S8: A SPECIAL COFFEE PEOPLE
Guests: Coffee People at the Specialty Coffee Association Expo
From: Oregon Convention Center, Portland, OR
Connect: See all the guest links below
What we drank: All the coffees everywhere
Day 1:
2:45 AM - Wake up to take out the pup. He's a little sick.
4:11 AM - My alarm goes off, but I've never been able to fall back asleep. Total sleep 2h45m.
5:05 AM - Getting into the airport is chaos. There are a lot of people not understanding the line system. Luckily, I get stuck in a lane that has a new high-tech scanner that lets me leave all my computer, recording, and camera gear in my bag. I still have to take off my shoes, though.
I get flagged for a search. The culprit. My razor. It is confiscated.
6:50 AM - Is that former Roaster Champion Nick Beradi (Formerly of Mostra Coffee) in my line?! I didn't recognize him with all the extra beard. He says I should go to this cupping tonight at Proud Mary's Cafe, and I'm inclined to agree.
8:13 AM - My seatmate cofounded NuZee, a company that helps coffee roasters develop single-serving tea bags and instant pour-overs. He shows me some new bag products he's working on that will change the game as far as off-gassing coffee beans and a functional, sustainable, biodegradable bag. I get samples.
9:20 AM - The pilot just got 9 points taken off his driver's test. There was no mistaking impact with that landing. Overhead bins dropped open! Time for the ol' file off shuffle. Hey, Chris from Vigilante Coffee! Happy 4/20!
9:31 AM - So the train I based my entire transportation plan around is…broken? Just not working, you say. Uh-huh. Shit. (One train ride and 39 bus stops later)…
Me: You want me to get on another bus?
Them: Yeah.
Me: How far is it to walk (in the rain)?
Them: About 10 minutes.
Me: Yep. I'll do that.
10:01 AM - The shop I rented a bike for the weekend appears to be closed. What?
10:45 AM - My first and only cup of coffee today is a drip from a place that will remain nameless. It isn't great, but I'm eight hours in. At least this coffee is hot.
11:15 AM - My badge is printed! It's official. I'm going to SCA. Where's the press room?
12:45 PM - The bike shop is open! Here I come. Need a bike in Portland? Everybody’s Bike Rentals gets a big thumbs up from me.
1:07 PM - I'm the proud (temporary) owner of the Silver Bullet—a vintage Fuji steel-frame bicycle. I take off on the 1.3-mile ride to my AirBnb. The rain is feeling suspiciously sleet-like.
1:20 PM - I'm home! I'm soaked! The key works! Wow, cute house. Why am I shivering?
3:00 PM - I need food. The rain is coming down hard. I walk anyway. I love Portland in the rain. Rephrase: I love Portland in the rain when I have my raincoat, rain pants, and umbrella unpacked. The flowers are amazing. The lending libraries are prolific. The mosses grow untamed.
3:13 PM - Why are the aisles at the grocery too narrow to accommodate two carts?
5:40 PM - I've eaten. I've done some work. I've put on sweatpants. The rain continues to pour. I'm officially making the call. I will not be going to the Proud Mary coffee cupping tonight. Tomorrow is the big day. I need my beauty sleep, which feels like it is coming soon.
Sometime later….
The Diplomat on Netflix is pretty catchy. I wonder how many episodes I've watched. What time is it?
Day 2:
8:25 AM - My day starts at Case Study Coffee with a Peru drip served by a gentleman who, coincidentally, sold his coffee shop—Bean Bar— in San Diego in 2020. It is truly a small world. The cafe is quite lovely, as is my cup of coffee. I sit on a bench under a flowering tree and sip away.
9:00 AM-ish - My bike ride to the convention center is mostly downhill and mostly dry. I love riding in Portland.
9:20 AM - The energy outside the Oregon Convention Center has ramped up since yesterday. Two steps away from the bike rack, I run into former R!WC podcast guest Nick Berardi…again. He's the opposite of my white whale. I don't have to explore the seas to find him. He is everywhere.
9:35 AM - There are donuts and coffees on offer as I cross the threshold into the building. In the press room, I meet Grace from the Specialty Coffee Association. She gives me the lay of the land.
9:41 AM - I run into former R!WC podcasts guests Eric and Carole Blanchett of Talking Crow Coffee Roasters in the lobby. They're in search of a decaf cup of coffee. None are available in the lobby. I'm checking the press room…nope.
9:57 AM - Overheard: "My goal today is to get as many stickers as I possibly can." ~A researcher (student?) from UC Davis.
10:09 AM - The Expo opens a few minutes late. Instead of a mad rush, it is more of a leisurely stroll. The vibe is passionate, excited, and engaged, but it is definitely not as raucous as the beer industry or even real estate expos I've been to.
I beeline back to The San Franciscan Roaster Co. booth and start my day off with a quarter of an espresso shot from Telegraph Coffee Co., which is owned by SFR founder Bill Kennedy. Bill is there munching on a breakfast donut and chatting with booth visitors like the coffee ambassador he is.
10:15 AM - 1:00 PM - It's a coffee industry reunion in the expo room. I'm new to the group, but even I run into a half dozen people I know. They introduce me to another half dozen coffee people I don't.
I walk the rows checking out the products, sampling coffee and teas, listening to the conversations about afterburners and roast profiles, and admiring the fine designs in the Roastar-sponsored Design awards category.
