Seattle’s show
Tennis fans like myself dream of attending all four Grand Slam events in one year: the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open. While not in the same year, I could tick the box to my own hat-trick of coffee’s leading events: the Melbourne International Coffee Expo, the World Barista Championship, and Host Milan, but the one eluding my quadruple was the Specialty Coffee Expo in the United States. That was until this year when I, along with thousands of other coffee professionals, made the pilgrimage to Seattle, the Emerald City, for the 30th Specialty Coffee Expo from 19 to 22 April.
People had told me to expect an event of grand proportions, which was true, but what I didn’t anticipate was how globally attended it would be.
Before the doors to the Washington State Convention Centre opened on day one, I saw a representative from every segment of the supply chain waiting in the foyer like eager bargain shoppers on Boxing Day: producers, exporters, roasters, manufacturers, baristas, you name it, even an actor representing Juan Valdez, the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation unofficial ambassador.
After the
