It was cold, like middle-of-winter cold, and I forgot to pack a coat.
This was because I was leaving the heat of summer in Portland, Ore., to fly across the world to Sydney, Australia. I regretted this mistake as soon as I landed. The air was cool and damp, as it had recently rained. It was the perfect coffee-drinking weather in Sydney, which was ideal since I was there to do just that.
I arrived in the morning of the first day of The Coffee Experience, a three-day coffee conference hosted by Prime Creative, a Melbourne-based company known for its annual Melbourne International Coffee Expo (MICE). I was there to promote an exciting event we are hosting in conjunction with MICE in March 2015—Let's Talk Coffee® Australia—as well as meet with some of our newest customers.
Australia loves coffee! The Australian coffee market buys around 1.5 million bags of coffee each year and is growing into one of the largest coffee-consuming countries in the world. Fiercely independent and quality focused, the Australian market has driven out many worldwide coffee chains in favor of locally owned shops. And this carries over to the way they purchase green coffee: There is a drive for ethically sourced, producer-friendly relationship coffee. It makes it a perfect fit for Sustainable Harvest®!
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n a country surrounded by agriculture, Australians know a thing or two about locally and sustainability sourced goods. Sustainable Harvest® is similarly in touch with where our coffee comes from, and during The Coffee Experience, I had the chance to meet with some wonderful companies excited to learn more about the work we do at origin. Roasters were interested in our efforts to help farmers and foster conversation around Coffee Leaf Rust, as well as the work we are doing in Rwanda.
It all made me so excited to bring the Let’s Talk Coffee® educational platform to Melbourne in 2015. It will be a great chance to introduce coffee producers to smart and forward-thinking coffee roasters, as well as give a new market the chance to access coffees they’ve never had before.
Going to Sydney to meet with new and potential customers was a wonderful experience, although I was happy to fly back into the warm late summer of Portland. I am looking forward to growing our relationships and company into the Australian coffee market—and especially to Let’s Talk Coffee® Australia, March 13-15, 2015.
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