I want to find out what you’re thinking!

Mary Petitt, President

Executive DirectorRic [email protected]

Executive EditorRick Havacko

Director of [email protected]

Managing EditorAaron Kiel

[email protected]

Art DirectorTiffany Howard

[email protected]

ContributorsClay Enos

Karol BoudreauxDaniel Sacks

Michelle Campbell

�007/�008BOARD OF DIRECTORS

PresidentMary Petitt

1st Vice PresidentMark Inman

2nd Vice PresidentMike Ebert

Secretary/TreasurerTracy Allen

DirectorsTina Berard

Nicholas ChoMike Ebert

Phyllis JohnsonEllie Hudson Matuszak

Tim O’ConnorPrice Peterson

Max QuirinJeff Taylor

Immediate Past PresidentRob Stephen

SCAA330 Golden Shore, Suite 50

Long Beach, CA 90802TEL: (562) 624-4100FAX: (562) 624-4101

www.scaa.org

The Specialty Coffee Chronicle is published bi-monthly by the Specialty

Coffee Association of America as a forum for discussion and information on industry-related topics and issues.

The Chronicle welcomes and will consider for publication articles,

columns or firsthand accounts of life in the specialty coffee industry from

SCAA members. Opinions expressed in articles and letters do not necessarily

represent the position of the SCAA, its members or directors.

The Chronicle is printed on recycled paper containing 50% post-consumer waste.

Copyright© 2007 Specialty Coffee Chronicle.All Rights Reserved.

return to your rootS

President mary Petitt


The intangible benefits of membership

include unique opportunities to

participate in the specialty coffee

community, through our professional

guilds, networking, volunteering and

on-line communities.

Ric RhinehaRt

One of the issues foremost on my mind over the last few months has been how to quantify the true benefits of membership to potential and existing members of the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA). As a nearly 20-year member myself, I reflect on my own

experiences and can assure you that in many respects I have failed to take advantage of all of the tangible benefits the association provides. However, in many instances, I have realized many of the more intangible benefits to their fullest, and for that I am most grateful. In any event, this prompts me to address the topic in this column.

There are a number of tangible benefits that SCAA membership provides. These include subscriptions to a wide range of trade publications, discounts on freight and on package delivery, discounts and access to group health insurance, discount pricing on SCAA seminars, skill-building workshops, regional barista events, resource center materials and admission to our annual conference and exhibition. A member who attends our 20th Annual Conference & Exhibition in Minneapolis, May 2-5, 2008, and one or two skill-building workshops nearly recovers the cost of membership in discounts alone. Add in the other benefits listed above, and from a price/value relationship, membership dues represent a real bargain.

As a veteran member, I have enjoyed the discounts on conference admission and on skill-building seminars, as well as the subscriptions to the assorted trade magazines that have come along with membership over the years. But, I must confess that I have not often taken advantage of the other business services. In large part this was due to a singular lack of awareness on my part. Through our new Web site, we will provide new ways to alert members on how to access and enjoy our valuable benefits.

The intangible benefits of membership include unique opportunities to participate in the specialty coffee community, through our professional guilds, networking, volunteering and on-line communities. Roaster members can further increase their benefit by joining the Roasters Guild while retail members can increase their staff ’s coffee skill and understanding through

the activities of the Barista Guild. The SCAA also provides a voice for members in the larger world. With an active presence within the International Coffee Organization, in partnership with Coffee Quality Institute, as a concerned voice in Washington, D.C., and visible at a wide array of international coffee conferences, the SCAA conveys the concerns and issues of members to an important global audience.

Additional benefits include access to SCAA developed and promoted standards for coffee grading, cupping, roasting, brewing and espresso preparation. Our organization continues to work on developing, publishing and promoting standards that sets the specialty coffee industry apart from other segments of the coffee world. The ability to influence and access those standards is an important one.

For many members, including me, the greatest benefit has been realized through active participation as a volunteer. Volunteer activities as an instructor, as a Coffee Corps trainer and as a committee member provided me with exceptional opportunities to increase my understanding and knowledge of the coffee world, and, most importantly, led me to develop relationships in our industry that have impacted me both personally and professionally.

Still not convinced? Let me offer you two more comments. First, this organization is not at rest. We are actively seeking new ways to offer further value to all of our

members. Second, we are listening. We want to know what is missing for you, the new or renewing member. Please call me or write to me and let me know what we can add, fix, improve on or create that would represent a positive value for you and provide the incentive to be a current, satisfied and involved member.

Ric Rhinehart, Executive Director

executive director

memberShiP doeS have itS rewardS

Editor’s Note: Ric Rhinehart can be reached at [email protected] or by phone at 562-624-4100 (p.s. he really does want to hear from you.)


conference countdown

meet sCaa in minnesotamay 2–5, 2008 20th annual conference & exhibition

this 20th iteration of the greatest coffee show on earth brings together in new and exciting ways the entire chain of coffee production, from farmers to consumers and all of the links

in between. the educational sessions are designed to increase the opportunities for dialogue, provide a forum for the exchange of ideas

and lay a foundation for continued partnership between the diverse business interests that make up our coffee world. Whether you

are a 20-year veteran of this show or a first time attendee, there is something special for you in the array of educational, networking and business opportunities on offer here.Ric Rhinehart

Specialty Coffee Association of America Executive Director

Baristas, retailers, roasters, importers and producers will

find value in each and every educational offering at this

year’s conference. Venture into a new track, mingle with a different

business segment, practice a different language and make a new connection.

each educational offering was designed to help you address the demands of our

current industry, master a certain task or discover a new trend in your market.

Mark Inman

Specialty Coffee Association of America

Conference Chair

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A noted economist, attorney, author and entrepreneur, Michael Shuman is

widely recognized for his research into the economic advantages of small-scale businesses in an era of globalization, as well as the often overlooked benefits of building local economies in an era of big-box chains. Shuman is also vice president for enterprise development for the Training and Development Corporation of Bucksport, Maine.

He has authored, coauthored and edited seven books, including “The Small-Mart Revolution: How Local Businesses are Beating the Global Competition” (Berrett-Koehler, 2006) and “Going Local: Creating Self-Reliant Communities in the Global Age” (Free Press, 1998). “The Small-Mart Revolution” was awarded a bronze medal for best business book by the Independent Publishers’ Association.

In recent years, Shuman has led community-based economic-development efforts in the United States, and he is currently preparing studies on state business subsidies for the Kellogg Foundation and on global models of local food businesses for the Gates Foundation.

