The final ‘SCA Expo’-branded show produced large numbers & new partnerships
First-time exhibitor 787 Coffee
The global specialty coffee industry converged in Houston, Texas (25-27 April) for the final ‘Specialty Coffee Expo’ (aka SCA Expo). The show is not going away – just the name – as beginning in 2026 North America’s leading specialty coffee event is being rebranded as ‘World of Coffee’ on par with the Specialty Coffee Association’s (SCA) other global World of Coffee events.
SCA Expo 2025 welcomed thousands of coffee professionals from 89 countries and featured 659 exhibitors, including 135 first-time participants such as 787 Coffee (a New York City-based Puerto Rican coffee company), Walker Coffee, and Blue Diamond Almondmilk. According to the SCA, the exhibitor floor space registered 116,000 square feet, up from 108,000 sq ft in Chicago. When announcing the upcoming cities and convention centers, Amy Ball, events officer for the SCA, said that the North American show, the SCA’s largest and most-consumer focused exhibition, has outgrown the convention centers in cities like Seattle, Washington and Portland, Oregon. She noted that next year’s show is projected to have 130,000 sq ft of exhibitor space. The new ‘North American’ World of Coffee will take place in San Diego, California in 2026 and 2028. In 2027, it will return to New Orleans, Louisiana — it was last held there in September 2021. “We’re not using all of the available space at the San Diego Convention Center next year so there is room to grow,” Ball explained.
This year’s Specialty Coffee Expo had several notable announcements including:
- The Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) and the Colombian Coffee Growers Federation (FNC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to advance specialty coffee traceability, enhance value differentiation, and strengthen the global recognition of Colombian coffees. With this signing, Colombia became the first producing country to officially adopt the Coffee Value Assessment (CVA) as the way to define specialty coffee standards. For the first time, producers are collectively communicating how their coffees should be evaluated giving both producers and buyers a more transparent, aligned system that reflects the true diversity and value of Colombian coffees.
- The SCA and Coffee Quality Institute (CQI) announced a partnership to evolve the Q Grader Program — which will now be the first and only licensing program built on the Coffee Value Assessment (CVA). This new program offers globally recognised credentials for cuppers and assessors, practical, research-informed training, and a complete approach to evaluating coffee beyond just flavour. Per the SCA, this evolution reflects a major step forward in supporting coffee professionals, producers, and the future of the industry through a common language for quality evaluation.
At the CQI Luncheon on 25 April, both Matthew Mills, chairman and Michael Sheridan, president of CQI, said that turning over the responsibility of the Q Grader Program to the SCA, allows CQI to focus on producer programs.
The SCA/CQI partnership announcement generated mixed responses. One attendee, who requested anonymity, was accepted into the Q-grader program noting that she was told everything is on hold for the time being so she is unsure of her status. “They made the announcement but there does not seem to be a plan in place so many of us do not know where anything stands,” she shared.
Others are taking a more ‘wait and see’ approach. “This could be a good move but it’s too early to tell,” said another attendee.
The newly branded ‘World of Coffee North America’ debuts in San Diego from 10-12 April 2026.
Vanessa L Facenda, editor, Tea & Coffee Trade Journal
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