This past weekend, Matt and I went down to Atlanta, GA to attend the Specialty Coffee Assocation of America annual conference. This is THE annual event (this year actually called "The Event") in the coffee world with representatives from Asia, Africa and many places in Latin America.  It is the place to meet coffee producers, network with the coffee industry, taste the top coffees in the world and learn the latest news.

The first part of the show is full of classes, workshops and seminars, the second is a trade show to see what is new and hip in coffee. This year the SCAA had the added benefit of hosting the World Barista Championship, where national champions from 51 countries competed.

We didn't make it to the first part and when we arrived, we went straight to the convention floor. We visited with our friends from Counter Culture Coffee who had a big booth where the demonstrated espresso, pour over, coffee cupping and had gave presentations. Really nice. We saw Marysabel Caballero, who's Finca El Puente from Honduras is always eagerly anticipated. We visited with Alejandro Cadena and Giancarlo Ghiretti from Virmax in Colombia. We also saw Abdullah Bagersh, the exporter of great Ethiopian coffees, such as the Misty Valley we are featuring this week.

On Ethiopia... Here is a link to an article which tries to summarize the coffee situation in Ethiopia. In short, the Ethiopian government is reacting to a volatile coffee market in recent years by semi-nationalizing the coffee market. They are following the Colombian model by requiring farmers to submit their coffees to local area markets where the coffee will be graded and sold. They are eliminating private exporters who fetched high prices for incredible small lots, and with that eliminating the incentive for small farmers to improve the quality. Now, only large cooperatives will be allowed to operate with autonomy.

What does that mean for you? Enjoy Misty Valley while you can. Bagersh is a private exporter and is now out of the coffee exporting business and next years crop must legally be combined with the other area crops. The extraordinary Ethiopian coffees that we have come to love over the past few years will no longer be available. On the other hand, the controlled commodity market will likely have the Colombian effect of raising the C-market price and general standard of living of Ethiopian farmers. Let's hope that Ethiopia continues to follow Colombia in allowing the private market to return much like Virmax and La Golondrina project.

The other common theme of SCAA was tools to make great coffee at home. With the state of the economy, people are spending less for prepared drinks and more on beans to make at home. This shouldn't be a surprise to followers of 3CUPS as this is one of our founding principles. Don't forget, a $20 pound of coffee made at home is only $0.80 per cup, less than half what you would pay for a prepared cup. 

We did find some really cool products that hopefully you'll be seeing in the near future, such as a Japanese home pour over set and gas cartridge powered home espresso portafilter. Bodum has got some interesting new products to their line up and we had a nice long conversation with one of our tea importers.

In the end, Gwilym Davies from Great Britian won the WBC. Finca Buena Vista from Los Naranjos, San Augustin, Huila in Colombia and our friends and partners from Virmax won the Coffee of the Year, beating 134 coffees from 100 producers. As a sidenote, who finished second?? Esmeralda Especial from Panama, of the $150/lb. fame!! 

Matt and I left fully caffeinated and looking forward to sharing with you the things we learned.

P.S. If you are in Atlanta, I have two food experiences to recommend.  The first was breakfast at the West Egg Cafe in Midtown.  The place was busy and had a feel not unlike Foster's Market in Durham.  It is in the White Provision Company neighborhood which is under construction so parking was not easy.  The food, however was simple and very good.  Eggs, grits, ham and a biscuit.  Nothing fancy, but very well done with portions perfect for a busy day.

For dinner, I highly recommend Cakes and Ale in neighboring Decatur.  The food was excellent.  We started with House made rabbit galantine, potato salad & beets.  The rabbit galantine was a first for me, very tasty and the beets were orange!  I had pork chops alla Milanese with huge white lima beans and escarole salad.  Again, wonderful flavor and perfect portion size.  I topped it off with rhubarb crumble with sweet cream ice cream.  Atmosphere was nice, service outstanding, prices reasonable and we were seated right next to a regular 3CUPS customer. Small world!!