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Seattle, US | THE INDEPENEDENT | More than twenty Ugandan Coffee Roasters will join coffee professionals from around the world for the Specialty Coffee Association’s annual Specialty Coffee Expo this week.
The five-day expo opening this Thursday in Seattle, Washington, will be used to tap into the unexploited American coffee market.
The expo is expected to, among others; discuss the sustainability, the future of the coffee industry, innovation and diversity. Participants are also expected to hone their coffee skills and receive industry certifications, and tour local coffeehouses and roasting plants.
US Ambassador to Uganda, Deborah R Malac is one of those travelling to the expo that normally attracts coffee roasters, retailers, and food and beverage industry professionals from around the world.
Ugandan coffee producers are expected to exhibit their coffee products at the exhibition. Uganda mainly exports its coffee to the European Union and Sudan and now China. Ambassador Malac says that the desire is that one can find Ugandan branded coffee from all the states in America.
Ambassador Malac says she plans to use the event to put Ugandan coffee roasters in touch with coffee equipment manufacturers from the United States of America. She hopes that through the interaction; US coffee machine manufacturers can export their equipment to Uganda and as well as share their expertise.
Meanwhile, the World Coffee Research is expected during the expo to provide updates on research findings from the past year. The event will have a special focus on the newly updated Arabica Coffee Varieties catalogue, which adds 11 varieties from six African countries.
The nonprofit World Coffee Research recently expanded its groundbreaking Arabica Coffee Varieties catalogue, adding varieties from six African countries including Uganda.
The imitative was funded by US Agency for International Development (USAID) and UTZ/Rainforest Alliance. The catalogue initially covered coffee varieties found primarily in Central America and the Caribbean, it now includes detailed information on varieties from Uganda, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The catalogue has been designed as a free-to-access, living document to support coffee farmers in planning for planting or replanting coffee varieties. It identifies nearly two dozen properties.
