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SCAA CONVENCTION
By Nick Mena
The SCAA, as I understand it, is a place for exporters, importers, manufacturers of coffee products, and everything (and I literally mean everything) in between to showcase what it has to offer. The night I arrived in Atlanta I had no idea what to expect. I pretty much had imagined a trade show like the ones I had seen on T.V., but with coffee. The next morning I would be introduced to a world that was beyond my imagining.
After lugging around my suitcase filled with varietals of coffee from Costa Rica and Panama for an hour I finally arrived at the stand. When I entered into the convention center I was taken aback by all the things related to coffee that were being shown. There were stands for countries promoting their coffees, roaster manufacturers, smoothies, teas, syrups, certification groups, importers, exporters, and, as I said before, everything in between. I understand now why you would need three days to walk through the show. If you stopped at every stand for at least five minutes I’m not even sure you would have made it through the whole thing. Not only was there the showroom floor, but you can’t forget the Roaster’s Guild awards, the World Barista Championship, and the various lectures and labs going on throughout the day. There was so much to do and so much to see you had to, at some points, step back and takes a deep breath as to not get so caught up in it all.
As for my portion of the event, I was graciously welcomed to be a part of the Elan Organic Coffees stand making one-cup French presses for anyone that wanted to try the varietals we represent. I had bourbons, geishas, typicas, organics, catuai rojo, catuai amarillo, and caturras from both Panama and Costa Rica. It was interesting to see all the people walk through the showroom floor. At one point I felt almost like a bartender serving up drinks to people, but in place of the bloody Marys and martinis, I was making coffees. I would ask them what kind of varietal they would like to try (and by far the most requested were the Geishas), fill the press with grinds and hot water, and then pour the coffees into cups for tasting. Now, with each step I had my patrons smell the coffee. First I would open up the bag and have them smell the grounds of their varietal. After pouring in the hot water, they would get another whiff before I pressed the coffee. Then at the end, they would be treated to aromas and sensations that would keep them coming back for more. I had people from all over the world come visit. From Germany to Korea to Ethiopia, people would stop by and try some coffee. Everyone was pleasantly pleased, thus I could not help but feel a little bit of pride representing these coffees. It’s not like I was offering Folgers or Maxwell House. I was offering the top tier, the Napa Valley of coffees. I did this for three days, offering to the SCAA world a chance to experience artisanship at its finest. A chance for them to taste the chocolate bar melting in their mouth, or taking a bite into a sweet orange with a hint of lemon, all through a single cup of coffee. Of course, the flavors they experienced depended greatly on the varietal they chose…
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