Shuman will present the keynote address on May 2 at the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s 20th Annual Conference & Exhibition in Minneapolis, Minn. QueStion: Michael, thank you for your time. First off, tell us a little about your book, “The Small-Mart Revolution: How Local Businesses Are Beating the Global Competition.” anSwer: ”The Small-Mart Revolution” makes three essential arguments about the power, the competitiveness and the needs of locally-owned businesses. First, there’s a growing body of evidence that for every dollar they earn, locally-owned businesses contribute significantly more to local economies than do outsider-owned businesses—often two to four times the contribution to jobs,

income, wealth and taxes. One principal reason—among a dozen—is that local businesses spend more of their money locally, on local advertising, local business services, local managers, and this in turn pumps up what’s called the “economic multiplier.”

Second, local businesses are more competitive than most people think. About a 58 percent majority of the U.S. economy is rooted in place by ownership now, and that number could well grow. Rising oil prices, for example, are making local production for local distribution increasingly competitive against Chinese production for Wal-Mart distribution.

Third, the success of local businesses cannot just be left to the marketplace. It also depends on consumers learning more about the virtues of buying “local first,” on investors weighing the potential profitability of local stock companies, on small businesses working collaboratively rather than competitively, and on policymakers overhauling their economic development policies.

QueStion: What key message should the specialty coffee industry glean from your book?

anSwer: As an industry that is largely made of small, independent players, specialty coffee roasters, packagers and sellers will find dozens of ideas in “The Small-Mart Revolution” for improving their competitiveness. And even your large non-local players, like Starbucks, might learn a thing or two about how they can improve their attractiveness to customers by increasing the localness of their advertising, operations, expenditures and so forth.

QueStion: What will your SCAA presentation focus on, and what do you hope attendees learn from your keynote?

anSwer: The key message is that, despite all the hoopla we’ve been hearing about globalization, the future belongs to things local. A bunch of trends—the shrinking dollar, the Internet, fears about global terrorist disruptions of supply lines, niche-conscious consumers, worries about Chinese quality control—are leading U.S. consumers increasingly to buy local. Time magazine expressed the zeitgeist last spring when its cover said, “Forget organic, eat local!”

Go LoCaLauthor and sCaa 2008 keynote Presenter

miChaeL shuman ShARES hIS “local firSt” MESSAgEInterview by Aaron Kiel


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QueStion: In “The Small-Mart Revolution,” you talk about some specific strategies which small and home-based businesses are using to successfully out-compete the world’s largest, “big box” and Fortune 500 companies. Tell us about that. anSwer: There are three kinds of strategies that businesses should be mindful of. One is what specific businesses, on their own, can do. Grocers can specialize in the high-quality local foods that the big boxes rarely sell. Hardware stores can add services that companies like Home Depot have cut out. Even doing simple things—longer hours, nicer staff, cleaner premises, more interesting displays, one-of-a-kind themes—can give many local businesses plausible competitive advantages.

But there are also strategies that local businesses really can only carry out when they work together. They can launch “local first” campaigns that educate consumers about which stores are local and why they should buy from them, and then mobilize consumers through labels, coupon books and local gift or local debit cards. They can create destination downtowns or specialty local malls like Pike’s Market in Seattle. They can set up collective purchasing cooperatives, like Tucson Originals. They can assemble a direct delivery service that makes them more convenient than the “big boxes.”

Finally, an important strategy is to collaborate politically to undo much of what masquerades as economic development. Nearly all economic-development policy is about the attraction and retention of non-local business—and these are the businesses least likely to contribute to the economic well-being of a community. State and local authorities need to stop effectively undermining the competitiveness of local businesses, and refocus their efforts on helping local businesses find the capital, people and ideas they need to succeed.

QueStion: What happens—big picture point of view—when consumers support their own local businesses? anSwer: Besides the higher economic multiplier, which we talked about, local businesses have a number of other characteristics that make them especially helpful for communities. They don’t move, for example. Without ambitions to pick up and move to Mexico or China, local businesses are more reliable generators of wealth for the community for many years, often for many generations.

Local businesses tend to be small, increasingly home-based. That allows them to be part of a walkable community, a central goal of “smart growth.” If you think about it, it’s impossible to create a walkable, car-free community with large industrial parks or in a big-box ghetto.

Local businesses are unique in character. That attracts tourists. And the entrepreneurship opportunities provided by them attract the best and the brightest, particularly among young people, the foundation for what Richard Florida calls “the creative economy.”

Buying local promotes thriving areas of local commerce, which draw members of the community into a lot more social contact. There’s evidence from sociologists that local-business economies have more equality, less civil strife and lower rates of welfare. And political scientists are starting to tell us that local-business economies

have higher rates of voter turnout and civic participation.

QueStion: With all of this business localization, tell us what affect you believe this could have on the environment, if any? anSwer: While every kind of business has a contribution to make to the environment, ultimately local-business economies are inherently more likely to embrace sustainability. The immobility factor means that a community made up primarily of locally-owned businesses can raise labor and environmental standards with confidence that its businesses will adapt rather than flee. A community where local managers encounter those on the receiving end of their pollution at church or the supermarket are likely to behave more responsibly. And buying local usually means maximizing local self-reliance and minimizing unnecessary imports. In an era of peak oil and climate disruption, the concept of a “green” Wal-Mart, importing many of its goods 10,000 miles from China, is more than a bit oxymoronic.

QueStion: Would you say that we’re in an economic uprising? Do you see that in the coffee industry?

anSwer: Yes, in the sense that thoughtful people across the political spectrum are rejecting the discredited principles of old-style economic development. Attracting outside companies is out; nurturing home-grown alternatives is in. And of course, the coffee industry is not the only example of this, with home-grown coffee roasters springing up in the most unlikely places in America, but it’s also often leading the charge. I helped found and continue to serve on the board of the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies, which in a half dozen years has grown into 55 business networks across the country. In many of these networks, the local coffee seller has taken a leading role. This makes sense, given how central a civic role the coffeehouse plays in our society. QueStion: What does all of this mean to the specialty coffee industry—coffee producers, exporters and importers, roasters, retailers, manufacturers and baristas, etc.?

anSwer: The global character of a localized coffee industry, especially the growing of beans, underscores that localization does not have to mean disconnection from the world. What the coffee industry is demonstrating already is that locally-owned businesses can contribute to their communities in the many ways I suggested without unplugging from the planet. That’s a nice model for other industries to learn from and follow. QueStion: Thanks for your time. In 10 words or less, what one thing do you want delegates at the SCAA conference to remember from your upcoming presentation?

anSwer: Businesses embracing localization will thrive. Those that ignore it won’t.

The Specialty Coffee Chronicle 7

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8 The Specialty Coffee Chronicle

all aBout the eduCation, networkinG,Business oPPortunities at

Scaa’S 20th annual conference & exhibitionmay 2–5, 2008

As the industry’s premier educational event, the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s (SCAA) Annual Conference & Exhibition

gathers thousands of international professionals from more than 40 countries, including Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee and portrait country for this year’s conference.

