Category: Events

Matchmaking at the SCA Expo

2018-04-11 Comments Off on Matchmaking at the SCA Expo

It’s Spring again… Green is starting to appear in the northern latitudes, the NBA playoffs are just around the corner, you realize that you haven’t filed your taxes yet, and the annual Specialty Coffee Association’s Expo is coming up.  This year will be my fifth consecutive year attending – I’m starting to feel like a “local,” […]

Robusta farmers rewarded for quality in the 2nd Taza Dorada

2017-08-29 Comments Off on Robusta farmers rewarded for quality in the 2nd Taza Dorada

The Coffeelands blogs suffers from a few coffee prejudices, which we readily admit to.  Our geographical base is in Central America and therefore our coverage tends to be towards issues that are of great concern in this part of the world.  We’re unabashedly Arabica centric as well.  You’ll find it in our daily drink and […]

Celebrating the public launch of the Spanish language Water Smart Agriculture blog by CRS – Agua Verde

2017-08-02 Comments Off on Celebrating the public launch of the Spanish language Water Smart Agriculture blog by CRS – Agua Verde

One of the biggest deficiencies of the Coffeelands blog is that we have only published in English to a broad, sector wide audience.  We here at the blog report, analyze and opine on issues relevant to origin (with a very Latin-American centric perspective due to where we are all based); yet when these same discussions […]

A new approach to working on Price Risk Management

2017-04-17 Comments Off on A new approach to working on Price Risk Management

If you have been following us in this space, you know that one of the topics that has been at the front of my mind has been Price Risk Management (PRM).   PRM refers to a set of strategies and practices for farmer organizations that minimizes the negative impact of drastic changes in the global price […]

Look out, Austin! CRS Coffeelands at the 2017 National Coffee Association Convention

2017-03-19 Comments Off on Look out, Austin! CRS Coffeelands at the 2017 National Coffee Association Convention

  We are 3 months into another year, and we’re about to start the convention/summit/expo/meeting season.  This year the schedule is a bit different for Coffeelands. This is the first year that we are going to the National Coffee Association Convention.  Over here in Coffeelands, we are big fans of Bill Murray, the CEO and […]

Developing the specialty market for robusta with the first “Taza Dorada” in Ecuador

2016-08-16 Comments Off on Developing the specialty market for robusta with the first “Taza Dorada” in Ecuador

The Borderlands project took place on two sides of the Colombian – Ecuadorian border.  In Nariño we know about the hidden potential to produce high quality Arabica coffees.  We’ve shared some of the stories from there previously on this blog.  Less than 100 miles away, while the Andes mountains continue tracing the spine of South […]

Brazil’s Congress convenes hearing on modern slavery in the coffee sector

2016-06-09 Comments Off on Brazil’s Congress convenes hearing on modern slavery in the coffee sector

Next week, a public hearing in Brazil’s Câmara dos Deputados will explore the issue of modern slavery in the country’s coffee sector.  The Human Rights Commission and the Labor Commission have jointly convened the gathering, scheduled for Wednesday, 15 June at 2 pm in meeting room #9.  The event was organized by the Articulação dos Empregados […]

Brazil’s Supreme Court lifts ban on “Dirty List”

2016-06-08 Comments Off on Brazil’s Supreme Court lifts ban on “Dirty List”

Brazil’s Supreme Court has lifted its injunction on one of the most powerful and distinctive tools in the country’s campaign to eradicate slave labor, clearing the way for its reinstatement after a suspension that lasted nearly 17 months.  The “Dirty List”—a public registry of employers found by the Ministry of Labor to be employing workers […]

Georgia on my mind

2016-06-07 Comments Off on Georgia on my mind

Nearly two months have passed since the curtains closed on the 2016 SCAA events in Atlanta, but like the great Ray Charles, I still have Georgia on my mind. Three Ps stand out in my reflections: Policy, Progress and Paul Katzeff.

SCAA lecture in review: The Coffee Variety Conundrum:  Does Breeding for Disease Resistance come at the expense of flavor?

2016-05-02 Comments Off on SCAA lecture in review: The Coffee Variety Conundrum:  Does Breeding for Disease Resistance come at the expense of flavor?

This review is for those of you who were not able to make it to the lecture a few weeks ago.  There was a lot of competing lectures held concomitantly with really interesting content.  There is 0 chance of me getting to hear all the ones I want to be at.  Yet when the Expo comes, […]