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Report on SCAA 2008
April showers bring…the May Specialty Coffee Association of America conference. As usual, the early days of May brought us all the hoopla and excitement of the SCAA. This year the internationally renowned gathering was held in Minneapolis, MN. Coffee connoisseurs, industry insiders, aspiring café owners, roasters, producer country representatives, fair trade and not-so-fair trade importers, as well as sales reps of every possible coffee/café knickknack in existence, descended upon the Midwestern city in the thousands to meet, discuss, learn, shop and of course, “network”.
This year Cooperative Coffees hosted a booth on the trade floor, right in the center of the action. Coupled with the fact that one of our largest members, Peace Coffee, is based in Minneapolis, the SCAA carried its share of fun, business, and bedlam.
rewarded by an invitation to the hottest party in town. The Cooperative Coffees Fair Trade Allied Celebration, hosted by Peace Coffee, was a great success. Party-attendees were regaled with great food, great music-provided by the Town Hall Stompers and DJ Lori Barbero-and greatFor those who arrived to the SCAA a few days early, they were company. Andy, one of the bike delivery guys from Peace Coffee, impressed us all with his all night traditional Appalachian clogging.
The next day we headed to Peace Coffee’s headquarters for an early morning breakfast Coop Sol meeting. Among great coffee and bagels, we held this year’s annual assembly for Coop Sol. We are proud to announce that our invitation to our long-standing producer partners to join as equal user members to CoopSol was accepted by CECOCAFEN, CEPICAFE, FECAFEB, Maya Vinic, and Pangoa. You can read the full minutes of the meeting here.
After concluding an initial discussion on the mechanics of producer membership, we moved on to a 
producer/roaster quality exchange. All present cupped a variety of coffees and roasters had the opportunity to discuss with producers about their use of their coffee. Individuals could compare and contrast between coffees from the same coop, but of different lot numbers, or from the same coop but roasted by different members.
That evening, many headed to the SCAA conference center to listen to the Keynote Speaker and Conference Welcome. This year the portrait country was Ethiopia, and the Conference Welcome featured a series of traditional dancers, Ethiopian dignitaries, and other representatives who talked of the origin of coffee in Ethiopia and the importance of this specialized commodity to their
economy. Also of interest was the Keynote address given by Michael Shuman, writer of the Small-Mart Revolution and supporter of the BALLE network. His talk focused on “going local” as an undeniably growing trend for consumers, stating that companies in the coffee industry should look to it to find greater success. For more information, check out the BALLE website. and the Small-Mart Revolution website
The next day the conference began in earnest, as did a series of meetings with producers, importers, and other allies. The Cooperative Coffee booth was split between a side with meeting tables and Coop Coffees members’ paraphernalia, and a side for participating members. Just Coffee, Higher Grounds Trading, Kickapoo and Peace Coffee took turners hosting, and handing out samples of their great tasting coffee. 
Many people stopped by, either from curiosity, or with an expressed purpose. In general, we got many small roasters who had heard of Coop Coffees and wanted to learn more about how to become members, and producers who were looking to start a partnership with us. New exciting countries that we met with included India and Thailand.
We of course had many meetings with our current producer partners. These were excellent talks, and resolutions to issues were found by working together. Overall, the SCAA was a success. If you were not able to join us this year, we look forward to seeing you next year in Atlanta, GA.
Invitation