Portrait country ethioPiaAs SCAA untwines the coffee industry’s “roots” through its conference theme and curriculum, it fittingly features the birthplace of coffee. This year, in “Portrait Country Ethiopia,” SCAA conference attendees join Ethiopian coffee growers, cooperatives and exporters in two unique forums. The first forum presents the achievements and progress of the Ethiopian Fine Coffee Trademarking and Licensing Initiative. The second forum discusses how Ethiopian producers and international distributors can jointly meet the challenge of increasing the supply of Ethiopian fine coffees while improving and maintaining quality. The conference also features the “experience” of Ethiopia, including music, coffee ceremonies and presentations of traditional costumes and customs. Ethiopia will be represented on the exhibit floor in booth No. 1952.

overviewConference delegates, including coffee producers, exporters and importers, roasters, retailers, manufacturers and baristas, will enrich their knowledge during more than 100 hands-on labs and lectures at the 20th Annual Conference & Exhibition.

Through educational tracks, such as Agroecology, Business, Retail, Roaster and Sustainability, attendees receive valuable information and training to apply to their business. In addition, the world coffee community will network and have access to more than 700 exhibitor booths featuring everything coffee—green and roasted specialty coffees, commercial and home brewing equipment, espresso machines and grinders, coffee roasting equipment, coffee drinks and mixes and flavorings and syrups, to name a few of the offerings.

highlightS, new to the conferenceConference delegates will also experience the new “Agroecology” track, which focuses on the largest segment of the specialty coffee industry’s supply channel—the small to mid-sized grower—to assist them with practical methods to develop better soil, increase biodiversity, manage natural resources, increase coffee quality and improve yields. Agroecology is the science of applying ecological concepts and principles to the design and management of sustainable food systems.

The International Relations Council, a long-standing SCAA committee comprised of representatives from the world’s major coffee producing and consuming organizations, hosts the International Coffee Symposium. This symposium brings forth the critical issues of international coffee and begins with the highly anticipated “State of the Coffee Industry.”

The La Vida Verde Symposium focuses on the specialty coffee industry’s producer partners, who, season after season, reach high levels of quality. For many producers, the path to greater prosperity

lies through participation in one or more of the numerous certifications or financing options available to specialty

coffee growers. This symposium features two intensive seminars that will seek to clarify many

of the issues surrounding these subjects.SCAA’s 4th Sustainability Symposium

will explore various social and environmental advances and achievements while also addressing new challenges for the future. The symposium features both conceptual approaches to and practical applications of sustainability as it relates

to the specialty coffee industry.

united StateS bariSta chamPionShiP

SCAA’s 2008 United States Barista Championship, hosted by Krups, also takes place at the conference.

Baristas from around the country will compete for the coveted title and demonstrate the profession of espresso-drink making while creating some of the country’s finest coffee concoctions.

coffee of the year comPetitionThe Roasters Guild 2008 Coffee of the Year Competition will identify the world’s best specialty coffee. More than 30 experienced judges select the winning coffee by cupping or thoroughly evaluating six distinct attributes of the competitors’ coffee samples, including fragrance, aroma, taste, flavor, aftertaste and body.


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Mark Inman, conference chairTaylor Maid Farms, LLC Mike Ebert, SCAA Vice ChairCoffee Masters Erica BellHolland Coffee Company Erich W. BergerSaveur Magazine Connie BlumhardtRoast Magazine Tim ChapdelaineVOLCAFE Specialty Coffee Chris EilersDunn Bros Coffee

Jim GlangCrossroads Espresso

Deb JonesCaribou Coffee Peter KettlerHolland Coffee Midwest Kerry LairdPacific Bay Coffee Co. Rhita LaVineTaylor Maid Farms, LLC Al LiuAlterra Coffee Roasters, Inc. Desiree LogdonBunn-O-Matic Corporation Jason LongCafé Imports, LLC

Michael McGuireK Bay Caffe’ Roasting Company Jim MunsonDallis Coffee Andy NewbomBarefoot Coffee Roasters Tom PalmDesign and Layout Services Heather PerryCoffee Klatch Paul ThorntonCoffee Bean International Elizabeth Whitlow-InmanCalifornia Certified Organic Farmers

thank you to the 2008 conference committee

there’s no PLaCe quite Like minneaPoLis

It’s a city of amazing contrasts and combinations. Where down-home people meet uptown style. Where below-zero temperature meets above-average intelligence. Where modern glass architecture meets outdoor green adventure. Where every season, every art and every type meet in every possible way.

With beautiful surroundings and plenty to do, Minneapolis is “refreshingly vibrant, buzzy and cultured,” according to the London Metro. The one-of-a-kind theater scene boasts more theater seats per capita than any city outside New York, while the city’s 22 lakes provide an abundance of year-round activities.

A lush green environment combined with contemporary architecture makes the city a unique combination of natural beauty and sophistication. Upscale shopping and sidewalk dining paired with cultural and family activities make the City of Lakes a wonderful place to visit or live. With more than 90,000 miles of it, Minnesota has more shoreline than Hawaii, California and Florida combined.

AT A GLANCE Conference dates: May 2–5, 2008 Location: Minneapolis Convention Center, Minneapolis, Minn. Conference theme: “Roots” Official conference host: Caribou Coffeewww.cariboucoffee.com

Information: http://conference.scaa.org/. For a copy of the conference brochure, call 562-624-4100 or e-mail [email protected]

Minneapolis skyline

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C0 M60Y100 K17

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Nicaragua’s “black forest” coffee estatefocuses on sustainability

By Aaron Kiel

Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) member Selva Negra Coffee Estate makes sustainability a key focus in all aspects of its

business, from hydroelectric power for energy to a herd of Jersey cows for milk.

The estate won the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s 2007 Sustainability Award in the category of Sustainable Business Practice and Sustainable Project, which honors individuals, businesses and organizations in the coffee industry that have created innovative projects to expand and promote sustainability

“We would like to be self-sufficient in everything,” says Eddy Kühl, who owns and manages the estate

along with his wife, Mausi Kühl, and daughters: Annegret, Karen, Heddy and Nora. “We produce green coffee for export, roasted coffee, milk, cheese, hams, vegetables, poultry and eggs. We produce methane gas for cooking and have solar heaters. Our bottleneck was the expensive, national energy power, but recently we finished building our own hydroelectric power turbine, and we are looking forward to a wind-powered energy system.”

Indeed, sustainability is evident throughout the award-winning Selva Negra estate as the family wants the farm and business to be in excellent condition in 100 to 200 years from now.

