From April 20th to 23rd 2017, coffee samples from ten coffee mills participating in the NAMA Café de Costa Rica were offered at the Global Specialty Coffee Expo in Seattle, USA. The National Coffee Institute (ICAFE) and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH presented the Coffee NAMA and its NAMA Support Project “Low-Carbon Coffee Costa Rica” at the world´s largest coffee event.
Visitors of the Global Specialty Coffee Expo were in for a treat at this year´s event: Coffee samples from ten different coffee mills participating in the Coffee NAMA were waiting to be sampled at the “Café de Costa Rica” stand, where the National Coffee Institute (ICAFE) promoted the country´s high-quality coffee. Accompanying factsheets explained the samples´ different characteristics and presented general information on the NAMA Café and its NAMA Support Project “Low-Carbon Coffee Costa Rica”. For the first time, technical personnel from ICAFE and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH accompanied the ICAFE´s promotional team to the event to elaborate in detail on the process to follow in coffee mills and on farms to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and achieve a low-carbon coffee.
ICAFE and GIZ were accompanied by the Costa Rican plastic artist Rolando Alvarado, who attracted a fair number of visitors by painting elements of typical Costa Rican carts on their jackets, suitcases, bags and other accessories.
The Coffee Expo in Seattle, one of the most important coffee events in the world, attracts approximately 13,000 visitors every year, comprised mostly of coffee roasters, sellers and buyers. More than half of Costa Rica´s coffee is exported to the United States, making the Coffee Expo in Seattle a perfect opportunity for Costa Rican coffee producers to promote their coffee internationally and establish important business networks.
ICAFE and GIZ estimate to have conversed with approximately 1,000 to 1,500 visitors particularly interested in the environmental impact of Costa Rica´s low-carbon coffee. A remarkable amount of interest was shown by roasters on west coast of the US, as well as the Asian market (specifically Japan and South Korea), which the NAMA Café will look at more closely concerning future coffee promotion activities.
Find impressions of the event in our foto gallery.
