SCAA Exposition & World Barista Competition

The end of April brought us two of the biggest events in the world of coffee all rolled into one: The Specialty Coffee Association of America Exposition and the World Barista Championship. We were lucky enough to host these two events at the World Congress Center here in Atlanta. This year also marked the World Barista Championship's 10th anniversary, at which Gwilym Davies of the UK was the winner.

The SCAA Expo was a huge 3-day event that brought in vendors ranging from coffee producers and roasters, to companies providing complementary products to coffee such as specialty food & beverage products, to companies providing equipment relating to commercial production of coffee, all under the same roof. The volume and diversity of vendors at the booths was truly mind-blowing, and the number of attendees demonstrated how vital and rich the world of specialty and gourmet coffee has become in the United States.

The Rare Peaberry

You might have heard of a specialty coffee estate producing a type of coffee called "peaberry." Historically, peaberry coffee accounts for approximately 5% of a harvest; it is actually an aberration in bean formation. Instead of two large, distinct halves the coffee bean, inside the fruit of the plant, develops into a smaller bean that has the appearance of a pea, thus its name. It is much smaller, denser, and symmetrically round than your ordinary coffee bean, and because of this must be roasted differently than a normal bean.

The reason this coffee nerd appreciates it is because the peaberry tends to have a more concentrated flavor than other beans. We find that peaberry coffees usually produce a lovely, flavorful cup boasting a mild smoothness. Every peaberry coffee we have tried lacks bitterness regardless of brew strength.