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Nicaragua’s “black forest” coffee estatefocuses on

By Aaron Kiel

Nicaragua’s “black forest” coffee estateon sustainability

selva negra

The Nicaraguan estate pictured here, Selva Negra, which means black forest in Spanish, makes sustainability a priority. In fact, the estate won a Specialty Coffee Association of America Sustainability Award in 2007.


the eStateA shining example of a sustainable practice, Selva

Negra, which means black forest in Spanish, is located in the northern hills of Nicaragua. A third of the 1,200-acre coffee estate is devoted to shade-grown coffee, a third is reserved for pastures and other crops, and the remaining third is covered with tropical forest.

Recognized for quality, Selva Negra Coffee is a registered brand in the Unitesd States and sold at Whole Foods Market stores, among other locations. “We think it is a good quality coffee, and being shade grown and organic gives it a distinctive taste,” says Kühl.

Selva Negra’s coffee has been certified since 1997 by the Rainforest Alliance, a nonprofit international conservation organization, and certified organic since 2005. Most of its coffee—about 85 percent of production—is exported to U.S. markets, such as the Oakland, Calif. area, N.Y. and Atlanta. The remainder of the estate’s coffee is distributed throughout Europe.

The family also distributes Selva Negra coffee through JavaVino (www.JavaVino.com), which is based in Atlanta.

At the estate, Selva Negra’s coffee trees are grown in the shade of native Nicaraguan trees. The coffee is picked by hand and brought to the farm’s processing plant, where waste from processing provides methane gas for cooking and coffee roasting.

Selva Negra coffee beans are dried in the sun and hulled at plants in the valley below the farm. Leaving nothing to waste, hulls are used on the footpaths of the forest to help prevent erosion. Wood from the occasional pruning of the shade and coffee trees is used for construction or for fuel. And, leaves and debris are left on the soil surface as mulch or made into organic fertilize through composting.

The estate also utilizes its pulp for compost production, generating an annual four-million pounds of compost, which is reused as fertilizer. The estate sends only one barrel of trash to the dump a month.

Undoubtedly, wastewater from coffee processing can cause damage to rivers, wildlife and the drinking waters of whole towns, but at Selva Negra, they process wastewater through a cleaning process that creates methane gas as a byproduct.

The farm at Selva Negra produces pork, chicken, fruit, vegetables and eggs to feed guests and the 250 employees and their families. A herd of Jersey cows produces milk, which is made into cheeses. Large greenhouses produce cut flowers and house plants. The farm also produces its own insect bait and natural insecticide from native herbs and berries to protect the crops.

Sustaining its workforce, Selva Negra supplies good living conditions—housing, water, electricity, food, a school, a medical clinic and sports fields—for its employees. Of course, coffee for the workers and visitors is roasted on site at the farm.

A network of trails makes it easy for workers and visitors to access the estate’s forest, which features 200 species of birds, including the rare and elusive Quetzal.

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seLVa neGra


selva negra continued Orchids and bromeliads grow wild in the trees around the farm, and philodendron and other house plants flourish in the forest.

”We’re recognized for our protection of nature,” says Kühl. “Selva Negra is a property where no hunting, no cutting or burning of trees is permitted. All of our chores of cultivating, harvesting, processing and exporting are nature-friendly and the processing facilities are totally ecological.”

a sUsTaInaBle eFFOrTWas it difficult to launch a sustainability program

of this magnitude at Selva Negra? Kühl says that it was challenging in the beginning stages. “It was more difficult because we were very invested in improving the social and infrastructure conditions,” he explains.

Selva Negra took a chance by making the estate sustainable back in the 1970s. However, by the 1990s, when the specialty coffee fever began, coffee buyers discovered Selva Negra, recognized its quality and paid premium prices. “We felt a sense of relief and so we continued with our sustainability improvements.”

The most challenging aspect of launching the sustainability program at Selva Negra, according to Kühl, was overcoming the machismo factor. “Mausi, my wife, is the manager, and our four daughters help with the estate. I am in charge of infrastructure, so, basically, women are in charge of Selva Negra, and 43 percent of our farm personnel is women. The most challenging aspect was to see their success, struggling against the macho concept of the former way of managing coffee farms. However, the workers are very proud of working here. Our daughters and grandkids help us around the estate and are proud of its success.”

As a leader in sustainable efforts, Kühl says that other coffee estates can learn from Selva Negra’s success. “We advise other coffee estates to implement these environmental and social practices. It helps protect the planet and their coffee business, and that will make them proud and get a better price for their coffee.”

He also advises SCAA members to take advantage of the association’s educational benefits, especially at the annual conference and exhibition. “SCAA has helped our estate and the industry by promoting these values of social and environmental practices in coffee farms, and helping us to get better prices for specialty coffees like Selva Negra.”

Page 11 photos: Workers dry coffee on raised beds just across Selva Negra’s main house (top picture). During the Christmas holiday, every child at the estate receives toys (center picture). Coffee buyers take a moment from their day to play in the coffee-drying patio at Selva Negra (bottom picture).

This page: In addition to a school for the worker’s children, Selva Negra offers evening classes for adults, where they receive diplomas upon graduation (top picture). Santa Claus delivers toys to the children at Selva Negra (center picture). Heddy, Annegret, Nora, Karen and Mausi Kühl, from left to right, all have various job at the Selva Negra estate (bottom picture).

The Specialty Coffee Chronicle 1�

Attend the Specialty Coff ee Association of America’s 20th Annual Conference & Exhibition to fi nd out who will win the 2008 Sustainability Awards. http://conference.scaa.org

Selva Negra Coffee EstateFACTS

• Selva Negra means black forest in Spanish.

• Selva Negra is a historical coffee farm, which was founded by German Immigrants in Nicaragua in 1891. Selva Negra Coffee Estate belongs to the Kühl-Hayn family, descendants of those immigrants.

• In the 1880s, the Nicaraguan government invited German settlers to immigrate and help the growing coffee industry in Nicaragua. Many settled in the area around Matagalpa, about two hours by road north of Managua, the country’s capital. Eddy Kühl and Mausi Kühl, the owners of Selva Negra Coffee Estate, are Nicaraguan descendants of some of those German settlers. Both speak Spanish and English, and Mausi also speaks German.

• The Selva Negra Coffee Estate is full of mementos and photographs of the history of the area and of the coffee industry. The Kühls regularly invite colleagues and friends to tour the farm and learn about their coffee and sustainability practices. Visitors come from all over the world, but many Nicaraguans visit the estate to learn ecological practices and to escape the heat of the lowlands.

• Selva Negra coffee can be found at Whole Foods Market stores or at www.JavaVino.com.

Dew falls from ripe coffee at Selva Negra Coffee Estate.

Selva Negra Coffee Estate in Nicaragua boasts more than 1,200-

acres of sustainable coffee production.

