Introducing the Extract Series: A New Member Driven Event Program

By Colin Whitcomb

We love events that bring baristas together. Cafe crawls, latte art throwdowns, discussions—all these chances to share passion for coffee, ideas about service or techniques for brewing allow us to feel connected and grow as professionals. At the BGA we’ve supported our members by promoting these types of events through our Member Driven Event program.

For the last few years we’ve wanted to do more in support of our members’ events. We’ve heard from our members and friends in the industry that throwdowns and other competition-like events fill a need, but coffee professionals are ready for more intellectual discussion and professional-development. And we wanted to connect our members from city to city, emphasizing our national community.

It’s for this reason that I’m incredibly excited to announce the debut of the Extract Series. The Extract Series are educational events templates designed by the SCAA and BGA. Members can take these templates and host an Extract Series event. Two or three of these events will be released every quarter.

Information on the Extract Series and the first three Extract Series events is now live here on our website. I had a chance to participate in one of these events, tasting different sugars in the same coffee at two different roast levels. The experience, and the discussion that followed, was one of the most stimulating experiences I’ve had in the last few years.

The landscape of specialty coffee events has grown and expanded significantly in the last five years alongside our barista community. It’s my hope that the Extract Series can ignite even more interest in hosting events, connecting with like-minded professionals, and promoting fellowship and discussion. Keep your eyes open for one of these exciting new events and be sure to watch #ExtractMDE.

To learn more about this program, please click here.