Record Number of Coffee Professionals Gather in Durban for Creative Coffee Week

A record number of attendees poured into Durban last week for the 8th annual Creative Coffee Week hosted by Coffee Magazine, including a World Champion and 4 other International coffee experts to discuss the future of the SA Coffee scene, specifically in the agricultural sector.

Leading the discussions on global trends in coffee and coffee producing were Georgius ‘Odi’ Teja, the current World Coffee In Good Spirits Champion who was joined by Cup of Excellence Head Judge, Stephen Vick, award winning Coffee Farmer, David Maguta from Kenya and two representatives for the Colombian Coffee Growers Association, Maria Alejandra Olano and Diego Robles.

“The theme of Creative Coffee Week this year is ‘The Big Picture’ and this event in Durban is the first of three Creative Coffee Week Events being held in the coming months around South Africa”, says Editor at Large of Coffee Magazine and Event Organizer Mel Winter. “The bigger picture is essentially three pieces of the coffee puzzle which makes up the supply chain from farm to cup. The KZN leg focused on Coffee Farming and production in SA, where the Cape Town event will focus on roasting and the final event in the series in JHB will focus on coffee retail and service.”

The first day of the two day event comprised a series of talks and presentations around the business of coffee farming, the quality and value of green coffee at a farmer/producer level, while the second day involved a number of coffee activations hosted at Humble Coffee, a Farm Tour to a KZN coffee farm, and for the lucky few an exclusive sensory OMAKAFE coffee experience with the World Champ. 

The next event will be in Cape Town from 17-18th September, followed by the Final event in Johannesburg on 11th & 12th December. 

This event was made possible by Sponsorship from First National Bank, Equipment Café, Electrical Industries, Red Espresso, Dartpac, BWT, Selati, Bluewater, Morrico Imprts & Exports, Ciro, Da Vinci Gourmet, FNC, ButtaNutt, SEAM Coffee, Eversys, Beverage Seal and trade partners Lizzard , Hilton Gardens Inn, Green Coffee Supply, The Jersey Cow Company and Zuka Coffee.