The 4th East African Fine Coffee Association (EAFCA) annual conference will be held from 15-17 February, 2007 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The conference attracts specialty coffee exporters, roasters, retailers, and coffee professionals from all over the world.
According to its website, EAFCA is an association of coffee producers, processors, marketing people and organizations in ten Eastern and Southern African countries and its mission is “to establish and promote partnerships and networks amongst those participating and having an interest in quality coffee production, processing and marketing in the Eastern Africa coffee-growing region.”
EAFCA hosted the first African Fine Coffees Conference and Exhibition in February 2004 in Nairobi, Kenya. The theme of this year’s convention is "A Pilgrimage to the Birth Place of Coffee" and includes an African Coffee Safari to the coffee growing regions of Ethiopia.
Dub Hay, Starbucks Senior Vice President, Coffee and Global Procurement, is expected to represent the company as the keynote speaker.
Starbucks continues to oppose Ethiopia’s plan to trademark the country's valuable coffee names. Hay recently said that Ethiopia's trademarking effort is illegal. Ethiopia's legal advisors on this matter reject Hay's statement as "flat wrong".
According to the Press Release issued yesterday, Starbucks announced a commitment of $500,000 to CARE, Atlanta based humanitarian and development organization, to fund a three-year program that will “improve economic and educational prospects for more than 6,000 people in rural Ethiopia’s coffee growing regions.”
Stay tuned for updates.
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