The Specialty Coffee Association continues to evaluate whether to stage its annual Specialty Coffee Expo and Re:co Symposium amid growing international concern about the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
The events are scheduled for April 23-26 in Portland, Oregon.
The international coffee group provided an update Friday, March 13, that explained it is reviewing options with local organizations in Portland following Oregon Gov. Kate Brown’s executive order banning all public gatherings of more than 250 people. That ban is in place until April 8.
Two SCA events already have been postponed. The World of Coffee event has been rescheduled to October 15-17, 2020, in Warsaw, Poland. World of Coffee Warsaw will still host this year’s World Coffee Roasting, Latte Art, Coffee in Good Spirits, and Cup Tasters Championships as well as the Cezve/Ibrik Championship.
Meanwhile, the 2020 Melbourne International Coffee Expo (MICE) and its World Barista Championship and World Brewers Cup have been postponed until November 3-6, SCA stated.“We send a sincere thank you to all of our partners, sponsors, exhibitors, attendees, and volunteers for their patience as we work to adapt and find solutions to the rapidly changing landscape of the COVID-19 pandemic,” SCA c.e.o. Yannis Apostolopoulos said in a statement.