quotable
Over the course of three days, The Specialty Coffee Association held the United States Coffee Championships in Kansas City, Missouri on March 15-17. For one of those events – the U.S. Barista Championship – which this human called across twitter, there were quotable ideas and thoughts expressed on the state of specialty coffee as an industry and a culture.
Enjoy these poignant and witty thoughts, the culture sure will.
- “Coffee is an olive branch to people that see it as a sign of gentrification.” Anthony Ragler, Counter Culture
- “Coffee asks us to run a marathon, but too often we’re tired and we fall out of love with coffee.” Emily Orendorff, Boxcar Coffee Roasters
- “When we love who we serve as much what we serve that’s how we bring people together.” Hugo Cano, Independent
- “It takes time to connect someone to coffee.” Naida Lindberg, Verve Coffee
- Coffee is a chance to take the chaos in our lives and make meaning out of it for others.” Sam Schaefer, Mockingbird Coffee
- “I love coffee, but I’m in it for the relationships.” Cassie Ash, Small Planes DC
- “Everything starts somewhere. I don’t know the future of coffee, but I do know where it began, in cafes all over the world, from a little seed.” Samantha Spillman, Dillanos
- The people that have invested in me have turned him into a coffee professional.” Dylan Siemens, Onyx Coffee Lab
- “Milk drinks are a great educational gateway.” Rodrigo Vargas, Rival Brothers Coffee
- “Despite cup score coffee can surprise you.” Naida Lindberg, Verve Coffee
- “Drinks even with simple names like cappuccino are only accessible based upon who is controlling the narrative.” Anthony Ragler, Counter Culture Coffee
- “There’s a latte ways to name your milk drink.” Jenn Gotthelf, Counter Culture Coffee
- “True success is about supporting the communities and individuals around us, not the competitions we win.” Matthew Barahura, Intelligentsia Coffee
- “We can’t just go and ask for specialty coffee to be better, we have to make it better.” Hana Kaneshige, Counter Culture Coffee
- “Why do you love coffee?” Maxwell Mooney, Narrative Coffee
- Coffee is a taste of place, Juan Diaz, Black & White Coffee Roasters
- “What if the most important factor in coffee wasn’t manicured trees but a dynamic variable influencing flavor.” Shane Hess, Jubala Coffee
- “Producers make the coffee special.” Kay Cheon, Dune Coffee Roasters
- “Dreams give us something to work for.” Cole McBride, Ada’s Discovery Cafe
- “Think about the coffee you had that changed your world.” Douglas Park, Joyride
- “If we want to see more coffees like these coming our way we need to find a way to support our producers.” Milo DeGoosh, Bard Coffee
- We talk about elevation but what about temperature?” Meg Skop, Equator Coffees
- “We don’t have to turn away from the old to express something new.” says Raechel Hurd, Epoch Coffee
- “Sometimes what we’re looking for is something accessible versus something that showcases all that a coffee can be.” Ali Aberderraham, State Street Coffee
- “Coffee should not and cannot be faceless.” Morgan Eckroth, Tried and True Coffee Co.
- “It’s scary to think of a world without coffee.” Gisel Alvarez, Monarch Coffee
- “The milk beverage is all about comfort.” Elisabeth Johnson, Venture Coffee Co.
- “Who will produce coffee when [we’re] not around?” T.Ben Fisher, Elixr Coffee
- “When I was younger I wanted coffee to be bigger than drinks and tips, I wanted it to support my family.” Andrea Allen, Onyx Coffee Lab
- “Coffee isn’t so simple, it’s extraordinary.” Kristi Persinger, Stumptown Coffee Roasters