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1� The Specialty Coffee Chronicle

SpECIAlty CoffEEBRings RecoVeRy, Reconciliation

rwanda

Story by Karol Boudreaux and Daniel Sacks l Photos by Karol Boudreaux

In 1994, Rwanda experienced a massive genocide that left nearly a million people dead, according to estimates from the United Nations Security Council.1 This incredible loss

led to massive social and economic upheaval, including millions of refugees fleeing to neighboring Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda and Zaire.2

Through death and displacement of much of the work force, the genocide essentially halted industry and trade in Rwanda, making economic recovery difficult. Furthermore, the enmity between Rwanda’s Hutu and Tutsi people left many to wonder how the social fabric could be repaired so that the nation could move forward.

The specialty coffee industry has proved to be a surprisingly robust and successful solution to some of Rwanda’s economic problems. Even more surprising is how the coffee industry is helping Rwanda recover from the genocide’s deep social wounds.

Washing beans at COOPAC’S washing station near Gisenyi. >>1� The Specialty Coffee Chronicle

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The growing specialty coffee industry

in Rwanda is helping

poor farmers increase their incomes and improve their standard of living.



rwanda continueD

Sorting and drying beans

at COOPAC’s washing station

near Gisenyi.

The specialty coffee industry has proved to be a

surprisingly robust and successful solution

to some ofRwanda’s economic problems.



the SPecialty coffee induStry in rwanda

Rwanda is a poor and largely agrarian country. In 2005, the average Rwandan made only $230 per year, compared to $580 for other low-income countries. 3 According to the World Bank, “agriculture currently accounts for 41 percent of gross domestic product and provides jobs to 90 percent of the population.” 4 Life expectancy is only 44 years, well below the 59-year average for other low-income countries. Due mostly to the effects of genocide, Rwanda also has the highest percentage of women (50 percent) in the labor force amongst all African countries.

Rwandan farmers have grown coffee since the 1930s, but they only recently began to focus on producing specialty coffee, which sells at much higher prices than commodity-grade coffee. 5 In recent years, agricultural experts have recognized that Rwanda possesses high-quality coffee trees and good soils, as well as reliable rainfall. These natural resources—combined with training in coffee farming, new washing stations for processing coffee beans,

and new laws allowing for freedom in business—gave Rwandan coffee farmers the hope of higher prices on world markets and a chance to escape poverty.

The typical Rwandan coffee farmer oversees a small plot of land, home to about 175 trees. When Rwanda’s hospitable agricultural conditions are combined with improved training for farmers, the results are the production of high-quality, and potentially highly profitable, specialty coffee.

Twenty percent of Rwanda’s coffee farmers are genocide widows and orphans (which includes families of fathers and husbands who were killed as well as those jailed for their role in the genocide).6 These women have turned to coffee farming to support themselves, and because their land holdings are so small, it is essential for them to work cooperatively in order to earn enough money to support their families. Specialty coffee is labor and resource intensive, encouraging many farmers to join cooperatives in order to share expenses, knowledge and risk.

After harvesting their coffee beans, Rwandan farmers must haul their crop to a washing station to wash, depulp and dry the fruit. Increasingly, Rwandan coffee farmers have access to washing stations

Sorting beans at Rwandex.


through their membership in a cooperative. Historically, the lack of washing stations combined with Rwanda’s poor roads made it difficult for farmers to get their crops to the station quickly. Fortunately, new washing stations are being built, and an innovative program to get specially designed bicycles to coffee producers may prove helpful as well. 7

Access to a washing station is not the only benefit of joining a cooperative. For individual farmers, cooperatives are the source of information regarding improving methods of growing, handling, and processing coffee. Cooperative members also share the costs of marketing and use their group bargaining power to get the best possible price for their crops. Overall, the cooperatives help farmers produce higher-quality coffee with less risk, giving each farmer more money to support his or her family.

As a result of the work done by cooperatives and non-governmental organizations, Rwandan specialty coffee won or placed near the top of the field for quality in international specialty coffee competitions. In 1997, only 1.8 metric tons of specialty coffee was produced in Rwanda; by 2004 the figure was 40 metric tons. According to a CNNMoney.com report, “In 2006, about a thousand metric tons of fully washed Rwanda coffee was sold into U.S. specialty and gourmet markets at prices averaging $2 per pound. Commodity coffee—the kind that Rwanda used to produce—sells for just 60 to 75 cents a pound.” 8

benefitS of the SPecialty coffee induStry

The growing specialty coffee industry in Rwanda is helping poor farmers increase their incomes and improve their standard of living. The industry is also helping to bring people together after the terrible conflict and genocide. Little of the growth and improvement in the coffee market would have occurred without a decision in the late 1990s to loosen restrictions on the industry. Prior to the liberalization of the coffee sector, the government required farmers to grow a minimum amount of coffee on their land. The government paid farmers the same amount, regardless of the quality of their coffee, which gave farmers no incentive to grow better coffee.

Now Rwandan farmers are encouraged to grow the best quality coffee possible in order to make the most money they can. Rwanda’s newly revitalized coffee industry is helping growers earn much higher incomes. A 2006 report by the U.S. Agency for International Development claims that 50,000 households have seen their incomes from coffee production double, and approximately 2,000 jobs have been created at coffee washing stations.”9

In the process of producing specialty coffee, farmers are also developing a number of other valuable skills, such as learning how

rwanda continueD

Weighing coffee beans for export in Kigali.


1 “The Rwandan genocide and its aftermath,” chapter 10 of “State of the World’s Refugees,” (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, 2000).

2 Ibid. 3 “Rwanda at a Glance,” World Bank, available on-line at http://devdata.worldbank.org/AAG/rwa_aag.pdf.4 “Rwanda: Country Brief,” World Bank, available on-line at http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/

AFRICAEXT/RWANDAEXTN/0,,menuPK:368714~pagePK:141132~piPK:141107~theSitePK:368651,00.html. 5 Marc Gunther, “Why CEO’s love Rwanda,” CNNMoney.com, March 29, 2007. Available on-line at http://money.cnn.com6 Deidre van Dyk, “The Coffee Widows,” Time, August 25, 2006.7 The program is called Coffee Bikes, more information on this project can be found at: http://www.projectrwanda.org/coffeebike.php. 8 Marc Gunther, “Why CEO’s love Rwanda.”9 Chemonics International, Inc., “Assessing USAID’s Investments in Rwanda’s Coffee Sector,” (report produced for the United States Agency

for International Development, April 2006), available on-line at www.minagri.gov.rw10 William Foote, “A Healing Brew: Community-based Commerce Helps Heal the Broken Nation of Rwanda,” Miami Herald, November

29, 2004.

to market their goods, negotiate contracts, navigate certification processes for fair-trade or rainforest-safe branding, and manage their cooperatives. Many of these skills are transferable to other economic sectors.

