Big, huge, enormous, mammoth, and even more gargantuan modifiers apply to the upcoming International Coffee Week which runs from September 9-12 in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The event will host not only a sprawling trade show floor which last year had some 6,500 visitors from 18 countries, but many other activities as well, including the 50th anniversary of the International Coffee Organization.
Belo Horizonte is the capital city and largest city in the state of Minas Gerais, the largest producer of coffee in a country that produces a whole lot of coffee!
Besides the trade show, numerous educational seminars and classes, and other standard fare for the community of coffee folks, ie. socializing, networking and one-on-one meetings, a whole bunch of competitions are taking place at the event. On the action-packed week’s agenda is, for example, pre-selection of lots for the Cup of Excellence competition for the Brazilian early harvest.
There’s the 2013 Brazilian Coffee of the Year competition, during which cuppers will select the country’s best lot.
And then there’s the 13th Brazilian Barista Championship! (Yes, we’re already on the road to Rimini, Italy and next year’s World Barista Championship.)
And there’s the 6th Brazilian Cup Tasters Championship and 3rd Brazilian Brewers Cup Championship.
Additionally, the event will host the 3rd International Alliance of Women in Coffee Brazil meeting, an ongoing session on the effects of climate change on coffee and how farmers and businesses can prepare for them, and much, much, more!
I’ll be reporting here on the blog from Belo Horizonte next week covering the event (and there will be a Field Report in the October + November 2013 issue of Barista Magazine.) So check back often in the upcoming days to see what’s happening in Brazil!