As I wander the Expo's Roaster Village, I sample coffees:
Way-Way Coffee cold brew at the Toddy Booth, which comes blended with condensed milk and cinnamon-sugar rim.
Balzac Brothers Guatemala pourover.
Red Rooster Coffee Java Frinsa pour-over (anaerobic processing).
Notion Coffee Colombia La Mina pour-over at the Third Wave Water booth.
Portland Coffee Roasters Gooseberry Hollow drip in the press room.
Many of the non-roaster booths still have guest roasters filling blocks of time all morning to showcase their equipment. It's smart marketing. Even though I've already been to a booth, I might visit again to sample another coffee roaster.
Themes of the day:
Climate change is real. These are the impacts.
Coffee will change the world. Here's how our coffee, widget, or service will do it.
Packaging is changing.
Get stickers.
Milk has had its day. Almond milk is the past. Try this plant-based alternative.
Indie is cool, but the big boxes have better swag.
If the signage in the booths at the coffee expo is to be believed, climate change is real, but don't worry. The industry has solved it. I'm sure I'm exaggerating, but it felt like every booth had a display about how their product was working towards creating a future utopian landscape where climate change concerns were only a memory.
1:01 - 1:45 PM - I escape to the Press Room. It sounds fancy, but it is just a room with some tables and a plate of scones where members of the media can take a break, perform an interview, or store their gear. It is quite the luxury to have a dedicated space in the middle of all the chaos.
1:47 PM - I'm working my way back to the Roastar booth, where I'm scheduled to perform guest interviews from 2:00 - 3:00 PM. I'm nervous. What if no one wants to talk to me? Who am I, after all? This is a new mic. What if I forget how to use it? What if I'm in the way, no one likes my stickers, the sound—IS THAT MY FACE?
2:01 PM - I begin flagging down wandering coffee folk to tell me why they love coffee. I needn't have worried. Everyone here has sampled 75 coffees today. Eyes are bloodshot, pupils dilated, hand gestures emphatic, and run-on sentences fill the air.
3:30 PM - Interviewing runs long. I'm having too much fun talking to people from around the world. Over the next few days, I'll interview expo-goers from Kenya, India, Panama, Guatemala, Puerto Rico, and Milwaukee.
4:15 PM - The bike ride home is uphill but no less exhilarating. I weave my way through NE Portland, admiring the roofs over the basketball courts in the parks, the colorful paint jobs on the homes, and tiny homes peeking out from behind fences.
4:51 PM - I collapse on a patio chair in front of the Airbnb. I crack a can of beer. It looks good on the live edge side table the owner built explicitly for this space. The ballgame is on. Life is good. I'll sleep early tonight.
A good while later…
Felicity is just crushing it as the US Ambassador to England! That husband, tho…
What time is it?
A NOTE ABOUT WEARING A MASK
I keep hearing about how this is the first SCA "…since Covid ended." Other goers talk about how different last year's event in Boston felt. There were no Covid-specific rules, as far as I know, associated with the 2023 expo.
Even though I've stopped expecting it from others in public, I still wear an N95 when I'm indoors around a group of people. It makes me feel more comfortable. My wife works with students who are medically at-risk, and we've lost several family members to Covid over the past three years.
This isn't a comment meant to imply judgment. The coronavirus situation has changed, both socially and in actual safety. Masking indoors feels right for me, even when it is inconvenient. Sometimes I still mask with large groups outside, but I understand my prerogative isn't right for everyone anymore.
Still, I was surprised at how few others I saw wearing one in the Oregon Convention Center. At one point, another person wearing a mask came running up to say hello for no other reason than our shared effort to mask.
I only write this to say to others who are out there, still wearing the mask, you're not alone. You do you. I'm there with you. And on the other side of that coin, at the convention, I never felt uncomfortable or judged for wearing a mask. I never got an odd look or heard a snide comment. Thanks to everyone I met for being so considerate.
Guests from the following coffee businesses appeared on today's podcast:
Daniel Paskill - White Rock Coffee: @whiterockcoffee, https://wrcoffee.com/
Robert Akin - Northshore Specialty Coffee: @northshore.specialty.coffee, https://www.northshore.coffee/
Tiff Trent - Bongo Java/Fido Cafe: @bongoroastingco, https://www.bongojava.com/
Larry - Neon Llama Coffee Roasters: N/A
Mark Merthe - La Republica Superfoods: @larepublicasuperfoods, https://larepublicasuperfoods.com/
Desi Freeman & Taren Thomas - Big Blue Coffee Company: https://www.kh.org/restaurants/big-blue-coffee-co/
Rich Stand - Discourse Coffee: @discoursemke, https://www.discourse.coffee/
COFFEE WITH
Coffee With is a new podcast from Roast! West Coast. It’s on—or will be—all the fun podcasting platforms. Unlike Coffee People and Coffee Smarter, the guests won’t be from the coffee industry. Instead, we’ll share the coffee experience with friends, strangers, and maybe even enemies with a good story to tell.
If you know someone with a good story or two to share, please send us a note at: coffeewithpodcast@gmail.com. Check out the first episode here:
R!WC INDUSTRY PARTNERS
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Roastar • Zumbar Coffee & Tea • First Light Coffee Whiskey • Steady State Roasting • Mostra Coffee • Coffee Cycle • Camp Coffee Company • Ignite Coffee Company • Ascend Coffee Roasters • Marea Coffee • Cape Horn Coffee Roasters • Hacea Coffee Source • Crossings Coffee
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SCA Portland 2023: A Diary