Lecture Description

Psychological safety—the shared belief that it’s safe to speak up, make mistakes, and offer ideas—is foundational for learning, innovation, and retention. Yet in coffee workplaces, where pressure and hierarchy often shape communication, it can be difficult to practice in real terms.

This session explores how psychological safety shows up (or breaks down) in the daily realities of cafés, training programs, importing teams, and roasting companies. Drawing from systems thinking and relational leadership, we’ll look at how leaders—whether owners, managers, trainers, or buyers—shape workplace dynamics through small, everyday actions.

Participants will leave with practical tools for recognizing how power and communication interact in their own contexts and how to respond in ways that build trust, accountability, and collective resilience. This lecture invites reflection, not perfection—helping attendees turn awareness into actionable, sustainable practices that strengthen both people and performance.

Date: Sunday, April 12, 2026
Time: 1:00 pm - 1:45 pm
Location: Room 26AB
Category: Business

Access: This lecture is free to attend with a World of Coffee entry badge. Register to attend World of Coffee here.
Please note that lecture sessions are open on a first-come, first-served basis. Early arrival is highly recommended to secure your seat. 

Speakers

Daphne Allison
Associate Marriage and Family Therapist

Daphne Allison is an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist (AMFT) and former coffee professional with over a decade of experience in the specialty coffee industry. Before transitioning into mental health, they worked primarily in specialty coffee retail while gaining perspective on the wider supply chain, developing a deep appreciation for the global coffee community. Though clinical work is now their focus, Daphne draws on both professional paths to bring a unique perspective to conversations about mental health, workplace culture, and care within specialty coffee spaces—highlighting how supportive environments can ignite potential and fuel our innate capacity to grow, learn, and heal.

Lecture Description

What if you could apply the same principles used to recruit top talent to selecting the best coffee beans? This presentation challenges traditional cupping methods and introduces a novel approach inspired by modern HR practices.

We'll explore the newly introduced Coffee Value Assessment (CVA) system through the lens of a headhunter, uncovering surprising similarities between evaluating job candidates and assessing coffee quality. Discover how contemporary HR knowledge used in specialized recruitment can revolutionize your cupping process and enhance your understanding of the SCA's new system.

Date: Sunday, April 12, 2026
Time: 1:00 pm - 1:45 pm
Location: Room 25C
Category: Science

Access: This lecture is free to attend with a World of Coffee entry badge. Register to attend World of Coffee here.
Please note that lecture sessions are open on a first-come, first-served basis. Early arrival is highly recommended to secure your seat. 

Speakers

Filip Bartelak
Consultant Instructor, Consonni

Filip Bartelak brings a unique perspective to coffee evaluation, blending his expertise as a Q Instructor and coffee professional with his background in Industrial/Organizational Psychology. He holds a Master's degree in this field and was a PhD candidate at Jagiellonian University, giving him a deep understanding of assessment methodologies. Filip has held leadership roles in the Coffee Roasters Guild and served as a consultant for the International Trade Center at the United Nations, demonstrating his commitment to coffee quality and sustainability. As a certified Q Instructor, he not only possesses coffee evaluation skills but also trains and certifies other Q Graders, solidifying his position as a leading expert in the field. He leverages his diverse experience to introduce innovative approaches to coffee assessment, bridging the gap between human resources and sensory analysis.

Lecture Description

What does the coffee sector think about how value is created and shared? How do different actors feel about this? Are we making progress towards equity? And what are the sector's visions for the future? In 2023 and again in 2025, the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) conducted a global survey to explore these questions. 

In this lecture, the SCA takes the role of narrator—making sense of the findings from the 2025 Equitable Value Distribution survey. Rather than offering a single view, we share the range of experiences and perceptions gathered from respondents across the value chain, including where there is diversity and tension, and where there is consensus. 

Date: Sunday, April 12, 2026
Time: 1:00 pm - 1:45 pm
Location: Room 24C
Category: Sustainability

Access: This lecture is free to attend with a World of Coffee entry badge. Register to attend World of Coffee here.
Please note that lecture sessions are open on a first-come, first-served basis. Early arrival is highly recommended to secure your seat. 

Speakers

Laurel Carmichael
Editor and Writer, Specialty Coffee Association

Laurel Carmichael is the Content Development Manager and Editor of 25 at the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA). At the SCA, their work involves writing, editing, and helping shape publications, including the Equitable Value Distribution Report that is the foundation of this lecture. Prior to joining the SCA in 2024, Laurel spent over 10 years as a barista, roaster, and green coffee buyer in their home country of New Zealand, and in Berlin, Germany. Laurel's work is motivated by a desire for collective learning and greater equity in the coffee sector.

Andrés Montenegro
Sustainability Manager, Specialty Coffee Association

Andrés Montenegro is a leading figure in sustainability leadership within the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA), where he drives the sector's strategic evolution toward business models that are more equitable, resilient, and oriented toward shared value. With an international background in agri-food systems and sustainable development, he has spearheaded initiatives that integrate social impact, new value economies, and processes of deep organizational transformation. His work sits at the intersection of sustainability, strategy, and systemic leadership, guiding coffee organizations and communities in their transition toward models that are more conscious, adaptive, and capable of co-creating the future of the sector.

Lecture Description

Nomad Coffee is a community-focused café leading a meaningful shift toward sustainable coffee culture. Through our reusable-cup program, we eliminated single-use cups from daily operations and successfully saved over 200,000 disposable cups to date. This presentation will share the story behind this transition—why we made the change, the challenges we faced, how we built customer engagement, and the practical systems we created to make sustainability achievable in a busy café environment. Attendees will learn actionable strategies for reducing waste, designing an effective cup-return model, encouraging customer participation, and integrating sustainability into day-to-day operations without compromising service quality.

Date: Sunday, April 12, 2026
Time: 1:00 pm - 1:45 pm
Location: Room 25AB
Category: Sustainability

Access: This lecture is free to attend with a World of Coffee entry badge. Register to attend World of Coffee here.
Please note that lecture sessions are open on a first-come, first-served basis. Early arrival is highly recommended to secure your seat. 

Speakers

Annette Kim
CEO, Nomad Coffee

Nomad Coffee, based in Vancouver, is a specialty café committed to sustainability, community, and exceptional coffee experiences. Known for its innovative approach to reducing environmental impact, Nomad has successfully eliminated over 200,000 single-use cups through a robust reusable-cup program, demonstrating that sustainable practices can thrive in a busy café environment. Beyond crafting high-quality coffee, the company focuses on building customer engagement, staff training, and practical systems that make sustainability accessible and achievable. Through its cafés and initiatives, Nomad continues to lead a meaningful shift in coffee culture, inspiring both professionals and communities to embrace environmentally responsible practices without compromising quality or service.

Workshop Description: In today’s coffee industry, hiring for a cafe or roastery goes far beyond determining whether a candidate can execute the technical requirements of the job. Across the specialty coffee industry, leaders are recognizing that the skills that matter most: hospitality, problem-solving, curiosity, teamwork, and alignment with company values, are rarely revealed by traditional interviews. This session will explore a structured approach to interviewing that helps employers identify not just who can do the job, but who will elevate the team, represent the brand, and grow with the company.

We will discuss how to translate company values into interview questions, how to assess behavioral responses to real-life scenarios, and how to build a consistent, equitable interview structure that reduces bias and leads to stronger hires. By shifting interview focus from task capability to values alignment, you can improve retention, engagement, and strengthen workplace culture.

Learning Objectives:

1. Distinguishing the difference between hiring for technical skills and hiring for values, and understanding the role each plays in long-term retention and team stability.

2. How to design and apply values-based interview questions that reveal motivation, interpersonal abilities, and alignment with company culture.

3. Understanding how structured interviewing and consistent evaluation practices can reduce bias and improve hiring effectiveness across all teams in your business.

