Coffee is a Hot Commodity Symposium

VALDOSTA -- The market for coffee is worldwide, with many players involved in the journey from the crop to the cup. More coffee is consumed in the U.S. than anywhere else, yet the American climate prohibits the growing of coffee, so it must be imported.

Fascinating issues that affect the world coffee market include the growing demand for fair trade and organic foods, political and structural issues in origin countries, food security in origin countries, logistics of importing an agricultural product and trade policies between nations.

Such topics will presented and discussed by a panel of four experts in the coffee industry during the Coffee is a Hot Commodity Symposium, to be held Friday, Nov. 4 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. in the Valdosta State University Student Union Ballroom.

Panelists for the symposium include Andrew Blythe, a senior coffee trader at Royal Coffee New York; Terry Davis, co-founder of Ambex, Inc., a manufacturer of coffee roasters and roast control systems; Felipe Croce, a member of a coffee farming family with a coffee plantation in Brazil; and Ricardo Pereira, owner of BRASC Coffee Importers in Greenville, S.C.

Coffee from several coffee-producing areas of the world will be served during and after the symposium.

The symposium is part of the Gulf Coast Roasters Weekend Retreat, which takes place Friday, Nov. 4 to Sunday, Nov. 6. Other events to be held during the retreat include a reception, coffee cupping demonstrations, blending tasting and evaluations and brewing exercises.

Sponsors for the event include Royal Coffee New York, Fazenda Ambiental Fortaleza, BRASC Coffee Importers, The Beanery Coffee Roasters and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters.

For more information about the symposium and the weekend retreat, visit www.coffeeishot.org.