The International Coffee Organization’s (ICO) first-ever International Coffee Day takes place around the world today, with more than 30 countries putting on more than 65 events on 1 October.
From Honduras to Russia, cafés, roasters, government organisations, and associations have joined forced to celebrate the world’s second most traded commodity. Coinciding with Honduras’ National Coffee Day, also on 1 October, The Honduran Institute of Coffee is hosting a party in San Pedro Sula, to recognise what the coffee industry means to the national economy. On the other side of the world in Switzerland, UCC Coffee is celebrating Honduras’ coffee with a presentation looking at the Central American producer’s 2015 Cup of Excellence contributions. In neighboring Nicaragua, INA Coffee Holding is inviting coffee lovers to San José for an exposition of coffee harvesting and wet milling processes. In the United States, Rockford Roasting Company is honouring the day they opened their doors by giving away a 12-month supply of coffee. “We opened the doors to our roasting facility and brew bar on 1 October, 2014 so we are celebrating with a fun contest,” Rockford Roasting Company’s Lucretia Ristin told the ICO. “We are asking people to send us pictures they’ve taken throughout the year. We will exhibit the pictures in our coffee shop and ask patrons to vote on the best ones.” Over in another consuming region, the United Kingdom, the list of events include a London Latte Art Smackdown at Kaffeine, Turkish coffee at Baraca in Bournemouth and a Pending Coffee movement encouraging patrons to pay-it-forward in Sheffield. The Pending Coffee Movement, which has seven participating cafés across London, encourages patrons to purchase a second coffee, which can later be redeemed by someone sleeping rough. Fairtrade Australia and New Zealand is onboard too, using the day to raise awareness of the benefit our daily caffeine hit can have on farmers The Colombian Coffee Growers Federation has put together a video of testimonials from coffee growers speaking out about how they envision their produce being consumed. Watch it here. Director of the Specialty Coffee Symposium Peter Giuliano used the day to remind his Pax Coffea blog readers about the importance of global connectedness. “On International Coffee Day, we are called to celebrate the benefits of internationalism in coffee while we recommit to rejecting its ills, and seeking progress towards enlightened international exchange and solidarity,” writes Giuliano. “Today, we remind ourselves that the only way to move towards better quality, true sustainability, and universal prosperity in coffee is to embrace the global diversity of our trade.” Happy International Coffee Day everyone.
