What is Re:co Symposium?

Re:co is the abbreviation of the title “Regarding Coffee“ and it is a virtual event created for those particularly interested in the world of specialty coffee.

Recurrent banner - 1200 contacts

It is a gathering of leaders and emerging leaders in coffee, where they will be addressing the most pressing topics of the industry. Re:co is one of many upcoming virtual events organized by the SCA organization, as you can see on their website calendar of events. We already talked about the Re:co Symposium in our articles Specialty Coffee and Coffee Retail Summit and Make Coffee better, which you can find here on our blog.

There are two important dates this year:

  • On Thu, May 6th 8:30am – 10:00am PST/4:30pm – 6pm EST we will be able to hear the Fellows talk live on recosymposium.org where they will give short presentations on research and projects they are working on. They offer you the possibility not only of watching the talks live, but of joining them in the discussion as well, for free. The Re:co Fellowship program provides access and engagement for emerging leaders that wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the support of illycaffè and the Ernesto Illy Foundation, and we are very proud to be their fellow citizens.
  • The second date is Wed, May 12th 7:45am – Thu 13th 5:00pm PST/3:45pm – 1am EST, when the experts and leaders from many different organizations will be speaking on different subjects such as the changing landscape of US government investment in coffee production, the anatomy of innovation, and new business models that put equity principles into practice. Re:co Symposium, 2021a) They offer an optional Experience Kit featuring coffee, equipment, and sensory experiences shipped to your door, and it is available for shipping throughout the Americas, most of Europe, and certain countries in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.

Speakers

Re:co (Regarding: Coffee) is organised by the Specialty Coffee Association – a non-profit, membership-based organisation that represents thousands of international coffee professionals.

This year a quite extraordinary range of speakers will be talking about innovations, strategies that will be implemented in the industry, as well as about sustainability, coffee production methods, legacy, quality etc. We will list only some of the speakers. If you want to see the complete schedule of the events, click here.

  1. Selena Ahmed, Associate Professor, Montana State University
  2. Bill Murray, President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Coffee Association
  3. Peter Giuliano, Chief Research Officer for the Specialty Coffee Association
  4. Luis Samper, Director of 4.0 Brands

On May 6th these will be the topics, among many others:

  1. Ezra Remer: Coffee for Disaster Recovery: How Sustainable Coffee Agroforestry Can Revitalize a Community
  2. Evie Smith & Lisa Artuso: Grounds for Collaboration
  3. Amanda Caudill: Shade-grown coffee: What is it, and where can I find it?
  4. Alaine Johnson: Coffee for a Better Planet

Illy Caffè and Ernesto Illy Foundation – 2021 Fellowship Program

This event offers an opportunity for many who want to attend, participate, and contribute in any way, but for various reasons might not have had the possibility of doing so before. Because of the generosity of illycaffè and Ernesto Illy Foundation, there is now the Re:co Fellowship program that offers the chance for many to become Fellows and join in the adventure in the magnificent world of coffee. As they claim on their website, a Re:co Fellow is a future or current leader in specialty coffee, driving the future of coffee. A Fellow might be a community leader building an organization, a graduate student who is focusing on coffee research, a hard-working barista, the producer/co-op leader whose community cares about coffee quality, an entrepreneur who is starting his/her company around a great idea, or anyone that thinks that he/she can make a difference and help the industry. (Re:co Symposium, 2021b)

Source: YouTube, the official youtube channel of illycaffè

Podcast and Youtube channel

If you are interested in learning more and hearing some of the talks from last year’s Re:co Symposium, there are many interesting podcasts and a Youtube channel for you to explore and enjoy while drinking a nice cup of coffee.

Registration

Registration  is open now for the event, May 12-13, held in the Pacific time zone.

 

Bibliography

Re:co Symposium, 2021a. Retrieved from https://recosymposium.org/

Re:co Symposium, 2021b. The Fellowship. Retrieved from https://recosymposium.org/fellowship