Date: Sunday, April 12, 2026
Time: 12:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Room Number: 30 C
Category: Business

REGISTRATION FEES:

Regular - $275
Paid Member - $230

Booking: To book your place in this Workshop, head to the World of Coffee San Diego Registration & Booking Portal and add a session to your order. Already registered? Simply login using the credentials created at purchase to access your booking and add other paid events to your badge.

BOOK NOW

Instructor

Richelle Taylor

Richelle Taylor is the Director of Operations at Olympia Coffee, bringing over a decade of experience across both front and back of house in the coffee industry. A systems thinker and passionate team builder, she has worked with countless teams to strengthen operations, improve collaboration, and drive meaningful change. Her work has supported impactful initiatives, including B Corp certification, Living Wage practices, and Fair for All programs. Known for her thoughtful leadership and people-first approach, Richelle is dedicated to building resilient teams and sustainable systems that elevate both the employee and guest experience.

Workshop Description: In this workshop, participants will learn how to create a thriving coffee shop environment by mastering the full barista experience—from hiring to daily engagement. We begin with strategies for attracting and selecting the right candidates, focusing on identifying the qualities that make exceptional baristas and hospitality professionals. Next, we explore effective onboarding practices that set new team members up for success, ensuring they feel confident, welcomed, and aligned with your shop’s values from day one. This workshop emphasizes the importance of cultivating a warm, motivated, and team-oriented culture. Attendees will learn how to create a supportive environment that fosters communication, accountability, and genuine connection—both between staff and with guests.

By the end of the session, managers and owners will walk away with actionable systems and tools to strengthen their team, elevate service quality, and enhance the overall guest experience. Whether you're launching a new cafe or improving an existing operation, this workshop provides the foundation for building a consistent, engaging, and memorable coffee shop culture.

Learning Objectives:

1. Develop an Effective Onboarding Plan:

Attendees will outline a step-by-step onboarding process that helps new hires feel welcomed, informed, and prepared to contribute within their first week. They will learn to define the skills, traits, and values that make an ideal coffee shop team member, and apply structured interview techniques to select strong candidates.

2. Create a Structured Training Framework:

Participants will understand the design of a practical training roadmap—including barista skills, feedback standards, and barflow expectations—that supports consistent performance across all shifts. Managers will learn simple methods for providing constructive feedback, monitoring progress, and supporting ongoing skill development.

3. Cultivate an Engaging Team Culture:

Attendees will discover strategies to foster teamwork, ownership, and communication to improve morale and reduce turnover. They will connect employee engagement practices with customer-facing behaviors to create a warm, memorable cafe.

Date: Sunday, April 12, 2026
Time: 12:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Room Number: 30 B
Category: Business

REGISTRATION FEES:

EARLY BIRD Regular* - $250
EARLY BIRD Paid Member* - $210
Regular - $275
Paid Member - $230

*Early Bird pricing ends March 1, 2026

Booking: To book your place in this Workshop, head to the World of Coffee San Diego Registration & Booking Portal and add a session to your order. Already registered? Simply login using the credentials created at purchase to access your booking and add other paid events to your badge.

BOOK NOW

Instructor

Selina Viguera

Cafe Leader

Selina Viguera is a Café Leader for Blue Bottle Coffee in Venice, bringing 25 years of experience in coffee, including 17 years in specialty coffee and 15 years with Blue Bottle. Her expertise spans café leadership, clear and effective communication, barista coaching and training, and cultivating hospitality-driven culture. An SCA volunteer since 2011, Selina has worked at and managed bars for the Barista Guild, TED, and TEDxMed coffee services. She has supported dozens of cafés across a wide range of workflow configurations, pairing operational excellence with a people-first approach to create memorable guest experiences.

Emma Isabel

Learning & Development

Emma Isabel is the Regional Trainer for Southern California and Las Vegas at Blue Bottle Coffee, supporting barista and leadership development through intentional training, facilitation, and mentorship. Her work spans multiple markets and new cafe openings, helping teams build strong foundations and sustainable practices. She began her career in 2010 at Tierra Mia Coffee, gaining early experience with a rapidly expanding independent Latino brand. Since then, she has been passionate about engaging baristas at every stage of their careers and bridging the gap between making coffee and becoming a true coffee professional in ways that feel fun, authentic, and empowering.

Lecture Description

Coffee auctions can feel intimidating and opaque to many buyers—but they're increasingly important tools for price discovery, quality incentives, and direct market access, particularly in regions where consistent pricing mechanisms have been lacking. This panel demystifies how auction systems work in specialty coffee and explores their evolving role in empowering producers and connecting buyers. From Cup of Excellence and AFCA's Taste of Harvest to newer origin-based platforms with Mountain Harvest, panelists will discuss how these systems drive quality, transparency, and collaboration—and walk buyers through the practical steps of participating with confidence.

Date: Sunday, April 12, 2026
Time: 12:00 pm - 1:15 pm
Location: Room 24AB
Category: Business

Access: This lecture is free to attend with a World of Coffee entry badge. Register to attend World of Coffee here.
Please note that lecture sessions are open on a first-come, first-served basis. Early arrival is highly recommended to secure your seat. 

Speakers

Lecture Description

Sustainability and gender equity in coffee begins with the wellbeing of the people who cultivate it. Yet, while the industry invests heavily in productivity, climate resilience, and certification systems, the mental health of women coffee farmers—who make up a significant portion of the global workforce—remains largely invisible.

This session, inspired by SANA, an integrative mental health care and wellness program who has more than a 100 women coffee farmers in Colombia we have completed, demonstrates how investing in mental wellbeing is a sustainability strategy. Through data, stories, and measurable outcomes, we will explore how women’s emotional health impacts decision-making, community leadership, farm management, and long-term wellbeing.

Attendees will learn why mental health should be integrated into gender equity and sustainability frameworks, what scalable models exist, and how brands, roasters, and organizations can co-invest in wellbeing initiatives that create healthier, more equitable, and sustainable coffee systems.

Date: Sunday, April 12, 2026
Time: 11:00 am - 11:45 am
Location: Room 24C
Category: Sustainability

Access: This lecture is free to attend with a World of Coffee entry badge. Register to attend World of Coffee here.
Please note that lecture sessions are open on a first-come, first-served basis. Early arrival is highly recommended to secure your seat. 

Speakers

Lucia Bawot
Founder & CEO, SANA

Lucia Bawot is passionate about transforming ideas into tangible projects. With more than a decade of experience working with leading companies in the coffee industry, she has built narratives and communicated the impact of their sustainability projects. In 2023, she published the her awarded first book, We Belong: An Anthology of Colombian Women Coffee Farmers. Currently, Lucia leads SANA, an initiative that provides a mental health and wellness support to Colombian women coffee farmers through a five-month integrative program that combines tele-counseling, virtual education, and community support, creating spaces to break silence, strengthen personal agency, and improve their well-being to live healthier and more fulfilling lives.

Lecture Description

Over the past century, coffee roasting technology has transformed dramatically, moving from manually controlled, fire-powered machines to automated systems built around data, precision, and repeatability. Today, the specialty coffee industry is entering a new phase of that evolution: the transition from gas-fired roasting to fully electric roasting systems. This shift is driven not only by sustainability goals, but also by advances in roast profiling, consistency, workspace design, and regulatory pressures affecting roasteries around the world.

This lecture explores the historical evolution of roasting technology, the forces driving current changes, and what roasters of all sizes can expect in the next decade. Attendees will gain a practical, non-commercial understanding of electric roasting: how it works, where it excels, what limitations exist, and how it compares to traditional gas roasting in workflow, cup quality, maintenance, safety, and environmental impact.

This session uses practical examples and clear technical insights to help coffee professionals understand the future of roasting technology and how to adapt their businesses accordingly.

