SCA Chicago 2024: Chicago. Pt. 4
A Specialty Coffee Association Expo diary experience.
Editor’s note: Don’t forget to check out the rest of our SCA diary posts:
SATURDAY 4/13/2024: OFFICIAL SCA DAY 3
Chicago
Chicago, you temptress. You offer up your intricate skylines, Second City importance, and teal blue waves. You espouse anthems of revolution and proclaim your status as Fist City with streets so gritty I don’t even even notice that Whole Foods. If it weren’t for Thunderdome-esque bike lanes, sharp-edged winds, and parking space square dances, you might be the perfect American city.
Specialty Coffee Association Expo
For several days, I've been hustling. Today, I'm making a concerted effort to slow down. I've given out most of the samples I brought in support of our R!WC Industry Partners. I have no more hats or beanies to give. I'm running out of Tip Your Barista pins. I've shaken hands. I've swapped contacts. I've tried to learn (and failed) to use the SCA app.
So, I slow down. I take the convention floor aisle by aisle. I find corners I didn't even know where there. I look for themes. Last year (2023 Portland) it was clear that robots and climate change were the big topics. This year, I'm see less overt robot service but more robotics designed to work with baristas. The Mano is an impressive automated pour over device that definitely looked cool with its dual head system.
More companies are offering solutions to coffee waste and addressing climate change, although no one has a large-scale answer yet. Hardy Robusta coffees are beginning to get their day in the sun, largely due to the plant's ability to adapt to a changing climate. Alt milks are desperately trying to convince us they are disrupting the industry without acknowledging that they've gone mainstream.
The first coffee I try is a shot of espresso pulled by Brandon Seabrooke Nelson, a recent Coffee People podcast guest. Over the weekend, I've run into the team from Bridge City Coffee in Greenville, SC, several times.
The most interesting coffee I try is from Amsterdam-based DAK Coffee Roasters. Their Melondo Pink Bourbon, Honey coffee is co-fermented with watermelon, and the watermelon aroma dominates the cup. The flavors are more subtle but still vibrant. By late afternoon, I feel settled. I’ve achieved most of my goals* at this convention, and from here on out, I’m on rainbow time.
The Parties
I spent most of my youth and early adulthood working in bars and restaurants. I’ve seen (and hosted) enough parties to last a lifetime. I rarely attend, even at these conventions, but this week I’ve made a few exceptions.
I’m the kind of guy who arrives early. I do this so I can see the people I really want to see and get out before the chaos begins. This is why I break out a lounge chair to get in a quick chill-out session before the Coffee Breath film premiere at Metric Coffee’s warehouse in West Town. The sun is warm and I conjure up some beach vibes while rehydrating from another long day of coffee-ing it up.
The party begins at 6:00 PM, but the spot is nearly full by just after five. I grab a beer and say hello to the host of the evenings main event. Double J is trying to get his Spotify playlist to work in the screening room. I think he might be taking a moment for himself after a long day at the convention before he has to turn it back on again.
I get in a long chat with a couple in town for their first coffee convention. They recently bought a small cafe, and this is all new to them. I think they’ll be alright. A line has formed to get screen-printed totes, and trays of food are weaving through the crowd. I snag a melted-cheese-filled knish on my way out. It’s so good, I almost turn around…almost, but I’ve got one more stop.
My coffee origin story began at Star Lounge, and off-shoot cafe around the corner from the original Dark Matter Coffee roastery. I had my first cup of coffee there just before (or was it just after) my 30th birthday. It was the first time I considered the concept of taste in a cup of coffee. It was the first time I saw how passionate a barista could be about what they were putting in the cup before pushing it across the bar.
Dark Matter is known for a lot of things—some good, some bad. They’ve been around a long time. Tonight, the team from Roastar is going to be there showing off some jumbo bags they produced by hand for the event, and I’m planning on joining.
The facility doesn’t disappoint. There are multiple art displays, including a black and white photo exhibit and backroom tattoo parlor. The aroma of weed is so strong in the tattoo parlor I have to duck out before even seeing the coffee flash options. I grab a hop water from the bar and locate the Roastar team, most with epic trays of food.
Their Specialty Coffee Ambassador (and repeat show guest), Nick Schmitt, has lost his voice. It is so thoroughly broken from hours upon hours of talking at the convention that he has pre-prepared statements explaining his state queued up in the Notes app on his phone. When the band’s warm-ups start shaking the walls, I smile and nod. That’s my cue.
*The exception is attending James Harper’s Filter Stories chat with historian Jonathan Morris on how coffee has gotten so cheap.
SUNDAY 4/14/2024: OFFICIAL SCA DAY 4
Sunday funday, amiright?
I am.
I brew up an Alabaster Coffee tea bag-style instant coffee and take it out on the patio to look out over Chicago—at least, the parts not blocked by taller buildings. This is coffee to me. I decide to forgo the final day of the convention for a little coffee me time. I enjoy this one in the sun.
One of my favorite Midwestern coffee companies is Colectivo Coffee. They’ve conveniently (for me) opened a cafe with a large patio in Lincoln Park just down the street from where I’m staying. Apparently, I’m not the only one with the same idea. The line stretches out the door and wraps around the fencing separating the patio from the sidewalk. I don’t know why I wasn’t prepared for a crowd. It is a sunny spring day in the tundra, after all.
My batch brew is an Ecuador from Finca Las Tolas. It is perfect, as is the vibe, and the company of strangers. I get in the car around noon and head west without looking back. It isn’t long before Chicago and the Specialty Coffee Expo are behind me and the miles towards my next stop in Omaha are stretched out ahead. Plenty of time to plan for next year.
Per SCA: Approximately 17,000 coffee and tea professionals from over 85 countries gathered for the first SCA Expo held in Chicago, IL. It was the thirty-fifth annual Specialty Coffee Expo. The 2025 Specialty Coffee Expo will be in Houston, Texas on April 25-27, 2025.
ROAST! INDUSTRY PARTNERS
I haven’t seen this a lot in the market, but Ascend Roasters is for the people! They’re now packaging their chai tea bags and selling them online.
A huge, on-going thank you to all of this show’s industry partners.
CLICK THESE LINKS!
Roastar • Zumbar Coffee & Tea • Steady State Roasting • Mostra Coffee • Coffee Cycle • Camp Coffee Company • Ignite Coffee Company • Ascend Coffee Roasters • Marea Coffee • Cape Horn Green Coffee • Hacea Coffee Source • Crossings Coffee • Acento Coffee Roasters • Sivitz Roasting Machines • Craft 42 Roasters • Me and My Uncle Coffee Roasters • Cozy Canine Coffee
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