About Us

SCAE is an association with a growing number of members - people like you, who are looking for coffee excellence. You don't have to be European to appreciate the many benefits of belonging to SCAE: we've members in more than 70 countries around the world who network, keep informed and share views on the latest developments in specialty coffee. We have national chapters in a growing number of these countries, so we're on the ground locally to meet the needs of members, working within their own national coffee traditions.

Authoritative

SCAE is a recognised force with governments and international organisations on a global level. We lobby strongly for the cause of quality coffee. Together with the Specialty Coffee Association of America, we represent the speciality sector on the International Coffee Organization's Private Sector Consultative Board. We take positions to defend coffee quality and to ensure a fair deal for everyone, and our voice is heard! We spearheaded the drive, now taken up by the ICO, to develop alternative uses for poor quality coffee and to remove it from the world market.

Democratic

SCAE is open to everyone with a commitment to quality coffee. We run on a one-member, one vote, basis with regularly scheduled elections to our board of directors.

Committed to Education

We have a growing educational programme with practical focus on all aspects of the specialty coffee sector, from roasting through to running a coffee bar. Our new strategy integrates the best that the private sector has to offer with the ideals and goals of the Association and is called the Authorised Trainer course.

Resources

All members get a prestigious membership plaque and SCAE window sticker to show their customers their commitment to top quality coffee. Members get special deals on material tailored to the many needs of the specialty sector. Choose from posters, books and instructional CDs from our own list taken from the resource catalogue of our sister organisation, the SCAA. Or pick up one of our DVDs, tampers, ties, T-shirts, polo shirts, aprons or jackets -- contact the Secretariat for more information.

Updates, Information & Networking

We keep our members regularly informed through our newsletter, Café Europa, through regular mailings and through this website. In addition to featuring the latest breaking news, the website offers all members exclusive use of our searchable membership database, an invaluable tool for business networking within the specialty coffee trade.

Conferences, Exhibitions & Workshops

SCAE staged the first World Specialty Coffee Conference and Exhibition in Monte Carlo in 2000. Since then, we have held events in Oslo, Rimini, Trieste, Athens, Bern, Antwerp, Copenhagen, Cologne and London. Our next big event is in Maastricht, the Netherlands, June 22-24, 2011. In addition, we also fly the SCAE flag at all the other major coffee shows throughout Europe.

Site Visits

In 2002, we initiated our programme of site visits, taking over 20 committed coffee professionals to India to learn more about the origin and to exchange views with the aim of fostering coffee quality. Since then, we have organised trips to Brazil, El Salvador, Guatemala, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama and, in October 2009, to Hawaii. More origin site visits are in the pipeline.

Championships

SCAE has initiated four World Championships in which participants from around the globe, having battled it out to claim the title of their own nation’s best, vie for the prestigious World Championship crowns. The championships include the World Barista Championship; the World Cup Tasters Championship; the World Latte Art Championship; the World Cezve/Ibrik Championship; and the World Coffee in Good Spirits Championship. Each competition is different and each has been designed to test the best practitioners to the limits of their ability. These are serious events, where every competitor is out to win. Make no mistake--these events will be hotbeds of tension and excitement. Our next championships will take place in Maastricht, the Netherlands in June, 2011 and they are unmissable--be there and be involved!