Date: Sunday, April 12, 2026
Time: 11:00 am - 11:45 am
Location: Room 25AB
Category: Sustainability

Access: This lecture is free to attend with a World of Coffee entry badge. Register to attend World of Coffee here.
Please note that lecture sessions are open on a first-come, first-served basis. Early arrival is highly recommended to secure your seat. 

Speakers

Zoe Gigas
Head Roaster, Bellwether Coffee

Zoe Gigas is a roaster, a consultant, an educator, and a sustainability advocate — sometimes all in the same conversation. Based in Berkeley, California, she serves as the Head Roaster at Bellwether Coffee, where she works with customers of their fully electric, ventless roaster to bridge the gap between technology and craft. With over ten years across roasting, green buying, quality assurance, and production, she has made it her mission to stay visible in an industry where roasters often work in the background. For Zoe, the work is always evolving — and that's exactly how she likes it.

Lecture Description

This lecture explores how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming quality control workflows - making processes faster, more reliable, and easier to manage. We'll dive into how AI supports QC teams in tackling everyday challenges, where its current limits lie, and why professionals in the field can view AI not as a threat, but as a powerful partner rather than a replacement.

Date: Sunday, April 12, 2026
Time: 11:00 am - 11:45 am
Location: Room 25C
Category: Science

Access: This lecture is free to attend with a World of Coffee entry badge. Register to attend World of Coffee here.
Please note that lecture sessions are open on a first-come, first-served basis. Early arrival is highly recommended to secure your seat. 

Speakers

Franciska Apró
Quality Business Process Owner, Sucafina

Franciska Apró is a coffee professional with over 15 years of industry expertise, primarily in quality control. A certified Q Grader and WCC sensory judge for Brewers Cup and Barista competitions, she brings strong sensory and technical insight to her work. At Sucafina NV in Belgium, she manages the quality department and leads global Quality Control initiatives as the group’s Quality Business Process Owner. Her role includes process mapping, process harmonization, identifying best practices, and advising on global quality projects. Passionate about quality, she champions systems and tools that enhance consistency and efficiency across the value chain.

Susan Wilcox
Quality Manager North America & Q Arabica Grader, Sucafina

Susan Wilcox is a Quality Control Manager, licensed Q Grader, and spot sales trader at Sucafina North America, where she leads coffee quality evaluation, sample analysis, and QC lab operations. Her work focuses on bridging sensory evaluation with data analytics to improve decision‑making, consistency, and transparency across the coffee supply chain. Susan develops standardized QC workflows, reporting frameworks, and operational tools that translate cupping data into actionable insights for traders, producers, and clients. Passionate about innovation in specialty coffee, she regularly collaborates across quality, sourcing, and trading teams, and is an active contributor to industry education and knowledge‑sharing initiatives.

Lecture Description

La agricultura regenerativa se presenta hoy como una alternativa sólida para enfrentar los desafíos de la caficultura moderna, como la degradación del suelo, la variabilidad climática, la disminución de la productividad y la presión sobre los ecosistemas.

En esta conferencia exploraremos prácticas que ayudan a construir plantaciones más sanas, productivas y sostenibles, reduciendo costos, mejorando la calidad del grano y fortaleciendo la capacidad de los productores para enfrentar el cambio climático. También presentaré las principales aplicaciones regenerativas adaptadas al cultivo de café y cómo integrarlas en fincas de distintos contextos y tamaños, con énfasis en mejorar la salud del suelo, incrementar la cobertura vegetal y promover la biodiversidad para lograr sistemas más productivos y resilientes.

Date: Sunday, April 12, 2026
Time: 11:00 am - 11:45 am
Location: Room 26AB
Category: Sustainability

Access: This lecture is free to attend with a World of Coffee entry badge. Register to attend World of Coffee here.
Please note that lecture sessions are open on a first-come, first-served basis. Early arrival is highly recommended to secure your seat. 

Speakers

Oscar Zacarias de Pedro
CEO, AGROSANA

El Ing. Oscar Zacarías es CEO y fundador de la empresa consultora AGROSANA, especializada en el fortalecimiento y desarrollo sostenible de la cadena de valor del café en Latinoamérica. Cuenta con más de 25 años de experiencia asesorando a organizaciones y empresas privadas dedicadas a la producción, procesamiento y comercialización de café. A lo largo de su trayectoria profesional ha acompañado a casi un centenar de empresas del sector cafetalero, brindando asistencia técnica y estratégica para mejorar la competitividad, sostenibilidad y resiliencia de los sistemas productivos. Su experiencia se enfoca en el diseño e implementación de estrategias de adaptación al cambio climático, el incremento de la productividad y la mejora de la calidad del café. Asimismo, ha promovido activamente la transición hacia modelos de agricultura orgánica y regenerativa, apoyando a productores y organizaciones en la implementación de buenas prácticas agrícolas sostenibles. También posee amplia experiencia en la gestión e implementación de certificaciones sostenibles y de comercio justo, trabajando con organizaciones cafetaleras en diversos países productores de Latinoamérica, particularmente en Centroamérica y México. A través de AGROSANA, el Ing. Zacarías continúa contribuyendo al fortalecimiento del sector cafetalero mediante asesoría técnica especializada, desarrollo de capacidades y acompañamiento estratégico a organizaciones y empresas comprometidas con una caficultura sostenible.

Lecture Description

Stress is a part of our everyday lives. Coffee contains bioactive components that may affect stress responses, including caffeine, chlorogenic acids, trigonelline, and other phenolic compounds. In this pilot clinical trial, we examined the effects of coffee on three stress measures (self-reported, interleukin-6, and cortisol) using a placebo-controlled randomized crossover design. Subjects consumed one of three beverages (caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee, or a placebo). Beverages were consumed thirty minutes before a Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), which presents verbal and mathematical challenges to produce a short-term mental stress. Self-reported stress was assessed using a standardized questionnaire. Interleukin-6 and cortisol stress markers were measured by sampling saliva throughout the study. Caffeinated and decaffeinated coffees were chemically similar in terms of 3-chlorogenic acid, trigonelline, and total phenolics, only differing in caffeine content (40 versus 6 mg caffeine/100 mL). No differences in self-reported stress or interleukin-6 were observed across treatments. In contrast, subjects consuming decaffeinated coffee maintained significantly lower cortisol levels compared to both caffeinated coffee and to the placebo. This study provides preliminary evidence that decaffeinated coffee lowered cortisol, a key stress marker, relative to caffeinated coffee or a placebo. Future studies will examine the effects of coffee chemistry on stress responses.

Date: Sunday, April 12, 2026
Time: 11:00 am - 11:45 am
Location: Room 23BC
Category: Science

Access: This lecture is free to attend with a World of Coffee entry badge. Register to attend World of Coffee here.
Please note that lecture sessions are open on a first-come, first-served basis. Early arrival is highly recommended to secure your seat. 

Speakers

Yukun Niu

Research Technician, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Yukun Niu is a research technician at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She obtained her Master's degree from the Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences at the North Carolina State University (2024) under the guidance of Dr. Gabriel Keith Harris. Her research is focused on understanding how food processing affects the health properties, especially coffee roasting and extracting, using a combination of analytical techniques, such as HPLC, and physicochemical analysis assays.

Lecture Description

This presentation, “Building the Human Story of Guatemalan Coffees,” introduces a transformative approach to national coffee branding by leveraging the rich narrative and heritage of Guatemalan Coffees. It addresses the opportunity behind a strong, yet under-recognized, coffee brand, revealing how the power of human stories can elevate a nation’s coffee identity on the global stage. 

The story centers on the human element—how coffee growers, diverse landscapes, and Guatemala´s vibrant culture come together to produce world-class coffees that connects emotionally with consumers worldwide.

