I realize I’ve lived a cherished life. I have met many of the great minds of coffee. I met Alfred Peet, who’d read my articles and thought I was a roaster. He shared his roast philosophy one evening with me and we talked last into the night. Erna Knutsen, who coined the term Specialty Coffee told me her story of picking up discarded green coffee farmers from Hills Brothers when they switched to cheaper coffees, converting these farmers to coffee’s now prominent high end. The list goes one.
But enough about me. I’ve wanted to offer the same things to CoffeeCon attendees who would just like to meet, listen and ask questions of the coffee world’s top folks. Our topic will be the future of coffee, as in what’s coming after coffee’s third wave?
Wouldn’t you like to be in on the discussion? I’ve invited a few of our top presenters to lead this, starting with Helen Russell, who started Equator Coffee in your house and has made it a household word. I’ve got George Howell, who might be termed Father of the Third Wave due to his obsession with single origin and roasting so all of the coffee’s neighborhood remains in your cup. Just to mix it up and to prevent it from being a homogeneous roaster love fest,
Verve’s and coffee’s wunderkind Chris Jordan brings his prodigious origin background to our stage. Chris has already spent more time at origin than some farmers, and he brings insights on how the farms must change to coordinate with everything from weather changes to economic forces and our growing world specialty market (that’s us, folks).
Finally, I’ve added Joe Behm, a radical inventor whose home brewing innovations are snapping at the heels of craft home brewing using automation and, potentially internet connected community brewing comparisons.
For moderator, who could it be other than Kenneth Davids? He’s been coffee’s chronicler for most of its specialty run. He’ll ask the right questions, but beyond that he’s proven to have an overall altruism and belief in fairness and a genial warmth that should serve him well in his role. He’ll also be keen to pick raised hands to spotlight our audience input.
I may add others, but already I’m sure you can see a good roundtable discussion. It’s a veritable coffee think tank and I’ve got them all in one place.
Maybe you like coffee as much as I do. Maybe you just like thinking and believe the old ideas of civil discourse, before being replaced by hollering extremists, was more productive. You won’t want to miss this presentation, one that promises to be our finest and most exciting.