Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/807954
STiR coffee and tea 11 NEWS NCA Creates Next Generation Council The National Coffee Association (NCA) has named a Next Generation Council to help meet the challenges facing today's coffee industry. Council members, who must be younger than 39 years of age, will take on special assignments as they increase their involvement in NCA and further develop their leadership skills. The intent is "to open NCA's leadership ranks to the young men and women who will take us into the future," said Bill Murray, NCA president and c.e.o. Members include: Frank Gaviña, F. Gaviña & Sons; Brandon Jackson, Brown Brothers Harriman; Zach Olsen, BUNN-O-Matic; Colleen Higgins, Mother Parkers Tea & Coffee; Joe Masucci, COEX Coffee International; Chris Hampson, Morgan Stanley; and Samantha Keane, Balzac Brothers & Co. Myanmar Improves in Coffee Cupping Scores In February 3 international judges and 5 resident national cuppers assessed 72 Myanmar specialty coffee samples (mainly dry naturals) using SCA cupping protocols in a competition format established by the Coffee Quality Institute. Quality of coffees entered rose across the board for a second straight year, with 26 of 72 coffees achieving 85-points or better. A Ywangan micro-lot entered by Mandalay Coffee Group scored a record-breaking 89.58 points. Judges described the coffee as "clean and complex," with the flavors of "orange, lemon, strawberry, and red currant." FNC Hosts World Coffee Forum Roberto Vélez, c.e.o. of the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation (FNC), is championing a new forum for coffee producers that will bring representatives from 40 countries to the inaugural gathering July 10-12, 2017. The World Coffee Producers Forum (WCPF) will convene in Medellín, Colombia, but Vélez said the venue will rotate among producing countries with Vietnam next in line. At FNC's annual breakfast meeting during the National Coffee Association convention, Vélez talked about the issues that producers face in common. "The forum seeks to foster sustainability from seed to cup and identify strategies to achieve better distribu- tion of value and responsibility among all actors of the coffee chain," he said. Among the more important considerations are the economic sustainability of producers, rural development, climate change adaptation, price volatility, generational change, and co-responsibility in the value chain. Exporters, importers, roasters, traders, certifying agencies, and all other people invested in the health of the coffee industry have a stake in these out- comes, he said. Learn more: www.worldcoffeeproducersforum.com