Through a clear positioning framework, the presentation defines the brand’s target audience as global coffee drinkers seeking authenticity, connections and positive impact. It showcases Guatemala’s leadership in quality, innovation, community, and sustainability, emphasizing artisanal traditions, pioneering methods, and deep commitment to the coffee growing families and their communities. 

The case study demonstrates measurable growth in brand awareness, engagement and international recognition, mainly driven by strategic storytelling and multi-channel communication. 

By weaving together research insights, stakeholder perspectives, and actionable branding strategies, this presentation delivers a compelling blueprint for how Guatemalan Coffees—and the country itself— can transform and reposition a country’s image on the world stage. Supported by engaging videos and social media examples, it also shows how the Guatemalan Coffee brand identity was brought to life at the WOC San Diego booth, so that attendees would have a more likely experience of the case study.  Inspirational and practical, this presentation offers valuable lessons for industry leaders, marketers, and coffee professionals, making it an ideal addition to the SCAs’ Education Program.

Date: Sunday, April 12, 2026
Time: 10:30 am - 11:45 am
Location: Room 24AB
Category: Business

Access: This lecture is free to attend with a World of Coffee entry badge. Register to attend World of Coffee here.
Please note that lecture sessions are open on a first-come, first-served basis. Early arrival is highly recommended to secure your seat. 

Speakers

Andrea Vergara
Marketing Manager, Guatemalan National Coffee Association (Anacafé)

Holds a Master's degree in international marketing and a Bachelor´s degree in Business Administration. Has more than twelve years of professional experience in marketing, with a strong focus on the food and beverage sector. Currently serves as Marketing Marketing at the Guatemalan National Coffee Association (Anacafé), leading strategic initiatives that strengthen the global positioning and value proposition of the Guatemalan Coffees country brand in international markets.

Mike Dabadie
CEO, Heart and Mind Strategies

Mike Dabadie is the CEO of Heart and Mind Strategies, an insights, strategy, and activation consultancy. He has worked with SCA on strategic planning, consumer insights, and was the global campaign manager for the merger of SCAA and SCAE. Mike provided the strategy for the new brand positioning and new brand design for Anacafé and Guatemalan Coffee.

Lecture Description

In coffee, we talk endlessly about quality, process, and origin. But whose definitions are we using - and what do they leave out?

This lecture reframes coffee through culture, exploring how people around the world - from Ethiopia to India, Indonesia to the Arabian Gulf - have brewed meaning into their cups for centuries. These practices reveal that coffee has always been more than a drink - it’s a reflection of identity, ritual, and belonging.

Author and food anthropologist Lani Kingston, Director of Education & Conference for Coffee Fest and teacher of The Anthropology of Coffee at Portland State University, guides attendees through a journey that blends anthropology, history, and industry insight. Her bestselling books, including Spill the Beans: Global Coffee Culture and Designing Coffee, have been translated into over 17 languages and continue to shape how coffee professionals understand culture and consumption.

Attendees will leave this session with:

– A deeper understanding of how global coffee cultures influence flavor, ritual, and perception of “quality”

– Practical ideas for incorporating cultural awareness into storytelling, menu design, and customer experience

– A renewed sense of connection to the people and histories behind the cup

Ultimately, this talk calls for a more culturally literate coffee industry - one that values origin not only as a source of beans, but as a source of ideas, flavor, and identity.

Date: Sunday, April 12, 2026
Time: 10:00 am - 10:45 am
Location: Room 26AB
Category:

Access: This lecture is free to attend with a World of Coffee entry badge. Register to attend World of Coffee here.
Please note that lecture sessions are open on a first-come, first-served basis. Early arrival is highly recommended to secure your seat. 

Speakers

Lani Kingston
Director of Education, Coffee Fest

Lani Kingston is a Portland-based author and consultant specializing in brand development, systems building, and professional education. As the Director of Education for Coffee Fest and Editor of its upcoming publication, The Drip, she spearheads professional programming and industry discourse across the United States.

Lani also serves as an adjunct professor of Coffee Anthropology at Portland State University and is the author of definitive coffee books translated into over 20 languages, including How to Make Coffee and Spill the Beans: Global Coffee Culture. Her consulting portfolio spans international contracts across the food, agriculture, chocolate, coffee, and tea sectors.

Lecture Description

This talk explores how a virtual reality (VR) café environment influences specialty coffee consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP), liking and purchase preferences. Coffee is rarely experienced in isolation; the ambience, service style, and surrounding cues all shape how people perceive coffee quality and value. Using immersive VR technology, our research simulated a café context to understand how environmental context can change the choices specialty coffee consumers make in comparison with a neutral environment, even when the coffee itself remains the same. This study further assessed how liking and purchase preferences are affected by environmental context. This research provides insight into how much context truly matters, whether environments influence perceived coffee value and WTP, and how VR can serve as a powerful, cost-effective tool for testing café concepts or product launches before investing in physical spaces.

Date: Sunday, April 12, 2026
Time: 10:00 am - 10:45 am
Location: Room 25AB
Category: Science

Access: This lecture is free to attend with a World of Coffee entry badge. Register to attend World of Coffee here.
Please note that lecture sessions are open on a first-come, first-served basis. Early arrival is highly recommended to secure your seat. 

Speakers

Aishwarya Badiger
Postdoctoral Researcher, The Ohio State University

Dr. Aishwarya Badiger is a Postdoctoral Researcher at The Ohio State University and co-founder of Coffea & Company. Her interdisciplinary expertise spans consumer behavior, flavor chemistry, and specialty coffee. She has experience across academic research, the coffee startup space, and green coffee sourcing, where she applies sensory skills to understand consumer behavior around coffee products, sustainability initiatives, and roasters’ perspectives on green coffee value. Her current research examines how context and engagement level with coffee and other products influence decision making. She enjoys sharing her passion by introducing her community to new specialty coffees and advancing industry-science collaboration.

Lecture Description

Do you feel like you and your team are frantically filling orders at the last minute? Do you wonder whether or not you are making a profit? Do you feel like your coffee releases are rushed and your buyers never really understand what you are offering or why?

To answer these questions effectively, you need to examine the inner workings of your business to ensure you have the necessary structure to maintain the health of both your business and your people.

In this presentation, we'll cover the five essentials every growing coffee roaster needs, including product pricing structure, building and using a pricing calculator, creating and using a coffee release process, green coffee management and tools, financial structure and dry product management.

Date: Sunday, April 12, 2026
Time: 10:00 am - 10:45 am
Location: Room 25C
Category:

Access: This lecture is free to attend with a World of Coffee entry badge. Register to attend World of Coffee here.
Please note that lecture sessions are open on a first-come, first-served basis. Early arrival is highly recommended to secure your seat. 

Speakers

Luke Waite
Consultant, Pomelo Coffee Consulting

Luke is the founder of Pomelo Coffee Consulting and the creator of the Core 7, a framework built to help specialty coffee roasters build efficient, profitable, and sustainable businesses. He helps owners of specialty coffee roasters from startup to multi-million dollar operations build stronger teams, smarter systems, and more profitable businesses. His background spans leadership roles at Metric Coffee, Passion House, Pickwick, and more, giving him a holistic, ground-level understanding of how roasteries actually work. He also hosts Good Folks, Doing Good Work, a podcast for specialty coffee professionals who believe business can be a force for good.

Lecture Description

In this lecture, Professor Peter Roberts from Emory University shares insights from his recent book, called "From Supply and Demand to Numbers, Networks, and Narratives: Confronting the Commodification of Specialty Coffee Producers." This book poses an important question for coffee professionals: As expanding specialty markets call for higher-quality coffees produced and transacted in certain ways, why is there not a widespread expectation that the producers who grow these differentiated coffees should receive prices that are commensurate with the economic value they create? Relying on more than a decade of observation and industry engagement, Roberts does not accept that problematic pricing is the direct result of ongoing problems with global supply and demand. The real problems are that the people who grow differentiated coffees do not have access to relevant price information and that they have outdated market connections. These numbers and networks problems are exacerbated by a more fundamental problem. Conversations about the value of green specialty coffees remain rooted in an outdated pricing narrative. After presenting these core arguments, this lecture outlines mosaic of promising market interventions that address the numbers and networks problems before explaining why an outdated pricing narrative is so hard to change.

