Expo is returning in-person for 2021. After a year’s absence due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Specialty Coffee Association’s premiere event has been confirmed to take place in New Orleans in the fall.
Announced today, May 5th, the Specialty Coffee Expo will resume many of the features for which the convention is known, including the Exhibits Hall, the Best New Products Awards, Coffee Design Awards, the Roasters Village, and the US Coffee Championships, with national rounds of competition taking place for Cup Tasters, Coffee in Good Spirits, and the Roasters Championship. (There will be no Barista Championship or Brewers Cup in 2021, as the 2020 champions have been automatically deferred to 2021 due to the pandemic.)
For this year’s event, taking place September 30th though October 3rd, the SCA will be instituting COVID-19 safety protocols, though the exact measures have yet to be announced. In the press release, the SCA states they expect the show to “transform in order to maximize the safety of attendees and exhibitors, will be provided in the upcoming months as the state and local health authorities, the Center for Disease Control, and the World Health Organization continues to update guidelines.”
“We are extremely excited to be welcoming our community to a physical trade show again after over a year of not having met in person,” says Yannis Apostolopoulos, Chief Executive Officer of the SCA. “The effective health and safety guidelines and regulations we are putting in place prioritizes the safety of attendees and exhibitors, and allows us to bring back much-loved Expo features.”
Registration for the 2021 Specialty Coffee Expo will begin on June 1st, “with discounted pricing available through August 18th.” For more information, visit the Specialty Coffee Expo’s 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.
