Lecture Description
The SCA's Coffee Value Assessment, an evolution and expansion of the SCA cupping system, has been designed to help assess value in all senses of the term: as an aid to economic transactions, as a tool to document aesthetic worth, and as a way to recognize human effort and preference. This shift, from "quality" to "qualities" and "value", was informed by an evaluation process that spanned three years across a literature review and multiple user research projects, as well as discussions and collaborations with contributors to SCA events and publications. This panel, featuring 25 authors who have written about the different aspects of value over the years, will explore how we understand and construct economic, aesthetic, and human value in specialty coffee.
Date: Saturday, June 24, 2023
Time: 11:45am - 12:45am EET
Location: Lecture Room 2
Presenters/Panelists:
Jenn Rugolo
Curatorial Director and Editor, 25, Specialty Coffee Association
Jenn Rugolo is curator and editor focused on communicating complex ideas in specialty coffee. Perpetually curious about how people create culture and belonging through different activities, Jenn holds a Bachelors of Music Ad Hoc (Northwestern University) and a Masters of Arts in Ethnomusicology (University College Cork). Before taking on her current role as Curatorial Director at the Specialty Coffee Association, where she focuses on the association’s print and digital communications, Jenn worked to design, run, and communicate casual educational platforms across roles at 3FE, World Coffee Events, Facebook, and Tamper Tantrum. Concurrently a partner in Playset Coffee, Jenn spends her “free time” supporting progress in specialty coffee through projects that embrace collaborative learning and sharing.
Noa Berger
PhD Candidate, EHESS
Noa Berger is a Sociology PhD candidate at the EHESS, Paris. She studies the specialty coffee market in Brazil and France.
Noa regularly speaks on coffee culture and history at events (e.g Re:Co Boston, WOC Berlin, Expo Boston), write for journals and magazines (25 Magazine, Standart, Le Monde and Haa'retz). She was nominated for a "Sprudgie" for best coffee writing, included in the "Sprudge 20" list.
Her co-edited book (with Yahel Shefer), "Coffee: East and West" was published in 2021 by the Jerusalem Islamic Arts museum.
Erika Koss
AST; PhD candidate, Saint Mary's University, Canada | A World in Your Cup Consulting
Erika Koss is a writer, teacher, and researcher who views coffee through the lens of two life-long passions: literature and human rights. She is an AST and a co-creator of SCA’s Coffee Sustainability curriculum. Erika is a PhD candidate at Saint Mary’s University in Canada and a Research Associate at University of Nairobi in Kenya. She is founder of “A World in Your Cup,” a consulting and education business focused on sustainability, gender equity, and decolonization of beverage crops, including coffee, cacao, and tea. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, Erika Koss lives in Nairobi with her younger son.
Alexa Heinicke
Senior Corporate Membership Manager, World Coffee Research
Alexa Heinicke is the Senior Corporate Membership Manager at World of Coffee and focuses on stewarding relationships with our 170+ member companies. She is excited to engage more companies in this collective investment that will benefit millions of smallholder farmers and is vital to the future of every business in our industry. Alexa has a background in nonprofit fundraising and corporate investor relations in the U.S. and Europe. She is based in Munich, Germany.