Date: Sunday, April 12, 2026
Time: 10:00 am - 10:45 am
Location: Room 24C
Category: Sustainability

Access: This lecture is free to attend with a World of Coffee entry badge. Register to attend World of Coffee here.
Please note that lecture sessions are open on a first-come, first-served basis. Early arrival is highly recommended to secure your seat. 

Speakers

Peter W. Roberts
Professor, Emory University

Peter Roberts has a PhD in Organizational Analysis from the University of Alberta (Canada) and has held academic positions at the Australian Graduate School of Management (Australia), Carnegie Mellon University (USA), Colombia University (USA), and Emory University (USA). For more than a decade, he has been the Academic Director of Specialty Coffee Programs at Emory University.

Peters’ 10+ years of work in and around the specialty coffee industry includes an annual pricing report (The Specialty Coffee Transaction Guide) that has been downloaded more than 10,000 times. His coffee work attracts the attention of industry media outlets. For instance, a recently published World Development article (Is the rising tide of specialty coffee lifting all boats?) was specifically covered by Daily Coffee News. This work also attracts considerable social media attention. Here, the Instagram page for the Specialty Coffee Transaction Guide has more than 5,200 followers.

Finally, Peter teaches an elective class in the business school at Emory University (called The Past, Present and Future of Specialty Coffee: An Integration of Historical, Market and Cultural Perspectives) that attracts more than 150 students per year.

Workshop Description: This hands-on workshop is designed for baristas and coffee professionals who want to strengthen their technical understanding of espresso and milk synergy and develop their latte art skills.

This workshop first touches on proper espresso brewing and extraction quality. Participants will learn how minor adjustments can elevate the final cup and create a solid foundation for milk integration.

We'll then shift to focus on milk techniques—from proper steaming and texturing to pour control and integration with espresso. Attendees will practice achieving harmony between the structure of the espresso shot and the texture of the milk for smooth, balanced results.

By the end of the session, participants will leave with a better understanding of espresso variables, milk chemistry, and latte art pouring fundamentals, empowering them to create consistent, high-quality, beautiful beverages with confidence.

Learning Objectives:

1. Demystify espresso extraction by identifying how variables affect balance, flavor, and consistency in pouring into the cup.

2. Master the craft of milk texturing, learning how to create silky micro-foam and achieve the ideal temperature and texture for seamless integration with espresso.

3. Refine pour control and technique, discovering how movement, flow, and timing shape both latte art presentation and flavor synergy.

4. Combine science and craft to design espresso-based beverages that are visually striking, technically sound, and consistently delicious

Note: For the best hands-on experience, we group attendees into small breakout teams according to their self-assessed skill level. This way, you practice with peers at a similar stage and receive targeted guidance and feedback from the supporting instructors.

Date: Sunday, April 12, 2026
Time: 9:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Room Number: 32 AB
Category: Espresso

REGISTRATION FEES:

EARLY BIRD Regular* - $250
EARLY BIRD Paid Member* - $210
Regular - $275
Paid Member - $230

*Early Bird pricing ends March 1, 2026

Booking: To book your place in this Workshop, head to the World of Coffee San Diego Registration & Booking Portal and add a session to your order. Already registered? Simply login using the credentials created at purchase to access your booking and add other paid events to your badge.

Instructor

Nicole Rosaly

AST trainer

Nicole Rosaly is an SCA Authorized Specialty Trainer (AST), coffee educator, and consultant with over 15 years of experience in the specialty coffee industry. She serves as Lead Coffee Trainer and Corporate Manager at Not Your Average Joe and is the founder of Barista Summit, a coffee education and consulting platform. Nicole is known for designing inclusive, hands-on training environments, supporting baristas of all abilities and learning styles. She has taught bilingual (English-Spanish) workshops across the U.S. and Puerto Rico, with a strong focus on calibration, milk technique, latte art, and skill confidence. Her work centers on accessibility, mentorship, and empowering individuals to grow beyond expectations.

Workshop Description: Blending is both an art and a science, and intentional design is key to achieving flavor, balance, and consistency. This workshop teaches roasters how to craft blends with clear sensory goals using component tasting, roast-level experimentation, and iterative cupping feedback. Participants explore how origin, variety, and roast interact to influence sweetness, acidity, body, and clarity. Emphasis is placed on co-discovery, allowing participants to hypothesize, test, and refine blends collaboratively. The workshop also incorporates storytelling, helping participants translate blend design into concise narratives for café teams and consumers. Attendees leave with repeatable frameworks, tasting skills, and practical storytelling tools to create blends that are purposeful, repeatable, and memorable.

Learning Objectives:

1. Evaluate individual component coffees for sensory contribution.

2. Adjust roast levels to optimize blend balance, body, and flavor clarity.

3. Co-create blends collaboratively using iterative, sensory-driven experimentation.

4. Use cupping and sensory feedback to refine blend outcomes.

5. Craft concise, engaging narratives explaining blend intention, flavor goals, and origin context.

6. Apply repeatable frameworks for signature, seasonal, or menu-specific blends.

Date: Sunday, April 12, 2026
Time: 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Room Number: 31 C
Category: Cupping

REGISTRATION FEES:

Regular - $275
Paid Member - $230

Booking: To book your place in this Workshop, head to the World of Coffee San Diego Registration & Booking Portal and add a session to your order. Already registered? Simply login using the credentials created at purchase to access your booking and add other paid events to your badge.

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Instructor

Ashley Whelan

Director of Coffee

Ashley Whelan is a coffee educator and operator with experience developing training programs, multi-sensory teaching tools, and flavor communication frameworks for café teams, roasteries, and competition-level baristas. Ashley integrates operational knowledge, sensory science, and creative pedagogy to make coffee education accessible, memorable, and grounded in real café practice.

Workshop Description: This workshop equips new and growing coffee entrepreneurs with the knowledge and tools to start and scale a wholesale coffee business. We’ll cover the full journey—from green coffee buying and roasting to selling your product across B2B and consumer channels. By the end, you’ll have a comprehensive roadmap to develop a profitable, customer-focused wholesale program, along with an understanding of key industry benchmarks and strategies for standing out in a crowded market.

Learning Objectives:

1. To learn how to source green coffee in an effective manner by working with various buying methods, forecasting, and working alongside producers

2. To understand the necessary equipment and education needed to create an in-house roasting program

3. Gain practical and effective sales tactics from two coffee sales professionals, such as how to build a pipeline, creating sales & marketing materials, and how to conduct in & out-bound sales

4. Attendees will have a business plan specially for wholesale coffee roasting to follow along, fill-out, and walk away with

Date: Sunday, April 12, 2026
Time: 9:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
Room Number: 30 C
Category: Business

REGISTRATION FEES:

EARLY BIRD Regular* - $250
EARLY BIRD Paid Member* - $210
Regular - $275
Paid Member - $230

*Early Bird pricing ends March 1, 2026

Booking: To book your place in this Workshop, head to the World of Coffee San Diego Registration & Booking Portal and add a session to your order. Already registered? Simply login using the credentials created at purchase to access your booking and add other paid events to your badge.