Reform in Rwanda’s coffee industry also provides opportunities for Rwandan entrepreneurs to invest in their own country. As demand for specialty coffee increases, opportunities for new firms and projects follow. For example, the country’s first coffeehouse recently opened in Kigali.

bringing PeoPle together, healing old woundS

When people need to work together in order to build businesses, as poor farmers in Rwanda do, it seems to help repair social rifts. Creating business ties among former enemies may also lessen the likelihood of renewed violence because violence is a costly distraction from working and making money.

In an interview about the successful Karaba Cooperative, general manager Angelique Karekezi said, “Some of us once hated each other ...and now we’re working side by side. That’s been crucial for the healing process.” 10 Hutus and Tutsis who formerly fought one another now work alongside one another, building effective cooperatives, developing stronger business skills, and finding common ground as they work to improve their coffee and, by extension, their lives.

for more informationThis article is based on a policy comment entitled “State Power, Entrepreneurship, and Coffee: The Rwandan Experience,” which is part of a research project called Enterprise Africa! The project is co-sponsored by the Mercatus Center, the Free Market Foundation of Southern Africa, and London’s Institute of Economic Affairs. Read more at www.EnterpriseAfrica.org.

Senior Research Fellow Karol Boudreaux and Program Associate Daniel Sacks are with the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.

Rwandan farmers have grown coffee since the 1930s, but they only recently began to

focus on producing specialty coffee.

Karol Boudreaux is senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University (GMU) and lead researcher of Enterprise Africa! She teaches a course on law and international development at GMU and serves on the Working Group on Property Rights of the United Nation’s Commission on the Legal Empowerment of the Poor. She can be reached at [email protected].

Daniel Sacks is a program associate at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, working on Enterprise Africa! as a part of the Global Prosperity Initiative. Sacks is a graduate of McGill University in Montreal, Canada, with a bachelor’s degree in political science. He can be reached at [email protected].

Footnotes

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�0 The Specialty Coffee Chronicle

[ member spotlight ]

KeePing uP withthe Joneses

With their many business activities—Jones Coffee Roasting, Doña Mireya, Inc., Finca Dos Marias and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters—it’s tough to keep pace with the Jones family, who feel at home while working together in the specialty coffee industry.

By Aaron Kiel


Chuck Jones, Mireya Asturias Jones and Larry Jones.

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The Specialty Coffee Chronicle �1

For one Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) member and hard-working matriarch, Mireya Asturias Jones, the coffee

industry is a family affair, from seed to cup.Jones is CEO of Doña Mireya, Inc., a Pasadena,

Calif.-based specialty coffee import, marketing and sales company for her family’s estate-grown green coffee, Finca Dos Marias, located in the highlands of Guatemala. Her son, Chuck Jones, is vice president of Doña Mireya, Inc. and Jones Coffee Roasters, and her other son, Larry Jones, is the southwest territory manager for Green Mountain Coffee Roasters in Vermont.

As a family, the Joneses say they all share a kindred enthusiasm and dedication for specialty coffee.

“When asked what our biggest success has been in the industry, I have to say many,” says Jones. “The most important of which is working with my two sons in the industry. We work with each other, not for each other, and we all share an amazing passion for coffee.”

a family’S early

coffee daySIn the early to mid 1800s, Jones’ great grandmother, Maria de Maldonado, was owed some money by a customer of her bakery/general store in the village of Tejutla, Guatemala. To cancel the debt, the customer gave her the deed for some land in the highlands of San Marcos, near the village of La Reforma. “They arrived to find a beautiful piece of land where Germans were in the process of planting coffee throughout the region,” says Jones. “They settled in and followed suit to develop what we now know as Finca Dos Marias: the farm of the two Marias, my great grandmother and my grandmother.” The farm has since remained in the family.

“We have always known it as a family farm, or finca, being run and managed by each generation in turn,” says Jones. “Presently there is a board of directors, including the three segments of the family that maintain ownership: my father, uncle and widow of another uncle—all members of the Asturias Maldonado family.”

Finca Dos Marias typically sold coffee to Finland and the boutique European market. However, around 1990, Jones’ father was concerned about the failing market in Europe, and he asked her about marketing and sales for Dos Marias in the United States.

“At the time, there was one single-estate coffee in the market, La Minita from Costa Rica,” says Jones. “So, we formed our own importing/marketing/sales company, Doña Mireya, Inc., and we proceeded to carry out our new mission: sell the family’s coffee from Finca Dos Marias. And, a couple of years later, Finca Dos Marias became Green Mountain Coffee Roasters’ ‘Stewardship’ coffee for Guatemala, this being one of the first ‘relationship’ coffees in the industry.”

Larry Jones (left) and Chuck Jones (right) with their beloved administrator, Rodrigo Perez (center), in 1992

when they decided to bring their first container of coffee to the specialty coffee market in North America. “We are holding the first crude stencil we used to mark the burlap

bags,” says Chuck Jones. “Rodrigo passed away a week later, and we named our finca’s trade school ‘Perez y

Perez Instituto Basico’ in his honor.”

Chuck and Larry Jones in Guatemala about 14 years ago.

“We are very proud of the educational facilities and curriculum that our family has built for the families of the finca,” says Mireya

Asturias Jones. Pictured here, she thanks the workers and their families for continuing to build their futures through education.

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�� The Specialty Coffee Chronicle

the joneSeS continueD

joneS coffee roaSterSToday, in addition to being the CEO of Doña Mireya, Inc., Jones also works with Pasadena, Calif.-based Jones Coffee Roasters, which she built with her son, Chuck. Together, they retail, wholesale and brew some of the finest coffees in the world.

“With Jones Coffee Roasters, Chuck and I blazed yet another trail in the wholesale and retail roasting business,” says Jones. “It was not easy, but we took pride in what we were doing and believed in our product.”

The duo’s big break came when they were invited to bid alongside of Starbucks Coffee Company and Peet’s Coffee & Tea for the California Institute of Technology account. “They called our family ‘the brewmatic triangle,’” says Jones. “And we won the account.”

Later, the business

continued to do well, and Jones Coffee Roasters gained another big account, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the lead U.S. center for robotic exploration of the solar system. “Although we will never be, nor do we want to be, among the giants, we roast and serve great coffees, and we really believe in the partnerships and service that are part of our customer family,” shares Jones.

In 2007, the family company was acknowledged twice by the Food Section of the Los Angles Times—one mention for having the

No. 1 French roast in Los Angles, and another mention in a holiday gift-giving guide, which featured their Ethiopian coffee. “We feel very fortunate to have a wonderful retail following,” says Jones.

As for working together at an often m e d i a - r e c o g n i z e d company, the mother and son team enjoy their collaboration. “I consider myself fortunate to have the opportunity to continue in my family’s passion and expand on

it,” says Chuck. “The diversity in the industry has allowed us to expand our roots to roasting and brewing, just an extension of the production side.”

