East Coast Coffee Madness
By Natasha Whyte
East Coast Coffee Madness (ECCM) took place Sunday, October 1st at the Société des Arts Technologiques in Montreal, Quebec. ECCM is an annual conference that brings members of the specialty coffee industry in Eastern Canada and United States together for a day of networking, coffee tasting, and critical discourse about the coffee industry through keynote speeches and a panel discussion.
Each ticket to the conference included breakfast, lunch, and a miniature mug to full with bottomless, complimentary coffee from each represented coffee company. The mug boasted the ECCM’s slogan “Meet and Grow and Learn,” which reinforced the true meaning and necessity of gathering coffee enthusiasts, baristas, coffee roasters, cafe owners, and suppliers together: to open a discourse about difficult issues and realities within the coffee industry, from farm to cafe.
Between mingling breaks, the community listened to keynotes and a panel discussion surrounding topics related to coffee production, trade, and consumption. The event was filled with fascinating conversation around the intersection of identity, sustainability, and economics within the broader context of coffee as an agricultural industry. Al Lui, Vice President of Coffee at Colectivo Coffee Roasters in Milwaukee, spoke about his experiences working as a coffee importer while coming out as an LGBTQ person. Kimberly Easson spoke about gender inequality and her role as the Founder and Strategic Director of the Partnership for Gender Equity in coffee, tracing gender inequality in the broader industry to its producing countries. Easson claimed that bridging gender gaps at origin would strengthen the supply chain of the entire coffee industry. Lui and Easson’s speeches were particularly relevant to the significance of identity and politics in agricultural industries, and the effect of such issues on trade relations, and social and economic sustainability at the origin of the food product.
The panel discussion featured three women professionals working on sustainability within coffee: Kim Elena Ionescu, Chief Sustainability Officer at Specialty Coffee Association, Meredith Taylor, Sustainability Manager for North Carolina roaster and wholesaler Counter Culture Coffee, and Colleen Anunu, Director of Coffee Supply Chain at Fair Trade USA. They focused on the importance of environmental, social, and economic sustainability in the coffee trade, discussing the complexities of market standards like Fair Trade, and of Direct Trade: when roasters go directly to the origin to trade with the farmers themselves. During the panel’s Q&A session, one coffee farmer from Colombia spoke to his experiences with Direct Trade, stating that the deepened relationships he gained from Direct Trade ensured the economic sustainability of his farm and the social sustainability of his family and employees.
The practices within specialty coffee are constantly evolving, and the conversations at ECCM illustrate the three-dimensionality of the industry’s standards. As the ECCM and specialty coffee opens these conversations, we can use this framework of discourse to address sustainability issues regarding trade in other food and agricultural industries. Although the specialty coffee industry has its complexities and is certainly not perfect, the industry’s developing trading practices, as well as the general desire to make trade more ethical is admirable, and is evidently fueling change.
To learn more about the specialty coffee industry, visit the Specialty Coffee Association’s website at: https://sca.coffee/
To learn more about ECCM, visit their website at: http://www.eccoffeemadness.com/
Other events hosted as part of ECCM include:
Feminist Barista Jam: http://www.eccoffeemadness.com/off-eccm/feminista-barista-jam-2018/
Sanremo Master Class with John Gordon: http://www.eccoffeemadness.com/off-eccm/sanremo-master-class-with-john-gordon/
Beanstock Festival Cupping Showcase: http://www.eccoffeemadness.com/off-eccm/beanstock-festival-cupping-showcase/
Apex Coffee Cupping Showcase: http://www.eccoffeemadness.com/off-eccm/apex-coffee-cupping-showcase/