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Instructor

Tarra Samuelson

Consultant

Tarra Samuelson (she/her) has spent the past 15 years working across retail, wholesale, and educational facets of the specialty coffee industry. She has contributed to the growth of both boutique roasters and large, fast-scaling companies through her expertise in sales, business development, and operations. Tarra co-owns Provision Coffee in Phoenix, Arizona with her husband and is the founder of Curated Coffee Consulting, a consulting agency dedicated to supporting specialty coffee start-ups in retail & wholesale. She brings a strong passion for education and relationship-driven sales, and has held national sales and business development roles with companies including Verve Coffee, Equator Coffees, Rishi Tea, and Eversys.

Blair Smith

Southwest Account Manager

Blair Smith is the Southwest Account Manager for Ally Coffee, a green coffee importer. She has been working in specialty coffee since 2012, working in various roles as a barista, store manager, general manager, roaster, and wholesale manager, and now enjoys the role where she can connect both ends of the supply chain. When she's not living and breathing coffee, she enjoys cooking, gardening, and raising chickens.

Workshop Description: What does a healthy cafe budget look like? And how do you match that to the reality of operations?

In the dynamic job of running a cafe, a solid grasp of budgeting is vital for sustainable success. This workshop is designed to empower cafe owners, managers, and aspiring entrepreneurs with the foundational tools to create, analyze, and optimize a budget that drives profitability. Attendees will dive into key areas of the P&L—like cost of goods (COGs), labor, and occupancy—to understand how each impacts the overall health of their business and how to control them ongoing via operational decisions.

Using a fill-in-the-blank workbook, attendees actively engage in analyzing financial metrics, calculating ideal expense percentages, and learning actionable methods to control costs. This workshop transforms complex financial concepts into manageable, practical steps. Plus, we’ll explore real strategies for boosting cafe sales and inspiring cafe workers to engage better with the business. Attendees will leave feeling enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and equipped with practical budgeting insights to support their cafe's growth.

This workshop would be perfect for people brand new to these concepts or even experienced cafe owners who are having a difficult time controlling expenses.

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify and understand key budget components in a cafe business, how to analyze them in your own business, and how to strategically control them ongoing through operational leadership

2. Gain a clear understanding of how to build, read, and leverage a P&L statement specifically for the cafe business to assess the café’s financial health and make informed decisions.

3. Explore strategies to increase top-line revenue through effective upselling, product mix adjustments, and employee engagement

4. Walk away with a holistic budgeting approach that combines financial discipline with strategic decision-making, supporting sustainable growth

Date: Sunday, April 12, 2026
Time: 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Room Number: 30 B
Category: Business

REGISTRATION FEES:

EARLY BIRD Regular* - $250
EARLY BIRD Paid Member* - $210
Regular - $275
Paid Member - $230

*Early Bird pricing ends March 1, 2026

Booking: To book your place in this Workshop, head to the World of Coffee San Diego Registration & Booking Portal and add a session to your order. Already registered? Simply login using the credentials created at purchase to access your booking and add other paid events to your badge.

BOOK NOW

Instructor

Erica Escalante

Cafe & Bakery Consultant

Erica Escalante is a seasoned coffee professional and baker.

She is most know for her time being a cafe/bakery owner for nearly 10 years in the Portland, OR area, starting entrepreneurship at just 21 years old. Her cafe was a beloved and bustling business, growing to 2 locations with a full bakery program (including over a dozen wholesale accounts), a full food program, and
a commissary kitchen program. After her time as a cafe owner, she worked in various operational roles - Head of Retail for Canyon Coffee, and Director of Operations for Goodboybob Coffee Roasters.

She now runs The Cafe Operator, a consulting agency helping businesses become more profitable and create better work environments for all. She focuses her time not only on client work, but also hosting various virtual workshops and running her robust social media accounts where she puts helpful and entertaining cafe business focused content.

Erica lives in Los Angeles with her wife and her two cutie daughters.

Workshop Description: The Intro to Cupping Workshop provides those new to cupping with tools to analyze and describe their sensory perceptions of coffee. Specifically tailored to beginners, the workshop provides a welcoming and supportive environment to explore the world of coffee evaluation. Participants will learn practical techniques to assess coffee’s sensory attributes through engaging tastings and hands-on activities, bridging theory with practice.

Learners who complete this workshop will be able to:

1. Explain how cupping is used in professional settings across the coffee value chain.

2. Define and differentiate among key terms like fragrance, aroma, flavor, aftertaste, acidity, sweetness, mouthfeel, and overall.

3. Detect differences in intensity and sensory profile among coffee samples.

4. Use sensory evaluation tools like check-all-that-apply (CATA) boxes and nine-point affective scales.

5. Identify personal preferences in sensory attributes in coffee.

4. Use cupping and sensory feedback to refine blend outcomes.

5. Craft concise, engaging narratives explaining blend intention, flavor goals, and origin context.

6. Apply repeatable frameworks for signature, seasonal, or menu-specific blends.

Date: Sunday, April 12, 2026
Time: 9:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Room Number: 30 DE
Category: Cupping

REGISTRATION FEES:

EARLY BIRD Regular* - $250
EARLY BIRD Paid Member* - $210
Regular - $275
Paid Member - $230

*Early Bird pricing ends March 1, 2026

Booking: To book your place in this Workshop, head to the World of Coffee San Diego Registration & Booking Portal and add a session to your order. Already registered? Simply login using the credentials created at purchase to access your booking and add other paid events to your badge.

BOOK NOW

Instructor

Ben Helt

Technical Training Director

Ben Helt has worked in specialty coffee for more than 20 years, with experience spanning roasting, café ownership, and global coffee education. He's known for making technical and sensory concepts approachable. Ben had a front-row seat to the development of the SCA Coffee Value Assessment (CVA) and has delivered CVA courses to international audiences, helping cuppers and educators engage the system with confidence and clarity. He previously led the Authorized SCA Trainer Program, supporting a worldwide network of educators. Today, Ben brings his expertise to water quality as the Technical Training Director for BWT Water & More US, helping coffee professionals optimize one of coffee's most essential ingredients.

Workshop Description: Snap into water chemistry with this hands-on workshop where we explore the compounds and ions commonly found in water—like calcium, magnesium, and sodium. Piece-by-piece, learners will see how minerals move through filters like ion exchange cartridges. We will also talk about why the coffee industry wants to manage minerals in water that is already safe to drink. Whether you are a technician, barista, or just curious about what’s happening inside your water filter, this session helps build clarity—literally. Come ready to stack knowledge and connect the dots on how filters manage minerals.

Following this workshop, attendees should be able to:

1. Identify compounds typically found in tap water

2. Define and list components that contribute to the total hardness of a water

3. Define and list components that contribute to the temporary hardness of water

4. Define and list components that contribute to alkalinity

5. Describe what happens inside of an ion exchange water filter cartridge

Date: Saturday, April 11, 2026
Time: 1:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Room Number: 30 C
Category: Science

REGISTRATION FEES:

Regular - $275
Paid Member - $230

*Early Bird pricing ends March 1, 2026

Booking: To book your place in this Workshop, head to the World of Coffee San Diego Registration & Booking Portal and add a session to your order. Already registered? Simply login using the credentials created at purchase to access your booking and add other paid events to your badge.

BOOK NOW >

Instructor

Ben Helt

Technical Training Director

Ben Helt has worked in specialty coffee for more than 20 years, with experience spanning roasting, café ownership, and global coffee education. He’s known for making technical and sensory concepts approachable. Ben had a front-row seat to the development of the SCA Coffee Value Assessment (CVA) and has delivered CVA courses to international audiences, helping cuppers and educators engage the system with confidence and clarity. He previously led the Authorized SCA Trainer Program, supporting a worldwide network of educators. Today, Ben brings his expertise to water quality as the Technical Training Director for BWT Water & More US, helping coffee professionals optimize one of coffee?s most essential ingredients.