Several years ago, while the new family business was becoming more of a success, Chuck wisely joined SCAA and was asked to help set up a membership committee. “He worked very hard, and then he became involved with the SCAA’s Roasters Guild,” says Jones. “During this time, I enjoyed crafting panel discussions, and Chuck and I did workshops on the various links of the chain, from seed to cup. We loved sharing the experience of the production and processing of the green coffee. This was before so many roasters and retailers were visiting origin themselves, and we could bring origin to them. They couldn’t get enough of it.”

Indeed, SCAA has been a critical factor in their success. “After the family’s 150 years in the industry, we now have the SCAA flag to rally around and make this all happen,” Chuck says.

Like Chuck, Jones also became heavily involved with SCAA, taking on leadership roles, including the development and chair of the United States Barista Championship and chair and member of the World Barista Championship board. She was also on the board of SCAA for the past four years.

“at home in thiS induStry”Over the years, Larry Jones, much like his brother and mother, has enjoyed many experiences in the coffee industry, specifically purchasing and selling unroasted and roasted coffee. He’s managed equipment and service, trained new accounts, and he’s spent a good deal of time at origin learning about production. He believes he’s fortunate to have experienced his various coffee jobs, while being a

“What I enjoy the most about the

specialty coffee industry are the people

at every link of the chain. from the grower

at origin to the barista on the front line,

it takes all of us, it takes a village.”

—Mireya Asturias Jones

Finca Dos Marias in Guatemala.


to stay focused on the path that has been paved by our predecessors to keep trying to make this world a better place for all.”

Larry says that he and his family truly enjoy the business side of the industry. “Overall, I think specialty coffee promotes good business practices worldwide. This concept does trickle down to the people that need it most. To be a part of human progress, bridging cultures and economies through specialty coffee, is what I enjoy most about working in this industry.”

Jones agrees. “What I enjoy the most about the specialty coffee industry are the people at every link of the chain,” she says. “From the grower at origin to the barista on the front line, it takes all of us, it takes a village.”

part of this industry with his family.“I really look at it like my whole family is in the business because

our root interest rests in the welfare of the people of Finca Dos Marias,” explains Larry. “Also, we all believe in the need to improve the lives of workers in all producing countries. My sisters, Alison, Erin and Shannon, are also very passionate about this interest. It helps all the others in the family that are directly involved to stay focused on why specialty coffee is so important. I feel at home in this industry because of this.”

Larry has spent the last five years selling coffee from Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, an SCAA member, to the Western U.S. marketplace. Green Mountain Coffee Roasters sells more than 100 selections, including Fair Trade Certified and organic coffees under the Green Mountain Coffee Roasters and Newman’s Own Organics brands.

“Sharing the Green Mountain Coffee story is very similar to sharing my family story: quality driven, customer centric and forward thinking,” says Larry. “While selling coffee to the West has changed in the past 14 years, quality has been the driving force for both my family and the company I work for.”

For Larry, he’s encouraged by his family to succeed in the coffee industry. “Being a part of a coffee family, like ours, has been exciting. I have been encouraged by my immediate family to appreciate the deep-rooted traditions of our origins and, more importantly, to strive

To Learn more about Jones Coffee Roasters,visit www.thebestcoffee.com.

For information onGreen Mountain Coffee Roasters, visit

www.greenmountaincoffee.com.

In the fields, Mireya Asturias Jones checks the growth of the finca’s trees. “We

switched to a different pruning method, and change is always interesting,” she says.


a SPecialty coffeePhoto essay

Photos by Clay Enos

Amos Shihundu, a technical/production manager for Dormans Coffee.


Origin

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The Specialty Coffee Chronicle ��

Rwandan coffee farmer.



origin continueD

A young girl outside Manyovu, Tanzania. A dry mill worker in Kayanza, Burundi.

A local coffee vendor in Manyovu, Tanzania.


the PhotoGraPher:CLay enosClay Enos refuses to be pigeonholed into any one category of photography. From a portrait session with Sting to a print campaign for Coca Cola to children on the streets of Cambodia, Enos consistently captures moments that feel both real and transcendent.

Enos views his camera as an extension of himself and takes it with him everywhere he goes. Rather than snapping shots from the sidelines, Enos fully engages his subjects.

As detailed in this issue of The Chronicle, Enos actively photographs the specialty coffee industry for various clients, including the Specialty Coffee Association of America.The Web is Enos’ favorite vehicle to share his work, which he displays generously through

his on-line portfolio at www.clayenos.com.

Coffee farmer in Zaragoza, Mexico.


May 2-5SCAA’s 20

th Annual

Conference & Exhibition

Minneapolis, Minn.

562-624-4100

[email protected]

http://conference.scaa.org

Jan. 18–20 SCAA Three-Day Skill-Building WorkshopLocation: Cleveland, OhioHost: Phoenix Coffee RoasteryPhone: 562-624-4100E-mail: [email protected] site: www.scaa.org

Feb. 8 - 10Midwest RegionalBarista CompetitionLocation: St. Louis, Mo.Host: Kaldis Coffee Roasting CompanyPhone: 562-624-4100E-mail: [email protected] site: www.scaa.org

Feb. 15 - 17Mid-Atlantic RegionalBarista CompetitionLocation: Coffee Fest, Washington, D.C.Host: Murky Coffee Phone: 562-624-4100 E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.scaa.org

Feb. 26–27Southwest Regional Barista Competition Location: International Las Vegas Coffee & Tea Expo, Las Vegas, Nev. Host: International Las Vegas Restaurant Show Phone: 562-624-4100E-mail: [email protected]: www.scaa.org

March 1–2 Mountain Regional Barista Competition Location: Thornton, Colo. Hosted By: Allegro Coffee Company Phone: 562-624-4100 E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.scaa.org

In d u s t r y Ca l e n d a r

SCAA ConferenCe

Web Site GoeS Live

The official Web site for the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s (SCAA) 20th Annual Conference & Exhibition is now live. Go directly to http://conference.scaa.org or www.scaa.org and click on the Annual Conference tab at the

top right of the page and get all the information you need for conference, including:• Online registration • Schedule of events• General information • Guest speakers• Instructor biographies • Press information

• Lectures and lab schedules and descriptions • Volunteer information • Hotel and transportation information • Information in Spanish • And more

Also, be sure to check for early bird discounts and forward the SCAA conference link to colleagues.

SCAA boArd of direCtorSnomInatIon Calendar

2008-2009

After carefully reviewing the many qualified candidates for the four openings on SCAA’s 2008-2009 Board of Directors, the association’s Nomination Committee has finalized its list of nominees. SCAA will officially fill the seats for its 2nd Vice President and three Directors on April 25. Much like the upcoming governmental elections, a number of events will occur between now and when the nominees formally join SCAA’s Board of Directors.

