This weekend we set our sails west for the Emerald City—Seattle, Washington—for the biggest convention in coffee, the 2017 Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) Expo.
Each year, thousands of growers, producers, exporters, importers, roasters, and retailers converge to discuss the industry, its trends and obstacles and the future of offering exceptional, ethical and ecologically friendly coffee. Consider it the World Fair of Specialty Coffee.
It’s bonkers. And amazing.
Because Missoula, Montanan is but a seven-hour drive, we struck forth, westward, and spent four days downtown at the SCA Convention with a full schedule of meetings and lectures, cuppings and gatherings.
Don’t be fooled; coffee people aren’t necessarily morning people. These people like to party.
In the end, we drove away Sunday with a car-full of questions and ideas. Thoughts revolved around setting up origin trips, about increasing our transparency and ethical growing partnerships/commitments, and about furthering our pledge to be a community leader in Missoula while also tending to global stewardship roles. A major takeaway was this:
Coffee is tectonic.
It moves around the world like tides, currents, weather patterns. It’s an absolutely huge force of nature, and, with so many stakeholders and families and ecosystems involved, we are responsible for acting with the utmost integrity in what we do and how we do it. We received a huge dose of this reality and wish to thread every aspect of the work and products we provide with such awareness.
We hope you taste this intention in every single cup of coffee we offer.