Workshop Description: Deep dive into this immersive workshop examining the history and future of the Coffea species. Focusing on the diversity of flavor and the lack of genetic diversity endangering the species, the workshop walks participants through key factors that make Coffea, particularly Arabica, vulnerable to extinction.

Part presentation, part tasting, this workshop is open to and has been fruitful for people with varied levels of experience, from those new to cupping all the way to seasoned coffee traders. Discover what is at stake as we face environmental and genetic challenges, and gain first-hand insights through compelling case studies from producers of the world’s rarest species and innovative farming initiatives. Some of these producers will join as guest speakers, offering their perspectives and sharing their experiences directly with participants.

Tasting exercises will include multiple Coffea species such as Stenophylla, Eugenioides, Liberica, Excelsa, Racemosa, Wightiana, experimentally processed Canephora, and a selection of several innovative and rare Arabica varieties and processings.

This session will deepen your understanding of the urgent need to preserve coffee biodiversity, highlight the threats and the remarkable potential within this genus, and introduce initiatives underway to navigate the current climate.

Learning Objectives:

1. Understand the importance of genetic diversity in coffee and why many Coffea species, especially Arabica, are endangered, and describe the environmental, genetic, and economic factors involved.

2. Taste and identify a range of Coffea species and Arabicas, while discussing their unique genetic and sensory characteristics.

3. Analyze real-world case studies of innovative farming and conservation practices aimed at preserving rare coffee species and adapting to climate change.

4. Foster professional and community connections through collaborative learning and shared sensory experiences.

5. Enjoy an engaging, memorable coffee experience that sparks curiosity and inspires reflection on coffee’s future.

*A Spanish speaking Instructor will be available for this workshop.

Date: Saturday, April 11, 2026
Time: 1:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Room Number: 31 C
Category: Cupping

REGISTRATION FEES:

EARLY BIRD Regular* - $250
EARLY BIRD Paid Member* - $210
Regular - $275
Paid Member - $230

*Early Bird pricing ends March 1, 2026

Booking: To book your place in this Workshop, head to the World of Coffee San Diego Registration & Booking Portal and add a session to your order. Already registered? Simply login using the credentials created at purchase to access your booking and add other paid events to your badge.

BOOK NOW >

Instructor

Leon Grodski Barrera

Co-Owner Little Waves Coffee Roasters

Leon Grodski Barrera approaches coffee through curiosity and wonder. Co-Founder of Little Waves Coffee Roasters, and 21 years in the industry, Leon is interested in the history of coffee, past and present, dimensionally beyond algorithm, third place, and third wave. ZHAW Coffee Excellence Center Advanced Studies grad, this session came out of his awe for flavor, wonder at the defiance of a coffee seedling, diversity of the plant and a deep concern for the endangered state of Coffea. With his partner and wife, Areli, he is currently building out a new roasting and lab facility.

Adriana Uriostegui

Trainer

Adriana Uriostegui has worked in the specialty coffee industry for 13 years. Her career has led her to managing cafes, training, and becoming a wholesale representative. Training and education have always played a meaningful role throughout her journey and now she’s extending her experience through consulting for new and current cafe owners.

Lecture Description

What if brewing didn’t just change taste—but also health?

This talk explores how extraction parameters modulate coffee’s chemical profile, influencing both sensory quality and key bioactive compounds. From antioxidants to potentially harmful molecules, we will uncover how to design a better—and smarter—cup.

Date: Saturday, April 11, 2026
Time: 1:30 pm - 2:45 pm
Location: Room 23BC
Category: Science

Access: This lecture is free to attend with a World of Coffee entry badge. Register to attend World of Coffee here.
Please note that lecture sessions are open on a first-come, first-served basis. Early arrival is highly recommended to secure your seat. 

Speakers

Agnese Santanatoglia
Coffee Scientist, Simonelli Group S.p.A.

Agnese Santanatoglia is a food chemist and postdoctoral researcher at the Research and Innovation Coffee Hub (RICH), a collaboration between Simonelli Group S.p.A. and the University of Camerino. Her research explores how extraction conditions shape coffee quality through chemical and sensory mechanisms. She combines analytical techniques, such as GC-MS and HPLC, with sensory evaluation to translate coffee science into actionable insights for coffee professionals. She conducted part of her research at The Ohio State University, focusing on coffee acidity and flavoromics. Alongside her academic work, she is also involved in science-driven innovation projects and entrepreneurial initiatives aimed at transforming coffee research into real-world products and impact.

Lecture Description

For decades, roasting has been concentrated in consuming countries—far from the farms and communities that produce coffee. But advances in processing consistency, packaging technology, and origin-based expertise are unlocking a new frontier: roasting at origin as a viable, high-quality, and economically powerful alternative.

This panel brings together producers, roasters, engineers, and supply-chain innovators to examine how decentralized, origin-based roasting can reshape the global coffee landscape. We will explore the scientific, economic, and cultural implications of shifting manufacturing upstream, including improved roast precision through proximity to processing, reduced carbon footprint, lower logistics costs, and the potential for significant value retention within producing countries.

Panelists will share real case studies from coffee producing countries, explaining how origin roasting can impact cup quality, local economies, and business feasibility. We will also address challenges—including energy needs, equipment accessibility, training, financing, and global distribution—to create a realistic roadmap for implementation.

This session aims to move the industry from theory to practice, offering a framework for how roasters, importers, retailers, and producers can participate in a more equitable and scientifically robust future of coffee manufacturing.

Attendees will leave with an understanding of how origin roasting works, why it matters, and what steps they can take to integrate decentralized manufacturing into their businesses.

Date: Saturday, April 11, 2026
Time: 1:30 pm - 2:45 pm
Location: Room 24AB
Category: Sustainability

Access: This lecture is free to attend with a World of Coffee entry badge. Register to attend World of Coffee here.
Please note that lecture sessions are open on a first-come, first-served basis. Early arrival is highly recommended to secure your seat. 

Speakers

Shanita Nicholas
Founder, Quantum Seeds

Shanita Nicholas is the Director of Coffee Ecology at Quantum Seeds LLC, where she leads the development of decentralized origin-roasting networks that unite sensory science, sustainable manufacturing, and cultural storytelling. A chemical engineer by training, attorney by profession, and Q Grader by craft, she brings a rare combination of technical precision, legal strategy, and sensory expertise to the redesign of global coffee systems.

Before founding Quantum Seeds, Shanita co-founded Sip & Sonder, one of Los Angeles’ most influential specialty coffee brands and cultural hubs, where she built community-centered experiences rooted in Black creativity, entrepreneurship, and connection. Her work at Sip & Sonder established her as a leader capable of navigating the entire coffee value chain — from sourcing and roast profiling to retail operations, wholesale strategy, and hospitality design.

Workshop Description: Many coffee drinkers use the word strong to describe what they like in espresso, but strength is only one part of a much bigger story. In this interactive tasting workshop, we’ll explore the critical and often misunderstood difference between strength and extraction quality. Through guided tastings and intentionally varied espresso shots, participants will learn how brew ratios, grind size, and temperature influence both intensity and flavor clarity.

We’ll begin by clarifying what strength truly means in espresso: the concentration of dissolved coffee in the final shot. From there, we’ll dive into extraction, how much of the coffee’s soluble material is pulled during brewing, and how under-extracted, balanced, and over-extracted espresso presents itself on the palate. By tasting contrast shots that isolate these variables, participants will build a clearer sensory vocabulary to identify cleanliness, acidity, sweetness, body, and finish with greater confidence.

Whether you’re a barista looking to sharpen your dialing-in skills or a coffee enthusiast curious about why some shots taste vibrant and balanced while others feel harsh or hollow, this workshop will provide practical tools to diagnose espresso and make intentional, repeatable adjustments behind the bar. Come ready to taste, compare, and better understand what’s really happening in your cup.