Current SCAA Board of Directors nominees:

2nd Vice President Nominee – Peter Giuliano, Counter Culture Coffee, Inc. (roaster member)

Directors Nominees (three openings) – Tim O’Connor, Pacific Espresso (allied member); Desiree Logsdon, Bunn-O-Matic-Corporation (allied member); and Al Liu, Atlas Coffee (importer member)

Feb. 15By this date, those who wish to be placed on the ballot but have not been selected through the Nominating Committee process may still be placed on the ballot through petition. All petitions for additional candidates must be delivered to SCAA by Feb. 15.

March 17Ballots are mailed to eligible voting members. If the number of candidates exceeds the number of vacancies on the Board, “candidate booklets” containing photographs, biographies, and written messages from the candidates will be mailed with the ballots.

April 17Ballots are due. If the number of candidates equals the number of vacancies, ballots are returned directly to SCAA. If the number of candidates exceeds the number of vacancies, ballots are mailed to SCAA’s accounting firm. All ballots must be postmarked by April 17 to be counted.

AprilElection results appear in the April membership mailing, The Bulletin and new board members attend Board of Director function at SCAA’s 20th Annual Conference in Minneapolis and their first Board meeting.

April 25The election is certified and the results communicated to the Board of Directors and all candidates. Following notification, results are posted on the SCAA Website.

May 2–5Election results appear in The Morning Cup, which will be distributed at SCAA’s Annual Conference & Exhibition in Minneapolis.

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CLASSIFIEDS

Classified ads cost $65 for up to 50 words and are available to SCAA members and business partners only. Ads receive uniform layout. Special spacing, layout and typography are not available. For information on running a classified, contact Maria Curiel at [email protected].

COFFEE SHOP MANAGERAward winning software designed for espresso bars and coffeehouses. A touch-screen provides ordering of espresso, food, drinks and other items. Special features, including prepaid accounts and frequent-buyer loyalty tracking, make this a replacement for your cash register. Call 866-447-0033 or e-mail [email protected]. Visit www.coffeeshopmanager.com.

AGENTS, REPRESENTATIVES OR EXCLUSIVE IMPORTERSGuatemalan exporting company, specializing in gourmet coffees, would like to get in touch with agents, representatives or exclusive importers from the following geographic zones: Central Europe, North Europe, Eastern Countries, United States, Canada and Japan. Please send an e-mail to [email protected] or call Pluscafe at (502) 23606696 or (502) 23600344.

PROCESSED TO PERFECTIONCoffee-processing Machines from KcKINNON INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED. Our range comprises: Pre-cleaners, Dry Destoners, Africa Coffee Hullers, Smout Peeler Polishers, Closed-Circuit Catador, Cylindrical Graders, Densimetric Table, Mini Processing Plant, Mini Pulpers, Disc Pulpers, Aagaard Wet-Processing System, Colmen Pump, Mucilage Remover, Sterling Drier with Millitherm Heater, etc. McKINNON INDIA PVT. LTD.: 25, Mettupalayam Road, Coimbatore – 641031 India: Tel: 91-422-2460829/2460988; Fax: 91 422 2461903; E-mail: [email protected]; Web site: www.mckinnon.com.in.

SUPPORT COFFEE FARMERS AND THEIR FAMILIESNew automatic monthly donation option available at www.coffeekids.org/donate/. Help coffee farmers and their families create sustainability and alternative income. Visit the Coffee Kids Web site at www.coffeekids.org or e-mail [email protected] for further information about becoming a member of the Coffee Kids family.

COFFEEHOUSE DIGEST - FREE LIFESTYLE PUBLICATION FOR THE COFFEE HOUSE PATRONOrder this FREE bi-monthly lifestyle publication for your coffeehouse! Patrons will enjoy the format of this full color digest-size magazine, which follows the coffeehouse scene as a lifestyle and covers technology, pop culture, eco-trends, travel stories, food trends, books and music. Visit www.CoffeeHouseDigest.com to subscribe today!

COFFEE ART AND DESIGNCustom art and illustration that meets the minds and needs of people in the specialty coffee industry. Boldly bring color and life to your business! Work includes the SCAA 2001 and 2002 National Specialty Coffee Week posters. View samples online at www.susynski.com. Kenneth Susynski Illustration, 206-650-1016

TOO MUCH COFFEE MAN is a humor magazine that uses coffee as a launching pad for cultural exploration. The first issue reviews prison coffee (it’s very good) among other things. It’s humorous, informative and a good read. The Washington Post calls it “funny stuff.” Check it out. Subscription: $25 for six issues. Send $5 for a sample issue. Box 14549, Portland, OR 97293. 503-230-0123. Wholesale prices available. The Web site has details: www.tmcm.com.

VoLunteer at ConferenCe

Meet industry colleagues and access the talented people in your segment of the coffee industry by volunteering at the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s 20th Annual Conference & Exhibition. Those interested in participating in the volunteer program may assist during a lecture presentation, help at a lab, or assist at the United States Barista Championship (USBC).

• For USBC competitor, judge and volunteer opportunities, contact Michelle Campbell at [email protected]. • Lab assistance volunteers, contact Vennicia Lu and Melissa Bula at [email protected]. • Presenter assistance questions, contact Vennicia Lu and Melissa Bula at [email protected]. • All other volunteer positions, contact Theresa Maguire at [email protected].

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Pathto the

2007 North West Regional Barista Champion Billy Wilson.

<< Billy Wilson competes in the 2007 North West Regional Barista Competition.

Photos by Michelle Campbell

Congratulations to the 2007

North West RegionalBarista Champion, Billy Wilson

(below center), of The Albina Press in Portland, Ore.; second place winner Maki Campbell (below left); and third place winner Kevin Fuller (below right).


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Sensory judges evaluate Maki Campbell’s signature drink.

usBC, hosted By kruPs The Specialty Coffee Association of America’s (SCAA) Regional Barista Competitions, which take place all across the country, prepare competitors for the 2008 United States Barista Championship, hosted by Krups, May 2–5. The USBC encourages and recognizes professional achievement in the art and skill of espresso beverage preparation and service.

At the USBC, challengers prepare and serve 12 coffee drinks—four espressos, four cappuccinos and four original signature drinks of their own creation—all within a 15-minute timeframe. Seven USBC-certified judges, including one head judge, two technical judges and four sensory judges, evaluate each of the contenders. Judges focus on station cleanliness, taste, beverage presentation, technical skills and total impression.

Kevin Fuller takes third place at the North

West Regional Barista Competition. >>

Maki Campbell impresses the judges and nabs the second place prize at the North West Regional Barista Competition.


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