The Legendary Coffee Exchange is back again for Round Three, and this time, it’s personal… up close and personal. For the first time ever, the Cafe Imports coffee swap for roasters is going to be an in-person affair and it’s taking place this weekend in Boston as part of the Specialty Coffee Association’s Expo.
What started as a way for roasters to connect with one another during the pandemic, when face-to-face interaction had been reduced to next to nothing, the Legendary Coffee Exchange continues its mission to foster connection, and what better place to do that than America’s biggest specialty coffee event of the year.
For this iteration, Cafe Imports in doing things a little bit different. Like in previous years, the green coffee importer will pair up roasters in Canada and America with one another, but instead of the roasters mailing coffee directly to their counterparts, they just have to bring their coffee Cafe Imports’ booth at Expo and they’ll handle the rest! From there, Cafe Imports will pair up roasters based on their preferences and then mail out the coffees they collected. Once you and your partner have received your coffees, you’ll set up some time to cup them side-by-side and discuss, over Zoom, FaceTime, the phone, Slack, telepathy, whatever works best for the two of you.
Cafe Imports Director of Marketing and Green Buyer Sam Miller tells Sprudge:
We’ve really missed connecting with the specialty coffee community over the past few years. We truly believe that connecting with our community, and sharing our thoughts, opinions, understandings, and approaches to representing the people behind these coffees that we work with is an integral step in the progression of our industry… That’s why we created the Legendary Coffee Exchange in the first place. More than a unique opportunity to meet and connect with a fellow coffee roaster through trading a bag of coffee you’ve roasted, it’s a space, dedicated to garnering community connections through specialty coffee.
More than just an opportunity to connect, the Legendary Coffee Exchange is a chance to win. Cafe Imports has partnered with Ikawa to give away one Pro Series Sample Roaster to a randomly selected participant.
And the best part is, it’s completely free to take part! If you are a US- or Canada-based roaster who wants to join in on the fun, all you have to do is go here to sign up. Then at Expo, all you’ll need to do is head over to the Cafe Imports booth to scan a QR code and drop off your coffee. It’s all going down this weekend at Expo in Boston. For more information on the Legendary Coffee Exchange, visit Cafe Imports’ official website.
Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.
