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SCAA Boston 2013 11th April to 14th April 2013

We attended the 25th annual SCAA Exposition held in Boston from Thursday 11th April to Sunday 14th April. As a worldwide green coffee merchant, we like to be present at this Exhibition to meet and greet all of our producers from single estate farmers to cooperatives and private exporters.

We had meeting after meeting discussing difficulties that were affecting farmers and exporters especially in Central America due to the outbreak leaf rust. Other difficulties were the devaluing local currency which has caused the cost of production to increase in Brazil, Peru and Colombia.

News that the damage caused by the borer beetle in India is not as bad as first thought as it has existed for many years and producers are used to controlling it. The main concern was the increased volume of rain that has caused a drop in coffee production.

We were also happy to see our friends from Swiss Water with their new branding of their gourmet line of decaffeinated coffees and new their new traceable process coffee.

Of course, we had one of our key meetings with Daterra but in unique way; dinner at a Seafood Restaurant with all the team and some of their other agents around the world. Also, we participated in a 5K race on the final stretch of the Boston Marathon track as part of the Daterra team who set up a great charity project for helping kids in Cerrado in Brazil. Don’t ask who is the winner!!?

Going to the SCAA gives us great opportunity to broaden our knowledge. We participated in the Identifying roasting defects in a roaster guild class where we were shown the different roasting defects and were taught how to identify whilst cupping.

Overall we had a great time by seeing our suppliers and some of customers.  We are all friends as partners and this event helped us get to know them better as individuals and it is what makes our industry great – COFFEE & PEOPLE!