Welcome to THE SPECIALTY COFFEE EVENT!
It is a pleasure to welcome you to the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s most prestigious event of the year. The 21st Exposition is full of exciting changes meant to inspire and engage you like never before.
This year the show is getting a major facelift; all in the spirit of improving and refining the coffee event of the year. We are kicking off the event with our first ever Symposium, where we will examine the issues in specialty coffee, exchange ideas and develop inspired solutions as our outcome. This professional series is meant to engage the top leaders of our industry at a level never seen before in specialty coffee.
Immediately following the Symposium, the Exposition kicks-off in high gear with more exciting changes and all of the things you have already come to expect at the Specialty Coffee Event of the year. The name change from Exhibition to Exposition should speak volumes – this is the world’s faire of coffee, where new products are launched, where we build our skills and where we celebrate the passion, excitement and camaraderie that makes up our wonderful industry.
Several new events are taking place this year at the Expo. We have added a stage in the Expo area, which will feature many new events as well as some old. We will be offering Tricks of the Trade on this stage, where our exhibitors will be sharing their skills with all, in short 20 minute segments. In addition, we are launching the U.S. Taster’s Championship, where speed triangulation cupping will take place for the first time in the United States. This stage will also feature some old favorites, such as the Good Works T-shirt Auction for charity and the Davis Demitasse Poetry Contest Winners. The best part is the aisles and aisles of nearly 800 booths showcasing their products and services.
We are also pleased to welcome the World Barista Championship (WBC) back to the United States for the first time in three years, which will be held in its own hall right next to the Exposition. Surrounding the WBC stage is a dynamic area featuring live demonstrations, blogging, and an interview stage highlighting some of the biggest coffee celebrities in the industry.
You will also find increased opportunities to attend our world renowned Labs and over 30 lectures, where you can hone your craft even further. And, for the first time ever, all sessions will all be simultaneously interpreted in Spanish.
After all that, I do not see the need to explain why we have dubbed this “THE SPECIALTY COFFEE EVENT” – for it is definitely THE coffee event of the year.
Mike Ebert
Conference Chair