Learning Objectives

1. Clarify Strength vs. Extraction in Espresso

Help participants understand the distinction between espresso strength (brew ratio and concentration) and extraction (how much flavor is dissolved), and how each variable impacts the final shot.

2. Develop Espresso-Specific Sensory Awareness

Strengthen participants’ ability to taste and identify sensory cues associated with under-extracted, balanced, and over-extracted espresso.

3. Translate Taste Into Actionable Adjustments

Equip attendees with practical tools to connect what they taste to specific, repeatable adjustments such as dose amount, grind size, and yield.

4. Foster Confidence, Curiosity, and Dialogue

Create an engaging, supportive environment where participants feel comfortable asking questions, comparing shots, and deepening their understanding of espresso through shared sensory experience.

Note: This workshop will use espresso as the brew method to explore these principles, but the content covered can be applied to all coffee brewing methods.

Date: Saturday, April 11, 2026
Time: 1:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Room Number: 32 AB
Category: Brewing

REGISTRATION FEES:

EARLY BIRD Regular* - $250
EARLY BIRD Paid Member* - $210
Regular - $275
Paid Member - $230

*Early Bird pricing ends March 1, 2026

Booking: To book your place in this Workshop, head to the World of Coffee San Diego Registration & Booking Portal and add a session to your order. Already registered? Simply login using the credentials created at purchase to access your booking and add other paid events to your badge.

BOOK NOW >

Instructor

Emma Isabel

Learning & Development

Emma Isabel is the Regional Trainer for Southern California and Las Vegas at Blue Bottle Coffee, supporting barista and leadership development through intentional training, facilitation, and mentorship. Her work spans multiple markets and new cafe openings, helping teams build strong foundations and sustainable practices. She began her career in 2010 at Tierra Mia Coffee, gaining early experience with a rapidly expanding independent Latino brand. Since then, she has been passionate about engaging baristas at every stage of their careers and bridging the gap between making coffee and becoming a true coffee professional in ways that feel fun, authentic, and empowering.

Workshop Description: Sensory Toolkit 2.0 is a dynamic, hands-on workshop that expands traditional cupping and flavor-wheel training into a multisensory approach designed for modern baristas, trainers, and sensory professionals. Participants explore the intersection of aroma, texture, and narrative to build a more intuitive and inclusive sensory vocabulary. Through guided tasting, aroma jar identification, tactile mouthfeel stations, and narrative-based flavor mapping, attendees learn practical methods for breaking the “language trap” that limits sensory communication in cafés and training environments. This workshop equips participants with actionable tools to strengthen team calibration, improve guest communication, and enhance their own ability to perceive and describe coffee in a meaningful, memorable way.

By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:

1. Identify and describe key aromas using a simplified, accessible scent library.

2. Use tactile cues to interpret and communicate mouthfeel and structure in brewed coffee.

3. Apply multisensory anchors (texture, color, temperature, emotion, memory) to develop more expressive and accurate tasting language.

4. Break common sensory “language traps” through narrative-based flavor communication.

5. Implement quick, low-cost sensory training exercises in their own cafés or training programs.

Date: Saturday, April 11, 2026
Time: 1:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Room Number: 31 AB
Category: Brewing

REGISTRATION FEES:

EARLY BIRD Regular* - $250
EARLY BIRD Paid Member* - $210
Regular - $275
Paid Member - $230

*Early Bird pricing ends March 1, 2026

Booking: To book your place in this Workshop, head to the World of Coffee San Diego Registration & Booking Portal and add a session to your order. Already registered? Simply login using the credentials created at purchase to access your booking and add other paid events to your badge.

BOOK NOW >

Instructor

Ashley Whelan

Director of Coffee

Ashley Whelan is a coffee educator and operator with experience developing training programs, multi-sensory teaching tools, and flavor communication frameworks for café teams, roasteries, and competition-level baristas. Ashley integrates operational knowledge, sensory science, and creative pedagogy to make coffee education accessible, memorable, and grounded in real café practice.

Workshop Description: The SCA Coffee Value Assessment (CVA) is a tool developed as a universal system of evaluating and documenting coffee quality, and is the most widely used quality evaluation system in the Specialty Coffee industry. The CVA is an evolution of previous cupping systems, like the 2004 SCA Cupping Protocol, but it integrates current sensory science, economics, evolved techniques, and current coffee market dynamics. This 3-hour course will orient experienced cuppers to the system, teach proper use of the CVA, and explore how the CVA can be adapted for use across a variety of business environments.

Learning objectives:

1. Understand the purpose and design of the Physical, Descriptive, Affective, and Extrinsic Assessments of the CVA.

2. Perform a coffee assessment using all four elements.

3. Understand how to use tools like aroma examples and triangulations to improve skills.

4. Learn how to adapt CVA to specific business environments such as the roasting company, the coffee trader, the coffee exporter, etc.

Date: Saturday, April 11, 2026
Time: 1:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Room Number: 30 DE
Category: Cupping

REGISTRATION FEES:

Regular - $275
Paid Member - $230

*Early Bird pricing ends March 1, 2026

Booking: To book your place in this Workshop, head to the World of Coffee San Diego Registration & Booking Portal and add a session to your order. Already registered? Simply login using the credentials created at purchase to access your booking and add other paid events to your badge.

BOOK NOW >

Instructor

Peter Giuliano

Senior Advisor of Science Communication and Engagement Strategy

Peter Giuliano is the Senior Advisor of Science Communication and Engagement Strategy for the SCA. With 35 years of experience in the coffee trade, he focuses on supporting, promoting, and communicating scientific and economic research that benefits the entire coffee industry.

Workshop Description: Since cold brew coffee entered the industry's main stage a decade ago, many coffee professionals believe they've learned all there is to learn about the brewing method. This workshop is an interactive exploration that demonstrates some of what the latest coffee science has taught us about cold-water brewing and how to apply scientific and sensory skills to transform cold brew cups from mediocre to extraordinary.

Designed for coffee professionals across various segments, this workshop delivers a science-driven, practical experience with cold brew. You'll discover how cold-water brewing shapes flavor, learn strategies to optimize your cold brew offerings, and uncover actionable ways to apply the latest research in your role. Whether you're focused on quality, innovation, or storytelling, this session offers relevant insights for anyone interested in cold brew's potential.

Learning Objectives:

1. Understand how the cold water brewing method impacts flavors in the cup compared to hot brewed counterparts.

2. Learn how to use cold brew cupping to explore possibilities and make meaningful program decisions.

3. Explore how cold brew can showcase the unique characteristics and stories behind different coffees and origins.

4. Practice cold brew sensory analysis with CVA (serves as an easy-to-follow intro to CVA forms).

5. Participants will engage in approachable sensory comparisons designed for all experience levels.

6. Leave with practical, evidence-based takeaways—whether you want to understand cold brew's popularity or discover insights aimed at improving your offerings for cold brew consumers.

Date: Saturday, April 11, 2026
Time: 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Room Number: 30 B
Category: Sensory

REGISTRATION FEES:

EARLY BIRD Regular* - $250
EARLY BIRD Paid Member* - $210
Regular - $275
Paid Member - $230

*Early Bird pricing ends March 1, 2026

Booking: To book your place in this Workshop, head to the World of Coffee San Diego Registration & Booking Portal and add a session to your order. Already registered? Simply login using the credentials created at purchase to access your booking and add other paid events to your badge.

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Instructor

Julia Leach

President

Julia Leach leads Toddy, LLC, a company that has been at the forefront of cold brewing since 1964. Julia’s team works with cafes and roasters worldwide to help them develop cold brew programs that highlight the nuances of the brewing method and inspire their customers to fall in love with cold brew. She is passionate about the art and science of cold brewing and is active in developing quality cold brew education for the coffee industry. She has presented at SCA Re:co, SCA Expo, NCA Convention, and also frequently presents at industry events around the world.