Articles from March 2019

Pt. 1: The Crema the Crop

Leaders, experts, and entrepreneurs from across the coffee industry came together for the 2019 NCA Annual Convention in the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel in Atlanta, GA. The 3-day event was themed “Coffee at the Crossroads” and sponsored by Community Coffee, which is currently celebrating its centennial anniversary as a family-owned company.

From networking events to specialty coffee education, the jam-packed (and highly caffeinated) conference offered something for everyone.

Here, we’ve highlighted a few of our favorite moments, with more to come in the weeks ahead.

(If you attended #NCA19 and want to share what you’ve learned, share a comment below or tag @nationalcoffeeusa in your photos!)

1. Monica and Carl Walker, Walker Coffee Trading, awarded NCA Volunteer(s) of the Year Award

Monica and Carl Walker’s family company, Walker Coffee Trading in Houston, Texas, is about many things – but at its core are long term relationships they cultivate with friends and family, customers and suppliers.

This spirit of community and commitment shines through in everything they do.

2. The Coffee Trust named NCA Origin Charity of the Year

The Coffee Trust was named the second-ever recipient of the NCA Origin Charity of the Year Award, sponsored by Mother Parker’s Coffee and Tea. (Last year’s recipient was Grounds for Health.)

The Coffee Trust works in the war-devastated Ixil region of Guatemala to build prosperous and empowered coffee-growing communities.

The NCA Coffee Gives Back Program aims to shine a spotlight on the organizations dedicated to communities at origin, because we believe that amplifying these stories is important for the entire industry. And in her acceptance remarks, Julie O’Brien, The Coffee Trust Board President, shared that as a result of this recognition, the organization received an additional grant from one of their donors to further fund their work.

This year’s Award finalists – meriting special mention – were Pueblo a Pueblo, Inc. and Strategies for International Development.

Read the NCA news release, and visit the NCA Coffee Gives Back Charity Showcase.

3. Sustainability Conversation – and Collaboration

The coffee community is committed to building a brighter future for the entire supply chain. And the best way to move forward is together.

To help facilitate cooperation and collaboration across the industry, Conservation International’s Sustainable Coffee Challenge held an all-stakeholder meeting proceeding the NCA Convention (expect more news coming out of that soon!)

Working pre-competitively with a growing alliance of organizations across the sector, the SCC can help coffee companies of all sizes get involved, see a measurable impact, and move towards true sustainability.

“The biggest opportunity we have [as an industry] is collective action,” said Miguel Zamora, Director of Market Engagement, Rainforest Alliance, during his breakout session on labor concerns at origin. “Pre-collaboration makes you more effective.”

Stay tuned – next week we’ll share insights from the new NCDT, the NCA Day of Service, and behind the scenes at the SLC Coffee Science Fair!

Blue Donkey will  host a specialty coffee cupping session at the 2019 National Coffee Association Convention in Atlanta, March 7-9

Atlanta Coffee Shop is Making Waves with National Coffee Leaders

As Atlanta grows, so does the city’s specialty coffee scene – and one of the hometown favorites is about to make a big splash with coffee executives from around the world.

Despite this excitement, Atlanta’s Blue Donkey Coffee remains true to its commitment to specialty coffee, personalized for coffee lovers.  The latest Blue Donkey café is just their second location, opening last fall in an upcoming area east of downtown on the edge of Grant Park.

Roasting out of Fayetteville, GA, their first shop was a successful spot on the Georgia Tech campus. Recently, they were approached by developers who wanted a coffee shop in one of their retail locations.

“The coffee shop culture in particular is relatively new, but it is developing pretty quickly,” said David Lane, one of the co-founders of Blue Donkey Coffee in Atlanta. “There’s a lot of diversity – each one has a little different flavor.”

And what’s the “flavor” of a Blue Donkey café?

Blue Donkey’s unique take comes from the personal touch – as they remain a close-knit, family-run company with a passion for quality – and consistency.

Lane’s guiding philosophy is simple: “Our core business is the coffee.”

He adds, “If things don’t go well on the roasting level, it effects the whole business.”

Unlike cafes with Instagram-optimized menu offerings, Blue Donkey focuses on the basic brew – and avoids unnecessary flavorings or additives. Instead, baristas are trained to explain to customers the quality and context of the coffee they are serving.

While they are focused on serving an excellent cup of specialty grade coffee, they’re still seeing – and responding to – new trends: specifically, the hottest coffee in Hot‘Lanta is cold.

“Even during [winter], we do very well with our iced coffee,” Lane said.

Blue Donkey’s newest coffee shop offers quality coffee and community.

Between Traditional and Trending

This balance between traditional and trending led Blue Donkey to be selected as host a coffee cupping session at the National Coffee Association Convention in Atlanta, March 7-9.

“When we met David and Ed, we knew that having them bring their passion – and great coffee – to our convention was an opportunity that we didn’t want to miss,” said Bill Murray, President and CEO, National Coffee Association.

And so the buzz is brewing around Blue Donkey Coffee, and the session they will be hosting at the National Coffee Association Convention in the Westin Peachtree Plaza in Atlanta on March 9 – a coffee “cupping” where attendees can come taste, slurp, savor, and learn about different coffees.

But even as they expand, Blue Donkey has remained close to their roots.

The company started small (as in, a used roaster in a garage small).  And while they’ve expanded to nearly 20 employees, Blue Donkey remains very much a family-run company.

While closeness can bring challenges, Lane says it makes it easier to build a positive culture – and for that culture to be transmitted through all aspects of the business.

Ultimately, this culture of passion and caring is something Blue Donkey wants to share with others, whether their customers, or coffee industry leaders.

“Good coffee is a very affordable luxury,” says Lane. “When it gets to the cup, we want the customer to just have a great experience: a great product, a great service, and a great environment.”

Blue Donkey Coffee – Grant Park
275 Memorial Dr. SE
Atlanta, GA 30312
678 561 0138
www.bluedonkeycoffee.com

Photo credit: Blue Donkey Coffee

Study after study has found that coffee has a host of potential health benefits. Yet there’s still a lot of confusion among consumers and in the media. 

Surprisingly, 69% of Americans report that they have not even heard of any studies related to coffee and disease prevention, according to recent NCA market research.

And despite the fact that people already have less than the 3-5 cups daily recommended for optimal physical benefit, limiting caffeine intake was cited as the leading reason to cut coffee consumption.

Here’s a quick glance at some of the most common misconceptions on coffee and health – and what the science really says.

To learn more about coffee, caffeine, and health, join the NCA Science Leadership Council for the Coffee Science Fair at the NCA Convention in Atlanta, March 7-9.